Isabel 'Chabela' Villaseñor (
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, 18 May 1909 -
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, 13 March 1953) was a noted post-revolutionary
Mexican sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, printmaker, painter, poet, and songwriter.
Biography
Villaseñor was born in the city of Guadalajara. In 1928, she enrolled as a student of sculpture in Mexico City's 'Centro Popular de Pintura Santiago Rebull,' where she studied under the school's founder,
Gabriel Fernández Ledesma, and artist
Francisco Diaz de Leon.
Villaseñor later married Ledesma. She died of a heart attack in 1953.
[Sylvia Navarrete]
''Isabel Villaseñor''
(español).
Work
In 1930, Villaseñor was one of only two female artists represented in New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
seminal show, ''Mexican Arts.'' In 1931, Villaseñor served as a missionary instructor in the state of
Hidalgo. That same year, she had her first solo exhibition at the
National Library of Mexico. She participated in the activities of
¡30-30!, an artists collective known for its anti-academic and revolutionary themes.
Her work was also shown at the 1943
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
exhibition, ''Mexican Art Today''. Her work was also likely shown at the 1940 New York
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
exhibition, ''Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art''.
Villaseñor's sculptures are made of metal and wood. Her personal life is reflected in her work, including the death of her son in 1934, and her relationship with her daughter, Olinca.
In 1953, noted Mexican painter
MarÃa Izquierdo described Villaseñor as one of two of "the only real Mexicans in their work," along with Mexican artist
Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...
.
Literary productions
* Theatrical piece in verse ''Elena the traicionera'' (1929).
* Script for the ballet ''The maleficio'' (1948) which premièred posthumously in 1954 with choreography by Elena Noriega, music by
Blas Galindo and designs by
Fernández
Fernández () is a Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Fernando" of Germanic origin. The Germanic name Ferdinand that it derives from ( Gothic: ''Frið-nanð'') means "brave traveler." The Portuguese version of this surname is Fernandes ...
Ledesma.
Exhibitions
* Exhibition on the
Events of Bogota.
* Exhibition devoted to the American Continental Congress American for Peace celebrated in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
from 5 to 11 October 1949 as part of that year's world-wide movement against violence.
* Retrospective exhibition of Villaseñor's work at the
Museo de la SecretarÃa de Hacienda y Crédito Público in 1999
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villasenor, Isabel
20th-century Mexican sculptors
1953 deaths
1909 births
20th-century Mexican women sculptors