Latin America: Modern Art and Politics

The history of modern Latin American art is inseparable from the political, social and cultural transformations that have shaped the continent. Revolutions, military dictatorships, indigenous movements, migration, economic crises and struggles for democracy profoundly influenced artists throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Rather than following a chronological history of art, Instructor Raúl Gasque examines the evolution of modern Latin American art through eight countries whose artistic production transformed the international art scene. Each session combines political history, cultural movements and artistic practice, demonstrating how artists became active participants in the construction of national identity and collective memory.

The course also introduces participants to key concepts including Modernism, the Avant-Garde, Indigenismo, Muralism, Conceptual Art, Kinetic Art, the Latin American Neo-Avant-Garde, Coloniality, Decolonial Thought, Memory Studies and Contemporary Political Art.

Throughout the course, students will become familiar with the work of the region’s most influential artists while understanding the historical events that shaped their production.

The course consists of eight classes, each beginning at 9:30 AM and lasting three hours, combining lectures, visual analysis, and creative workshops.

Cost: All Eight Sessions = $6,000 • Seven Sessions = $5,400 • Six Sessions = $4,700 • Five Sessions = $4,000 • Four Sessions = $3,300 • Three Sessions = $2,600 • Two Sessions = $1,800 • One Session= $950. Register online in the MEL Shop.

Sept 7, 2026 — Cuba: Revolution, Identity and Afro-Caribbean Modernism

Historical Context

• Colonial Cuba and Independence

• José Martí and the construction of Cuban identity

• The Cuban Revolution

• Cold War politics

• Art during and after the Revolution

Artistic Movements

• Modernism

• Afro-Caribbean Modernism

• Political Art

• Revolutionary Poster Design

Artists

• Wifredo Lam

• René Portocarrero

• Ana Mendieta

Key Concepts

• Identity

• Race

• Syncretism

• Revolution

• Exile

Sept 14, 2026 — Colombia: Violence, Memory and Contemporary Art

Historical Context

• La Violencia

• Guerrilla movements

• Drug trafficking

• Peace process

• Contemporary Colombia

Artistic Movements

• Social Realism

• Contemporary Installation

• Political Art

Artists

• Fernando Botero

• Doris Salcedo

• Débora Arango

Key Concepts

• Memory

• Trauma

• Violence

• Human Rights

Sept 21, 2026 — Venezuela: Modernity and Kinetic Art

Historical Context

• Oil economy

• Democratic modernization

• The Bolivarian Revolution

• Contemporary political crisis

Artistic Movements

• Geometric Abstraction

• Kinetic Art

• Op Art

Artists

• Jesús Rafael Soto

• Carlos Cruz-Diez

• Gego

Key Concepts

• Perception

• Space

• Modernization

• Public Art

Sept 28, 2026 — Brazil: Modernism, Anthropophagy and Radical Experimentation

Historical Context

• The Modern Art Week of 1922

• Industrialization

• Military dictatorship

• Contemporary Brazil

Artistic Movements

• Brazilian Modernism

• Anthropophagy

• Neo-Concrete Movement

• Tropicalismo

Artists

• Tarsila do Amaral

• Lygia Clark

• Hélio Oiticica

Key Concepts

• Anthropophagy

• Participation

• Body

• Experimental Art

Oct 5, 2026 — Ecuador: Indigenous Identity and Social Realism

Historical Context

• Indigenous movements

• Social inequality

• Political instability

• Contemporary Ecuador

Artistic Movements

• Indigenismo

• Social Realism

• Latin American Modernism

Artists

• Oswaldo Guayasamín

• Eduardo Kingman

• Camilo Egas

Key Concepts

• Humanism

• Indigenous identity

• Social Justice

Oct 12, 2026 — Bolivia: Indigenous Cosmologies and Decolonial Art

Historical Context

• The Bolivian Revolution

• Indigenous political movements

• Evo Morales

• Decolonization

Artistic Movements

• Indigenismo

• Contemporary Indigenous Art

• Environmental Art

Artists

• Marina Núñez del Prado

• María Luisa Pacheco

• Gastón Ugalde

Key Concepts

• Decolonial Thought

• Pachamama

• Territory

• Indigenous Epistemologies

Oct 19, 2026 — Chile: Dictatorship, Conceptualism and Artistic Resistance

Historical Context

• Salvador Allende

• Augusto Pinochet

• Military dictatorship

• Democratic transition

Artistic Movements

• Conceptual Art

• Performance

• Political Intervention

Artists

• Roberto Matta

• Alfredo Jaar

• Lotty Rosenfeld

Key Concepts

• Resistance

• Public Space

• Memory

• Democracy

Oct 26, 2026 — Argentina and Uruguay: Avant-Garde, Memory and Latin American Identity

Historical Context: Argentina

• Immigration

• Peronism

• Military dictatorship

• Mothers of Plaza de Mayo

Historical Context: Uruguay

• Batllismo

• Civic-military dictatorship

• Democratic recovery

Artistic Movements

• Constructive Universalism

• Argentine Avant-Garde

• Conceptual Art

• Neo-Avant-Garde

Artists: Argentina

• Emilio Pettoruti

• León Ferrari

• Marta Minujín

Artists: Uruguay

• Joaquín Torres García

• Pedro Figari

• José Gurvich

Key Concepts

• Universalism

• Political Art

• Memory

• Public Participation

Theoretical Framework

Throughout the course, participants will also engage with key intellectual traditions that have shaped Latin American art history:

• Modernism and the Avant-Garde

• Latin American Identity

• Muralism and Public Art

• Indigenismo

• Conceptual Art

• Neo-Avant-Garde

• Kinetic Art

• Coloniality of Power (Aníbal Quijano)

• Decolonial Thought (Walter Mignolo, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui)

• Cultural Hybridity (Néstor García Canclini)

• Memory Studies

• Political Aesthetics

• Contemporary Decolonial Art

Suggested Readings

• Néstor García Canclini — Hybrid Cultures

• Andrea Giunta — Avant-Garde, Internationalism, and Politics

• Dawn Ades — Art in Latin America

• Gerardo Mosquera — Beyond the Fantastic

• Mari Carmen Ramírez — Inverted Utopias

• Walter Mignolo — The Darker Side of Western Modernity

• Aníbal Quijano — Coloniality of Power

• Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui — Ch’ixinakax utxiwa

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the relationship between modern art and political history across Latin America.

• Identify the principal artistic movements of the region and their historical contexts.

• Analyze artworks through the lenses of coloniality, identity, memory and decolonial thought.

• Recognize the contributions of major Latin American artists to global modern and contemporary art.

• Develop a critical understanding of how art has functioned as a tool of resistance, social transformation and cultural identity.

Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook for personal notes, reflections, and discussion points throughout the course.

About Raúl Gasque

With a career that spans more than 20 years in Asia, Latin America, and Europe, Raúl has led workshops and talks in institutions ranging from Mexico to Taiwan. His work engages themes of storytelling, psychology, and identity through a nontraditional lens.

As an art educator, Raúl Gasque has worked in different environments and institutions. His experience as an art teacher took him to develop workshops at the National Institute of Arts in Mexico, The Peace Nobel Prize Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation in Guatemala, Hungkuang University in Taichung, and the Mexican Cultural and Trade Office in Taiwan. Also, Gasque has given conferences in prestigious universities and institutions such as the Asian Center for Journalism of the Ateneo University in Manila, La Hydra in Mexico City, Lightbox Center, and National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan.

Originally from Mérida, Yucatán, Raúl recently returned home after two decades abroad to reconnect with his roots and the rich cultural energy of the region.