The Palace is Open

The Palace of Iturbide is one of many colonial mansions in the historic center of Mexico City.  The building, which was built in the late 18th century, is known as the Palace of Iturbide because it was the residence of Agustín Iturbide, the military officer who proclaimed himself Emperor of Mexico after the nation won its independence from Spain.  (He reigned for only a year before he was forced to abdicate, and a republic was established.)

In 1965 the palace was purchased and restored by the National Bank of Mexico (Banamex), and in 1972 the building became the headquarters of the Banamex Cultural Foundation.  In 2004 after more restoration work, it was opened to the public with the official name of the Banamex Palace of Culture.  Several temporary art exhibits are held here each year and admission is free.  I have written on this blog about several of those exhibits.

The palace was closed after the onset of the pandemic and was still closed during my visits to Mexico City last year.  I read on the internet that it had reopened so on Wednesday I took a taxi downtown to view the exhibitions there.  I arrived around 10:30, but the doors were still closed.  I wandered around the historic center a bit, and when I passed by there again, after 11:00, the doors were open!  (I have to wonder, however, if the reopening will be short-lived.  Due to the surge of Omnicron, several museums, including the National Museum of Anthropology, have shut down once again.)

 

The current exhibition displays the work of Mexican artist Yvonne Domenge Gaudry.  Her work consists primarily of abstract sculptures done in metal or wood.  Her sculptures have been shown throughout Mexico and abroad.  She passed away in 2019 at the age of seventy-three.  

As you may know, I am not a big fan of contemporary art.  But I will admit that her work is more interesting and pleasing to the eye than a lot of the pretentious stuff that masquerades as art these days.  Much of her work, however, seemed repetitious, with many spherical sculptures.

I headed upstairs where there was another exhibit, an exhibit that I found much more interesting.  That will be the subject of another entry in coming days.