Largest collection of Latin American art

Patron Jorge Pérez brings to Spain part of the largest collection of Latin American art

Alfredo Valenzuela | Seville (EFE).- The American collector and patron Jorge Pérez, born in Argentina in 1949 to Cuban parents, will show in Seville a hundred pieces from his contemporary art collection, made up of two thousand works and the largest private collection of contemporary Latin American art. , many of them preserved in the Pérez Art Museum in Miami (USA).

The exhibition of this selection is titled “Territories” and can be seen starting tomorrow at the Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art (CAAC), in the old Cartuja monastery in Seville, as an example of what has been the vital objective of Jorge Pérez, make current Latin American art known to the whole world.

In an interview with EFE, Jorge Pérez, also an architect and construction businessman, said that he would also like to get involved in making Spanish contemporary art known in the United States, where he has assured that, except for the cases of Picasso and Miró, it is quite unknown.

“If I didn't live in Miami I would live in Madrid,” said Pérez, a collaborator at the Reina Sofía Museum, when showing his preferences for Spain and explaining the reasons for his collecting - “I collect not so much for myself as to expose it to the public” - and his idea of establishing “a link between America and Spain,” a country he calls “our motherland.”

Special links with Spain
The patron's idea is to "create links especially with Spain", a country to which he says he is very attached not only because of his annual visits to the ARCO fair in Madrid and the fact that he is also collecting contemporary Spanish art, but because he considers the whole of Granada , Córdoba and Seville as “the jewel of the world in historical architecture.”

“Territories” is made up of pieces by 60 current Latin American artists, the vast majority of whom are active and, according to Pérez, show the evolution of Latin American art during recent decades, as well as the vigor and diversity of these creations. who use all types of supports and integrate textiles and ceramics, as well as painting, sculpture and installations, into their creations.

“Now there are no differences like during the time of the Mexican muralists, when you saw one of his works and knew that they were by a Mexican. The world has become smaller and the influences are universal. Contemporary art has become more international and the differences are difficult to separate,” said the patron to warn that the cultural origin is still guessed in works by Mexican artists such as Ana Segovia and Gabriel Orozco.

African influences are noticeable in artists from Brazil and Cuba, and many Mexican artists, who incorporate Aztec motifs into their iconography, make their origins clear. As also happens with artists from Peru and Colombia. While among the Argentines and Uruguayans this historical background is not visible, as Pérez has detailed.

These two artistic trends are represented in the Seville exhibition, as guaranteed by the collector. As a real estate developer he incorporates works of art into his real estate projects, as another way of integrating art into today's society.

“Territories” and trends
Curated by the director of the CAAC, Jimena Blázquez, “Territorios” brings together works by the Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo; by the Cuban artists Ana Mendieta and Tania Bruguera. And from two pioneers of kinetic art in Latin America such as the Venezuelan Carlos Cruz-Diez and the Argentine Julio Le Parc.

Works on the consequences of colonialism by the Brazilian Jonathas de Andrade have also been selected. As well as the Peruvian artists Sandra Gamarra, Claudia Coca and Alice Wagner, among others.

“When they talk to me about my passion for art I say that the passion was before, that now it is a drug.” Pérez explains that he dedicates a minimum of three or four hours a day to auctions, to follow new trends and to learn about artists. And to study, and he has given as an example that before traveling to Seville he has been in Mexico. And then he will visit Barcelona, Paris, Switzerland and Venice, to continue learning about works and artists.

“After my family, art is the most important thing and it is on par with my work, because I also love creating buildings. “I dedicate a third of my time to art, another third to business, and another third to philanthropy.” A chapter also focused on artistic promotion, from scholarships for students, to ballet activities, opera, access to art in public schools. Also to the training of young people and artistic residencies in Miami, among others.

Founder of the construction company Related Group, Jorge Pérez is ranked 791 on the Forbes list with a fortune of about $3 billion. He was invited by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to be part of an association that allocates half of its capital to patronage. A “public culture organization” in which Pérez proudly points out that his is the only Latin name. EFE