Gilded, Carved, and Embossed

This exhibition emphasizes the inventive flair and visual sensibilities that Latin American artists brought to their work. Through approximately twenty-five paintings and sculptures, many graciously lent to Pomona College by the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation, visitors will encounter a broad range of artistic materials and techniques as well as a dramatic variety in scale. Objects from present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Brazil will be included. These often glittering examples of skill and creativity also reflect the dynamics of political power. The forced spread of Catholicism in the Americas created a need for visual tools of conversion; the American artists employed to render these subjects imbued them with local significance, thereby fashioning a separate chapter of art history that we now celebrate.