Guayasamín Foundation Honored Vanderbilt University Fine Arts

Wednesday, 11 February 2009 22:45

NASHVILLE, TN  – The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery was recently honored in an event held in celebration of the 90^th birthday of the renowned, late Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín, at the Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) in Quito, Ecuador. Given in recognition of Vanderbilt’s contributions to the legacy of Guayasamín that culminated in the national traveling exhibition, Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamín, Joseph Mella, on behalf of the gallery he directs, received a gift of an original lithograph by the artist. This gift, presented after Mella’s remarks on Guayasamín and the exhibition, is, according to Mella, “a fine example of Guayasamín’s skill as a graphic artist, one that will be a welcome addition to the collection.”

Beyond Mella’s remarks, “Members of Honor of the Guayasamín Foundation” each provided their perspective on the artist and his impact on Latin American art and society. They included such distinguished guests as Hebe de Bonafini, President of the Organization of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the association of Argentine mothers whose children "disappeared" during the Dirty War (the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983); Pedro Martínez Pírez, director of  Radio Habana, Cuba; as well as representatives from the  Guayasamín Foundation, such as the daughter of the artist, Saskia Guayasamín and several others.

The evening’s events concluded with a program of music presented by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Ecuador, conducted by Maestro Patricio Aizaga, and a reception for over 300 guests. 

The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, is a leading collegiate art gallery. The permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 works, including Asian and African art; nineteenth and twentieth-century European and American paintings and sculpture; Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art; medieval sculpture; early Italian Renaissance paintings; and an extensive collection of historic and contemporary works on paper. For more information, please visit the gallery’s website at www.vanderbilt.edu/gallery  or call 615-322-0605.