Figure (Figura)

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Art © Tamayo Heirs/ Mexico/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
My gallery Comment Tag Order Photography*
Art © Tamayo Heirs/ Mexico/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
My gallery Comment Tag Order Photography*
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Figure (Figura)

Edition: 36/99

1979
Prints; etchings
Etching
29 3/4 × 22 in. (75.56 × 55.88 cm)
The Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art (AC1997.LWN.1804)
Latin American Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

While identified as an etching, this work by Rufino Tamayo in fact combines a mixture of printmaking techniques and varied textures, which is consistent with other prints the artist made at the Pol

...

While identified as an etching, this work by Rufino Tamayo in fact combines a mixture of printmaking techniques and varied textures, which is consistent with other prints the artist made at the Polígrafa print studio in Barcelona. Here, Tamayo reduces the figure to a series of basic shapes that indicate the human body: a circle for a head, a hexagon for a neck, and a large rectangle inscribed with an “X” for the torso. A line runs from the tip of the head to the base of the image, emphasizing the figure’s verticality. A horizontal line suggests eye placement and an upturned arc evokes a collarbone. However, the figure lacks any distinguishing features or details, with the exception of the outlines of fingers and shading to emphasize the hand—the artist’s tool.


For more information see the catalogue entry by Rachel Kaplan in Rufino Tamayo: The Essential Figure, 2019, pp. 54–55.
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Provenance

Bernard and Edith Lewin, Rancho Mirage, California; LACMA, 1997.

Bibliography

  • Kaplan, Rachel. Rufino Tamayo: The Essential Figure. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.

Exhibition history

  • Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation Los Angeles, CA, Charles White Elementary School, December 21, 2019 - July 11, 2020
  • Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation Pomona, CA, Millard Sheets Art Center, May 3, 2024 - May 27, 2024
  • Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation Los Angeles, CA, Charles White Elementary School, December 21, 2019 - July 11, 2020
  • Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation Pomona, CA, Millard Sheets Art Center, May 3, 2024 - May 27, 2024
  • Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation Fort Worth, TX, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, November 15, 2024 - April 24, 2025
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