lilia carrillo, autorretrato escolar, 1948
kurimanzutto presents the personal collection of painter Lilia Carrillo (1930–1974), comprised of more than fifty works created between 1948 and 1974. Lilia Carrillo stood out among the artists of her generation, mostly men, who during the second half of the 20th century transformed the panorama of modern art in Mexico by exploring new models of figuration and abstraction. The exhibited works were safeguarded after her death by her second husband, the sculptor Manuel Felguérez. The selection ranges from some of her early works created as an art student to one of the last pieces she created before her death at the age of 43.
The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated timeline and a selection of photos, press clippings, and documents from the artist's family archive that place the work in a historical context. Likewise, a catalog of the exhibition focusing on this body of work and the research that originated from it will be subsequently published. The exhibition and accompanying archival materials offer a look at the work of an artist who sought formal and material experimentation, both within and beyond the abstraction for which she became known. Many of the pieces and documents reveal her interest in exploring different techniques and disciplines. In these paintings, drawings, collages, lithographs, costume designs, and illustrations, we encounter different facets of Carrillo's trajectory, stemming from a persistent curiosity about the various possibilities of visual expression.
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
installation view, lilia carrillo's lilia carillos, kurimanzutto mexico city, 2024. photo: gerardo landa / eduardo lópez (glr estudio)
about the artist
Lilia Carrillo’s (Mexico City, 1930–1974) artistic career transcended the traditional limits of Mexican painting in the second half of the 20th century. Her importance lies not only in her innovative spirit in the field of abstraction, but also in the formal and material experimentation she carried out in various disciplines such as theater. Despite her relatively brief career, Carrillo's impact resonates in art history, within a generation of artists dedicated to broadening the horizons of Mexican art beyond the conventional models of figurative representation. Carrillo forged an artistic path in a world still largely dominated by men; her works are a testament to the pioneering spirit that characterized her and the enduring contribution she made to visual expression.
Carrillo studied Visual Arts at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" in Mexico City. In 1953 she received a scholarship to reside at the Casa de México in Paris, where he enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. During her stay in Paris, she exhibited for the first time individually at the Casa de México and collectively at the Petit Palais in 1955.
Back in Mexico, in 1956, she participated in a joint exhibition with Manuel Felguérez at the Galería Carmel-Art in Mexico City, followed by her first solo exhibition of abstract works at the Galería Antonio Souza in 1957. Carrillo exhibited on multiple occasions at the Galería Juan Martín, in Mexico City, and at important national institutions including the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Casa del Lago.
In addition to her career as a painter, she also worked on set designs and costumes for Alejandro Jodorowsky's vanguard theatre productions. Carrillo won second place in the ESSO Salon in 1965 and participated in 1966 in the group show Confrontación 66, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. She was a founding member of the Independent Salon in 1968. In 1969 she painted the mural La ciudad desbordada, contaminación del aire, to be exhibited in the Mexican Pavilion as part of the Osaka 70 World Fair in Japan. Her work traveled to galleries, museums, and biennials in countries such as France, Brazil, United States, Spain, Peru, Cuba and Colombia.
From 1971 onwards, Carrillo's pictorial production was affected due to a spinal cord aneurysm that partially paralyzed her. The artist died on June 6, 1974.
