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DIALOGUES: Women Artists in The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection

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DIALOGUES: Women Artists in The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection

April 7, 2025

CIFO is pleased to present its most recent exhibition, which explores the powerful presence of women artists in the avant-garde movements from the second half of the 20th century to the present—an approach never before addressed in the Collection.

This exhibition was jointly curated by Taiyana Pimentel, Director of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MARCO) in Monterrey, and Sergio Fontanella, Director of CIFO. MARCO will be the first venue to host the exhibition, open to the public from March 28th through September 28th, 2025. It will feature 71 artists from 23 countries and will showcase 160 works, including painting, photography, video, installation, performance documentation, drawing, and sculpture. The project aims to provide a multifaceted representation of the Collection through women artists exclusively, giving voice to narratives that challenge historical biases and outdated discourses regarding the impact of women artists on the history of Western art.


The exhibition is structured around three thematic axes, woven together from a deep study of the Collection and a comprehensive and critical curatorial perspective. These axes are:


More Than Witnesses.


This section highlights women artists at the heart of concrete and informal abstraction movements, particularly in Latin America (but not exclusively), which have been central to the Collection.


It combines a rich diversity of voices from postwar abstract aesthetic-conceptual movements to the present. With a geographical emphasis on Latin America, this section recognizes the crucial role played by many women in the development of avant-garde discourses across the region, featuring artists such as Lygia Pape, Lygia Clark, Gego, Mira Schendel, Martha Boto, Lidy Prati, Mercedes Pardo, Loló Soldevilla, Carmen Herrera, Anna Maria Maiolino, Liliana Porter, Fernanda Gomes, and Johanna Calle. In dialogue with them, artists such as Annemarie Heinrich, Grete Stern, Elena Asins, Dadamaino, Maria Lai, Teresa Lanceta, Sarah Morris, and Pae White are included to challenge traditional geopolitical boundaries.


From the Margins to the Center.


This section addresses social, ecological, and geopolitical issues from an international perspective, questioning power as an abstract construct.


Themes explored include:

  • Border conflicts and migration (Valeska Soares, Nohemí Pérez)

  • Issues of communication, misinformation, and ideological manipulation (Voluspa Jarpa, Priscilla Monge, Marine Hugonnier, Eliana Otta, Carla Zaccagnini)

  • Environmental crises and animal cruelty (María Fernanda Cardoso, Marcela Astorga, Donna Conlon)

  • Financial crises and economic inequality (Jac Leirner, Agnieszka Kurant)

  • Poverty and the center/periphery divide (Rochelle Costi, Regina Silveira, Daniela Ortiz)

  • The crisis of individuality in a radicalized society (Jenny Holzer)

  • Critique of power and ideological models (Adriana Arronte, Chantal Akerman)



The Body as a Field for Philosophical Reflection and Battle


This axis explores the relationship between women, power, and shifting identities, presenting the body as both a political and symbolic tool.


Notable artists include:

  • Barbara Kruger, Regina José Galindo, Mónica Castillo, and Eve Sussman, who explore the political dimension of the body

  • Ellen Gallagher, Martha Minujín, Barbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca, and Graciela Carnevale, who challenge socio-cultural archetypes

  • Ana Mendieta, Marina Abramović, and Francesca Woodman, who use the body as a medium for performance

  • Tecla Tofano, Lorna Simpson, Claribel Calderius, and Donna Huanca, who investigate the multiplicity of female perspectives on the body.





Photo Credits

  1. From left to right: Donna Huanca (USA, 1980. Lives and works in Berlin and New York), Cordón de Sangre (Blood Cord), 2021, Oil, sand and digital print on canvas. 68.9 x 112.2 inches. / Maria Fernanda Cardoso (Colombia, 1963. Lives and works in Sydney, New South Wales), The Art of Disappearance, 2001-2003, Glass showcase, plaster, metal, and archival butterflies (Kallima Paralekta from Java). 72 x 24 x 24 inches.

  2. Maria Fernanda Cardoso (Colombia, 1963. Lives and works in Sydney, New South Wales), The Art of Disappearance, 2001-2003, Glass showcase, plaster, metal, and archival butterflies (Kallima Paralekta from Java). 72 x 24 x 24 inches.

  3. Exhibition gallery view, from left to right: Claribel Calderius (Cuba, 1986. Lives and works in Merida and Madrid). El día en que desperté, 2021. Loom-wool. 70 x 97 inches. / Claribel Calderius (Cuba, 1986. Lives and works in Merida and Madrid). Conexiones III, 2024. Acrylic, jute, thread. 110.2 x 85 inches. / Eliana Otta (Peru, 1981), Untitled (from the Series Necesidades (Needs), 2010-2013, 29 photographs. 14.6 x 11 inches each. / Tecla Tofano (Italy, 1927 – 1995. Worked and lived in Caracas), Mi Tía, n.d. Red clay modeled, carved, and glazed. 8.7 x 10.8 inches.

  4. Exhibition gallery view.

  5. Exhibition gallery view. In the foreground, Adriana Arronte (Cuba, 1980. Lives and works in Havana and Madrid), Coronas (Crowns), 2014-2015, Installation of 30 resin and acrylic crowns. Variable dimensions. In the background, on the wall, from left to right: Ellen Gallagher (USA, 1965. Lives and works in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and New York), De Luxe, 2004-2005, A portfolio of 60 printed objects with aquatint dry point, photograve, spitbite, lithography, silkscreen, embossing, tattoo, machine engraving, plasticine, polymer, medium, pomade, toy eye, edition of 20 + 1 AP. 84 3/4 x 176 inches. / Lorna Simpson (USA, 1960), Practical Joke, 1992, Color polaroid. 42 1/4 x 25 inches.

  6. Exhibition gallery view, from left to right: Tecla Tofano (Italy, 1927 – 1995. Worked and lived in Caracas), Mi Tía, n.d. Red clay modeled, carved, and glazed. 8.7 x 10.8 inches. / Mónica Castillo(Mexico, 1961. Lives and works in Mexico City and New York), Almost Hyperrealism, 2000, Digital print, edition 4 of 5. 46 1/8 x 49 1/4 inches. / Ellen Gallagher (USA, 1965. Lives and works in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and New York), De Luxe, 2004-2005, A portfolio of 60 printed objects with aquatint dry point, photograve, spitbite, lithography, silkscreen, embossing, tattoo, machine engraving, plasticine, polymer, medium, pomade, toy eye, edition of 20 + 1 AP. 84 3/4 x 176 inches.

  7. Exhibition gallery view. In the center, Adriana Arronte (Cuba, 1980. Lives and works in Havana and Madrid), Coronas (Crowns), 2014-2015, Installation of 30 resin and acrylic crowns. Variable dimensions. / In the background, Barbara Kruger (USA, 1945. Lives and works in New York and Los Angeles), Untitled (We Are the Objects of Your Suave Entrapments), 1984, Gelatin silver print. 97 1/2 x 48 1/4 inches. / On the left wall, Lorna Simpson (USA, 1960), Practical Joke, 1992, Color polaroid. 42 1/4 x 25 inches. / On the right wall, Eve Sussman (UK, 1961. Lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y.), Girls at the Pool, photo from "The Rape of the Sabine Women", 2006, Digital c-print, edition AP/10 + 2 AP. 49 x 57 1/2 inches. / Eve Sussman (UK, 1961. Lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y.), Gomorrah I, photo from "The Rape of the Sabine Women", 2005, Digital c-print, edition 4 of 10 + 2 AP. 51.2 x 39 3/8 inches.

  8. Exhibition gallery view, from left to right: Nohemi Pérez (Colombia, 1962), From the Series Darién: Los Caminos de José (Darién: The Paths of José). Charcoal on embroidered canvas. 85.8 x 59.1 inches. / Maria Elvira Escallon (Colombia, 1954), From the Series Nuevas floras (New Blossoms), 2003, Giclee print on Photo Rag Baryta paper. 47 1/4 x 31 1/2 inches. / Marcela Astorga (Argentina, 1965), Móvil (Mobile), 2003, Cow leather belts and steel. 19.7 x 43.3 inches.

  9. Exhibition gallery view.

  10. Exhibition gallery view. From left to right: Marta Minujín (Argentina, 1943), Carlos Gardel de Fuego (Carlos Gardel of Fire), 1981, Super 8mm film transferred to digital, color, silent, edition 1 of 3, 1:21 min. / Marta Minujín (Argentina, 1943), Carlos Gardel de Fuego, de Algodón (Carlos Gardel of Fire, of Cotton), 1981-2009, Photocolor, edition 1 of 3 + 1 AP. 19 x 31 inches. / Marta Minujín (Argentina, 1943), Carlos Gardel de Fuego, ardiendo (Carlos Gardel of Fire, Burning), 1981-2009, Photocolor, edition 1 of 3 + 1 AP. 19 x 31 inches. / Marta Minujín (Argentina, 1943), Carlos Gardel de Fuego (Carlos Gardel of Fire), 1981, Ink on vegetal paper. 27 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches. / Agnieszka Kurant(Poland, 1978. Lives and works in Warsaw and New York), Multiverse. Minus One Dollar, 2012, 1000 coins, metal alloy, edition 2 of 3 + 2 AP. Variable dimensions.

  11. Exhibition gallery view. On the left wall, from left to right: Jenny Holzer (USA, 1950), Shark, 2003, Vertical electronic LED sign with red and white (pink) diodes and black aluminum housing, edition 1 of 6. 5 1/4 x 96 1/8 x 3 inches. / Jenny Holzer (USA, 1950), The Hand Desired…, 2006, Photograph pigment print. Edition 10/10. 43 3/4 x 55 inches. / Regina Silveira (Brazil, 1939), Inclusão Poussin (Inclusion Poussin), 1977, Silkscreen. 22 x 29 inches.

  12. Carla Zaccagnini (Argentina, 1973. Lives and works in Brazil), Reclasificados (Reclassified), 2011, Reclassification of classifieds, a series of collage on paper, polyptych with 122 parts. Variable dimensions.

  13. In the foreground, from left to right: Voluspa Jarpa (Chile, 1971), De las Ruinas y Letras (Friso) [Of Ruins and Letters (Frieze)], 2017-2019, Group of 12 plaster modules with metal structures. Variable dimensions. / Donna Conlon (USA, 1966. Lives and works in Panama City, Panama), Espectros urbanos, 2004, Color video with sound, 2:36 min, edition 5 of 6. In the background, from left to right: Daniela Ortiz (Peru, 1985), Casa Chavez (from the Series Habitaciones de Servicio (Service Rooms)), 2012, Work on paper. Variable dimensions. / Daniela Ortiz (Peru, 1985), Casa Capurro (from the Series Habitaciones de Servicio (Service Rooms)), 2012, Work on paper. Variable dimensions.

  14. Exhibition gallery view. In the center, Chantal Akerman (Belgium, 1950 – France, 2015. Lived and worked in New York and Paris), D´Est, Bordering on Fiction “The Twenty-Five Monitors”, 1995, Video installation in two parts, 24+1 monitors, made from the film D´Est, 1993. Ed. 2 of 3.

  15. Exhibition gallery view. In the foreground, on the left wall: María Martínez-Cañas (Cuba, 1960. Lives and works in Miami), Adaptation VIII, 2006, Archival pigment on watercolor paper, edition 3 of 3. 16 x 16 inches. María Martínez-Cañas (Cuba, 1960. Lives and works in Miami), Adaptation III, 2006, Archival pigment on watercolor paper, edition 3 of 3. 16 x 16 inches. María Martínez-Cañas (Cuba, 1960. Lives and works in Miami), Adaptation I, 2006, Archival pigment on watercolor paper, edition 3 of 3. 16 x 16 inches. In the foreground, on the right wall: Marine Hugonnier (France, 1969. Lives and works in London), Art for Modern, 2011, 8 Rives silk printed paper onto vintage newspaper front pages 2009. Oil, sand and digital print on canvas. 78 3/4 x 63 inches.

  16. Exhibition gallery view, from left to right: Jac Leirner (Brazil, 1961), Blue Phase, 1992, Bank notes and ink on canvas. 29 3/4 x 28 1/4 inches. / Jac Leirner (Brazil, 1961), Names, 1989, Found plastic bags. 25 x 43 inches. / Daniela Ortiz (Peru, 1985), Casa Chavez (from the Series Habitaciones de Servicio (Service Rooms)), 2012, Work on paper. Variable dimensions. / Daniela Ortiz (Peru, 1985), Casa Capurro (from the Series Habitaciones de Servicio (Service Rooms)), 2012, Work on paper. Variable dimensions. / Gilda Mantilla (EE. UU., 1967) & Raimond Chaves (Colombia, 1963). They live and work in Peru. Abstract, 2011, Projection of 80 slides (transferred to digital), Ed. 3 of 3. Variable dimensions.

  17. Exhibition gallery view. On the wall, from left to right: Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica, 1968), From the Series Enumeración de la Sangre (Enumaration of the Blood), 2003. 6 Kodak paper on wood, edition 1 of 5. 23 x 64.2 inches each. / Valeska Soares (Brazil, 1957. Lives and works in New York), Untitled (Picture from Paradise), 2001, Engraved mirrored stainless steel. Edition 2/3. 45 x 57 1/8 inches each panel. / Graciela Carnevale (Argentina, 1942), El encierro (Confinement), 1968, Photographic register of a performance, with 40 black and white framed photographs, edition 2 of 5. 12.4 x 8 1/2 inches each.



Participating Artists


Marina Abramović (Serbia, 1946. Lives and works in upstate New York)

Chantal Akerman (Belgium, 1950 – France, 2015. Lived and worked in New York and Paris)

Regina Aprijaskis (France, 1921 – Peru, 2013. Lived and worked in Peru)

Carla Arocha (Venezuela, 1961. Lives and works in Belgium)

Adriana Arronte (Cuba, 1980. Lives and works in Havana and Madrid)

Elena Asins (Spain, 1940 – 2015)

Marcela Astorga (Argentina, 1965)

Martha Boto (Argentina, 1925 – France, 2004. Lived and worked in Paris)

Claribel Calderius (Cuba, 1986. Lived and worked between Mérida and Madrid)

Johanna Calle (Colombia, 1965)

María Fernanda Cardoso (Colombia, 1963. Lives and works in Sydney, New South Wales)

Graciela Carnevale (Argentina, 1942)

Mónica Castillo (Mexico, 1961. Lives and works in Mexico City and New York)

Carla Chaim (Brazil, 1983)

Lygia Clark (Brazil, 1920 – 1988)

Donna Conlon (USA, 1966. Lives and works in Panama City, Panama)

Rochelle Costi (Brazil, 1961 – 2022)

Dadamaino (Italy, 1930 – 2004)

Maria Elvira Escallón (Colombia, 1954)

Romany Eveleigh (UK, 1934 – Italy, 2020)

Esther Ferrer (Spain, 1937. Lives and works in Paris)

Maria Freire (Uruguay, 1917 – 2015)

Regina José Galindo (Guatemala, 1974)

Ellen Gallagher (USA, 1965. Lives and works in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and New York)

GEGO (Germany, 1912 – Venezuela, 1994. Lived and worked in Caracas)

Fernanda Gomes (Brazil, 1960)

Sarah Grilo (Argentina, 1917—Spain, 2007. Lived and worked in Argentina, France, Spain, and New York)

Annemarie Heinrich (Germany, 1912 – Argentina, 2005)

Carmen Herrera (Cuba, 1915 – New York, 2022)

Dora Hersen (Puerto Rico, 1924 – date of death unknown. Lived and worked in Venezuela)

Candida Höfer (Germany, 1944. Lives and works in Cologne)

Jenny Holzer (USA, 1950)

Donna Huanca (USA, 1980. Lives and works in Berlin and New York)

Marine Hugonnier (France, 1969. Lives and works in London)

Voluspa Jarpa (Chile, 1971)

Barbara Kruger (USA, 1945. Lives and works in New York and Los Angeles)

Agnieszka Kurant (Poland, 1978. Lives and works in Warsaw and New York)

Maria Lai (Sardinia, Italy, 1919 – 2013)

Teresa Lanceta (Spain, 1951)

Judith Lauand (Brazil, 1922–2022)

Jac Leirner (Brazil, 1961)

Renata Lucas (Brazil, 1971)

Anna Maria Maiolino (Italy, 1942. Lives and works in Brazil)

Gilda Mantilla (USA, 1967) and Raimond Chaves (Colombia, 1963). Live and work in Peru

María Martínez-Cañas (Cuba, 1960. Lives and works in Miami)

Ana Mendieta (Cuba, 1948 – USA, 1985)

Marta Minujín (Argentina, 1943)

Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica, 1968)

Sarah Morris (UK, 1967. Lives and works in New York)

Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazil, 1967)

Daniela Ortiz (Peru, 1985)

Eliana Otta (Peru, 1981)

Lygia Pape (Brazil, 1927 – 2004)

Mercedes Pardo (Venezuela, 1921 – 2005)

Nohemí Pérez (Colombia, 1962)

Liliana Porter (Argentina, 1941. Lives and works in New York)

Lidy Prati (Argentina, 1921 – 2008)

Sara Ramo (Spain, 1975. Lives and works in Brazil)

Ana Sacerdote (Italy, 1925 – Argentina, 2019. Lived and worked in Buenos Aires)

Mira Schendel (Switzerland, 1919 – Brazil, 1988. Lived and worked in São Paulo)

Regina Silveira (Brazil, 1939)

Lorna Simpson (USA, 1960)

Valeska Soares (Brazil, 1957. Lives and works in New York)

Loló Soldevilla (Cuba, 1901 – 1971)

Grete Stern (Germany, 1904 – Argentina, 1999. Lived and worked in Argentina)

Eve Sussman (UK, 1961. Lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Tecla Tofano (Italy, 1927 – 1995. Lived and worked in Caracas)

Barbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (Brazil, 1980 & Germany, 1975. Live and work in Berlin and Recife, Brazil)

Pae White (USA, 1963)

Francesca Woodman (USA, 1958 – 1981)

Carla Zaccagnini (Argentina, 1973. Lives and works in Brazil)



Photo Credits

  1. Chantal Akerman (Belgium, 1950 – France, 2015. Lived and worked in New York and Paris), D´Est, Bordering on Fiction “The Twenty-Five Monitors”, 1995, Video installation in two parts, 24+1 monitors, made from the film D´Est, 1993. Ed. 2 of 3

 

  1. Ana Mendieta (Cuba, 1948 – USA, 1985) Butterfly, 1975, Super-8 mm film transferred to HD digital media, color, silent, edition 1 of 6 + 3 A.P, 3:19 min.

 

  1. Francesca Woodman (USA 1958 – 1981) Selected Video Works, 18, 1975-1978, 3/4 inch video tape transferred to black and white DVD video with sound, edition 1 of 10, 13:21 min.

 

  1. Marina Abramovic (Serbia, 1946. Lives and works in upstate New York), Nude with Skeleton, 2002-2005, Color video with sound, 12:36 min, ed. 3 of 5 + 2AP.

 

  1. Barbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (Brazil, 1980 and Germany, 1975. Live and work in Berlin and Recife, Brazil) Faz que Vai (Pretend to Go), 2015, Video in 2K, HD, color with sound 16:9, edition 2 of 3 + 2 AP, 12’ loop, 11:53 min.

 

  1. Ana Mendieta (Cuba, 1948 – USA, 1985), Corazón de Roca con Sangre (Heart of Rock with Blood), 1975, Super-8 mm film transferred to HD digital media, color, silent, edition 2 of 6 + 3 A.P, 3:59 min.

 

  1. Barbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (Brazil, 1980 and Germany, 1975. Live and work in Berlin and Recife, Brazil), Faz que Vai (Pretend to Go), 2015, Video in 2K, HD, color with sound 16:9, edition 2 of 3 + 2 AP, 12’ loop, 11:53 min.

 

  1. Barbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (Brazil, 1980 and Germany, 1975. Live and work in Berlin and Recife, Brazil), Faz que Vai (Pretend to Go), 2015, Video in 2K, HD, color with sound 16:9, edition 2 of 3 + 2 AP, 12’ loop, 11:53 min.

 

  1. Regina Silveira (Brazil, 1939), Campo (Countryside), 1977, Silent black and white video, 2:26 min.

 

  1. Barbara Kruger (USA, 1945. Lives and works in New York and Los Angeles), Untitled (We Are the Objects of Your Suave Entrapments), 1984, Gelatin silver print. 97 1/2 x 48 1/4 inches.







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