Christie's Latin American Sale in May 2013 to Include a Selection of Works Donated to Americas Society

Proceeds to Benefit the Americas Society’s Visual Arts Department

New York, November 27, 2012 – Christie’s and Americas Society are pleased to announce The Americas Society Visual Arts Endowment Benefit Auction in May 2013. The auction will include a selection of works donated to Americas Society that will be offered in conjunction with the Latin American sale, with all proceeds to benefit the Society’s dynamic and expanding Visual Arts Department through the creation of an endowment for its programs. 

The Benefit Auction will include approximately 30 works in both the evening and day sales at Christie’s, and will feature such established Latin American artists as Carlos Cruz-Diez (Physichromie 1601, 2009) and Alejandro Obregón (Recuerdo de Trentón, 1979), as well as contemporary artists like Luis Fernando Roldán (Rebbilib, 2012). Cruz-Diez’s work beautifully exemplifies how the artist employs line and color to create an optical illusion that challenges viewer perception while Obregon’s piece, a work from the period when he was living in Cartagena, exhibits a true mastery of color and gesture. In contrast, Roldán's work considers the ephemeral nature of materials and structure through netting, which suggests the human condition.

In the past 40 years, Americas Society has played a unique role in exploring the cultural evolution during the postwar period in Latin America by examining artistic platforms via a comprehensive visual arts exhibition program. It has been committed to broadening the awareness of groundbreaking artistic approaches and risks amongst its followers by presenting rigorously curated shows.

We are delighted to announce that Patricia Phelps de Cisneros has agreed to act as honorary chair of the Americas Society Benefit Art Auction, with Sharon Schultz Simpson and Carlos Cruz-Diez serving as co-chairs of the auction. They will work in conjunction with Susan Segal, Americas Society president and CEO, and Gabriela Rangel, director and chief curator of Americas Society's Visual Arts Gallery.

Virgilio Garza, head of Christie's Latin American department, said: “We are honored to partner with Americas Society, an institution with such a distinguished history of cultivating due appreciation for the cultural heritage of North and South America, for an auction that will benefit their vibrant visual arts exhibition program.”

Established in 1965 by David Rockefeller, Americas Society strives to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social, and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. The institution therefore aims to increase public awareness of and appreciation for the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas, and the importance of the inter-American relationship. Americas Society provides detailed programming through the literature, music, and visual arts departments, presenting three exhibitions each year along with a series of public and educational programs, as well as producing scholarly publications and exhibition catalogues.

Gabriela Rangel, the director and chief curator of Americas Society’s Visual Arts Gallery, added: “We are looking forward to the possibilities that this auction brings to our department. Over 47 years, the visual arts program has established a space of excellence for the art of the Americas through exhibitions, publications, and public programs that challenge preconceptions and simplistic approaches.”

Further details of the sale, exhibition, and catalogues will be announced by April 2013.

About Americas Society

AS is the premier forum dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas. Its mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social, and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship.

Americas Society organizes a diverse range of events such as exhibitions, publications, public programs that create a dialogue around key issues by offering a platform for intellectual exchange. AS’s hemispheric approach allows the organization to extend outreach beyond the artistic material, to audiences that seek to actively engage in a challenging and innovative discourse.

During the past 40 years, Americas Society has played a unique role in exploring the cultural evolution during the postwar period in Latin America and, to a more limited extent, in Canada by examining artistic platforms via a comprehensive visual arts exhibition program. It has been committed to broaden the awareness of groundbreaking artistic approaches and risks amongst its followers by presenting rigorously curated shows. Some worth mentioning are: Gego Reticularia 1969, and the current Gego: Origin and Encounter, Mastering and Space; Traffic Patterns by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, 2003 and the Carlos Cruz Diez Chromosaturation (In)formed by Color, 2008. Complementing the Visual Arts programming, Americas Society also embarks in extensive programing in music and literature.