The José Luis Cuevas Museum is located just off the

Zócalo The Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used t ...

within the

Historic center of Mexico City The historic center of Mexico City ( es, Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on Zócalo or main plaza and extending in all direction ...

, in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Mexico. The museum and Church of Santa Inés were built as parts of the Convent of Santa Inés (''Agnes of Rome'') complex. The museum is in the convent's colonial era residential hall.

Museum

By the late 1970s, artist

José Luis Cuevas José Luis Cuevas (February 26, 1934 – July 3, 2017) was a Mexican artist, he often worked as a painter, writer, draftsman, engraver, illustrator, and printmaker. Cuevas was one of the first to challenge the then dominant Mexican muralism ...

had gathered a large collection of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

works by

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n artists, with the aim of establishing a museum in his name. The collection was kept in the storage facilities of the Carrillo Gil Museum as Cuevas looked for a suitable location for the collection. Having been born in the historic Centro district of Mexico City, Cuevas wanted the museum to be located there. After acquiring the historic Santa Inés Convent building in 1983, and relocating its residents, the

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

project began. Cuevas, along with government agencies and private supporters set to restore the building and perform archeological work. It revealed many of the much older construction elements of the convent. Restoration work was completed in 1988. While it was primarily restored to its colonial era appearance, Cuevas had the convent's

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

roofed with a plastic dome to have a contrary and modern element. The complex was repaired under the patronage of the Marquis of La Cadena. The entrance of the museum is located at 13 Academia Street, around the corner from the Santa Inés Church. The courtyard's

patio A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed stru ...

is dominated by a tall bronze sculpture named “La Giganta” (The Female Giant). Cuevas created this site specific sculpture for this space. The statue is tall and weighs 8 tons. The José Luis Cuevas Museum opened in July 1992.

Collections

The principal exhibition rooms contain artworks by Cuevas, including a room dedicated to works by him and his wife artist Bertha Cuevas, and the 'Pablo Picasso room' displaying his drawings. The museum's collection also includes many artworks by 19th and 20th century Mexican artists, including:

Francisco Toledo Francisco Benjamín López Toledo (17 July 1940 – 5 September 2019) was a Mexican Zapotec painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. In a career that spanned seven decades, Toledo produced thousands of works of art and became widely regarded a ...

, Juan Soriano, Vicente Rojo Almazán,

Manuel Felguérez Manuel Felguérez Barra (December 12, 1928June 8, 2020) was a Mexican abstract artist, part of the Generación de la Ruptura that broke with the muralist movement of Diego Rivera and others in the mid 20th century. Early life Felguérez was ...

Arnold Belkin Arnold Belkin (December 9, 1930 – July 3, 1992) was a Canadian- Mexican painter credited for continuing the Mexican muralism tradition at a time when many Mexican painters were shifting away from it. Born and raised in western Canada, he ...

, Gabriel Macotela. In addition it has works by international modern artists, including

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

, Fernando de Szys-Varo,

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of ...

and

Remedios Varo María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga (16 December 1908 – 8 October 1963) was a Spanish-born Mexican surrealist artist working in Spain, France, and Mexico. Early life Remedios Varo Uranga was born in Anglès, is a small town ...

References

External links

* �
Official José Luis Cuevas Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jose Luis Cuevas Museum 1992 establishments in Mexico Art museums and galleries in Mexico Art museums established in 1992 Contemporary art galleries in Mexico Historic center of Mexico City Landmarks in Mexico City Modern art museums Museums in Mexico City Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico