Art of Villalpando will bring together philanthropists in New York to support Mexican culture

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On the occasion of the exhibition Cristóbal de Villalpando: Mexican Painter of the Baroque at The Metropolitan Museum of New York, currently running through October 15, the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York (MCINY) will host a benefit evening with a private tour of the exhibition on October 3. The event will be chaired by Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández and Diego Gómez Pickering, Consul General of Mexico in New York, and co-chaired by Claudia (Gonzalez) Romo Edelman.

The benefit reception, organized by MCINY, pays homage to the work of Estrellita B. Brodsky, a well-known curator and philanthropist, who has promoted Mexican art throughout the globe, especially in the United States. Part of the ticket sales will be donated to the relief efforts in Mexico.

"With this event, we seek to strengthen the promotion of Mexico, specifically of our culture, in one of the most important art institutions in the United States," said Diego Gómez Pickering. "We also aim to channel collective efforts to the reconstruction of damaged cultural sites after the tragic earthquakes that recently shook Mexico."

Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández added: "The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York has partnered with the World Monuments Fund to donate a portion of the benefit's proceeds to the conservation of the San Juan Bautista convent in Cuauhtinchan, located in the Mexican state of Puebla, which was built between 1528 and 1554 and was severely affected by the earthquakes."

"The exhibition is the first major Mexican art project at The Met since 1990. For over 25 years the MCINY has worked to foster a better understanding of Mexico through the promotion of its vibrant culture. Now is a particularly important moment to support the Institute's mission and with it, our Mexican fellow citizens," commented Claudia Romo Edelman.

The MCINY, currently directed by Caterina Toscano, is a non-profit organization committed to promoting the richness, dynamism and cultural diversity of Mexico, a plural and creative nation. It is also the cultural division of the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.

The work of Cristóbal de Villalpando is recognized as emblematic of the art of viceregal Mexico. The collection exhibited at The Met was first presented this year at the Citibanamex Palacio de Cultura-Palacio de Iturbide in Mexico City, from March 9 to June 4. The exhibition includes the painting Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus, a 28-foot-tall canvas finished in 1683, which has never been exhibited outside Mexico.

Exhibition credits and photo
The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Fomento Cultural Banamex, A.C. It is made possible by Citibanamex and Fundación Diez Morodo.

Additional support is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE), AMEXCID, and the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.

Image: Cristóbal de Villalpando (ca. 1649–1714). Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus (detail), 1683. Oil on Canvas. Col. Propiedad de la Nación Mexicana, Secretaría de Cultura, Dirección General de Sitios y Monumentos del Patrimonio Cultural Acervo de la Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción, Puebla, Mexico.

Contact: 
Lisa Kovitz
Edelman
212 704 4546
[email protected]

SOURCE Mexican Cultural Institute of New York