A private collection curated by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros

The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, which dates back to the 1970s, embodies Ella Fontanals-Cisneros’s vision of building a cultural legacy for the benefit of the public. This vision has guided her role as an institutional collector, shaped by two key principles: a deep commitment to research—understanding the scope and key figures of specific artistic movements—and an intuitive, rigorous approach to selecting essential works from the art market.
Beyond her personal dedication as a collector, the Collection’s growth has been driven by rigorous research conducted by professional teams, particularly curators who have contributed to the Collection’s evolution. Notable curators over the past two decades include Rina Carvajal, Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Jesús Fuenmayor, and Eugenio Valdés Figueroa. Their historical and critical perspectives have set remarkable standards, leading to both quantitative and qualitative expansion.
This curatorial approach has shaped the development of distinct thematic sections within the Collection, each with a clear curatorial focus:
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Digital Art and New Technologies
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International Contemporary Art
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Latin American Geometric and Expressionist Abstraction
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Conceptualism
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Latin American Modernist Photography
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Video Art and Performance Documentation
Installation shot of "Liquid Sensibilities" 2016 Grants & Commissions Program Exhibition. © CIFO | Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation. Photo: Oriol Tarridas
EXHIBITIONS
The following are institutions where works from the Collection have either previously been or still are on loan:
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Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
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El Museo de Arte de Banco de la Republica, Colombia
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El Museo Del Barrio, New York
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Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami
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Fundación March, Madrid
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Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany
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LACE, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles
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Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Miami
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MAXXI-The National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome
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McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston
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Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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MoCA Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami
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MOLAA Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
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Museo de Bellas Artes de Santiago, Chile
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Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid
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Museum of Arts and Design, New York
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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas
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Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami
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Pinacoteca, São Paulo
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Tate Modern, London
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis
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The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
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The Stenersen Museum, Oslo
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Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New York
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Whitechapel Gallery, London