{"id":375455,"date":"2026-03-31T23:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/375455\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T23:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:04:11","slug":"mexicos-art-community-calls-for-greater-transparency-in-management-of-treasured-collection-the-art-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/375455\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico\u2019s art community calls for greater transparency in management of treasured collection – The Art Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"

The future of the Gelman Collection, one of the world\u2019s most significant collections of 20th-century Mexican art, is under increasing scrutiny after 350 cultural professionals signed an open letter<\/a> urging Mexican cultural authorities to be more transparent and abide by heritage laws in the management of the cultural treasures. The open letter follows last month\u2019s announcement<\/a> that the collection\u2014assembled by Jacques and Natasha Gelman and including 18 works by Frida Kahlo\u2014had been acquired by the Monterrey-based Zambrano family in 2023. Under the agreement, the Spanish bank will now oversee \u201cthe conservation, research and exhibition\u201d of the newly re-branded Gelman Santander Collection<\/a>, including 160 works.<\/p>\n

Though privately owned, the collection is complex: 30 works are national artistic monuments under Mexican law, requiring oversight by the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). Signatories, including the curator Cuauht\u00e9moc Medina and the artists M\u00f3nica Meyer and Teresa Margolles, emphasise that Kahlo\u2019s paintings are the most strictly regulated, prompting calls for transparency.<\/p>\n

Information about the Gelman Santander Collection\u2019s future has emerged in fragments. After initially announcing a summer exhibition at Faro Santander, the bank\u2019s new art space in Cantabria, Spain, followed by an international iteration, news emerged that 68 works from the collection would first be displayed at Mexico City\u2019s Museo de Arte Moderno. That ongoing exhibition<\/a> (original due to run until May, now extended until July) features ten Kahlo paintings, including the iconic Self-Portrait with Monkeys (1943) and Self-Portrait with Necklace (1933). The collection was last shown in Mexico 18 years ago.<\/p>\n

Exhibitions and export restrictions<\/p>\n

The collection\u2019s most recent public display was at the Art Gallery of South Australia<\/a> in 2023. For years, it was the subject of controversy due to curator Robert R. Littman\u2019s decision-making. He had been Natasha Gelman\u2019s adviser, when she died in 1998 and served as the executor of her will\u2014which reportedly indicated that the collection should remain in Mexico.<\/p>\n

While the ongoing exhibition in Mexico was celebrated, it raised concerns about the protected status of certain works in the collection, including ten pieces each by Kahlo and Diego Rivera, seven by Jos\u00e9 Clemente Orozco, two by Mar\u00eda Izquierdo and one by David Alfaro Siqueiros. Mexican law stipulates differing degrees of control over these works. Some, like those by Rivera and Orozco, may be permanently exported for exhibition, whereas works by Kahlo are subject to stricter controls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Kahlo\u2019s case, the prohibition of permanent export is definitive, with temporary exports allowed for reasonable timeframes,\u201d says Eduardo Pizarro, a partner at the Mexico City-based firm SMPS Legal. \u201cSuch agreements do not pose problems as long as they respect heritage laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Export permits are typically valid for one or two years, but on 16 February, INBAL\u2019s director Alejandra de la Paz told Excelsior<\/a> that a renewable five-year loan was planned. The signatories of the open letter are not questioning the ownership of the Gelman Santander Collection, but seeking guarantees of prioritizing its display in Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are asking is transparency from INBAL regarding the export permits and to prioritise and renegotiate the works\u2019 more permanent exhibition in a public or private institution in Mexico,\u201d says Francisco Berzunza, a historian and member of the collective Defensa de la Colecci\u00f3n Gelman<\/a>, the group that organised the letter. \u201cAn extended loan could endanger Kahlo\u2019s legacy as other collectors have unsuccessfully tried to relocate Kahlo\u2019s works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter also questions the characterisation of the collection\u2019s display at Faro Santander, by that institution\u2019s director Daniel Vega, as \u201cpermanent yet dynamic\u201d, and of heritage law as \u201cflexible\u201d and \u201csubject to exceptions for conservation purposes\u201d. At the same January press conference announcing Banco Santander\u2019s stewardship of the collection, Vega also stressed full compliance with Mexican law.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> posted on INBAL\u2019s X account on 11 March, the agency emphasised that it was acting in accordance with heritage law, under which it grants temporary export permits. It added: \u201cINBAL will not authorise Kahlo\u2019s works\u2019 permanent export or any other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Diego Rivera\u2019s Portrait of Natasha Gelman (1943) \u00a9 2026 Banco de M\u00e9xico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. \/ VEGAP. Photo: Gerardo Suter<\/p>\n

Pressure intensified following the publication in e-flux<\/a> of another open letter organised by Defensa de la Colecci\u00f3n Gelman on 18 March, addressed to Banco Santander and the leaders of European museums that will soon host exhibitions of Kahlo\u2019s works\u2014including the Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect the protection of cultural heritage and value the close and open dialogue we have with the responsible cultural authorities in Mexico,\u201d a spokesperson for the Fondation Beyeler tells The Art Newspaper. \u201cThe National Museum of Norway has great respect and understanding for the strong commitment to Mexican cultural heritage,\u201d Ingrid R\u00f8ynesdal, the museum\u2019s director, said in a statement. Representatives for the Neue Nationalgalerie did not comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe agreement does not imply the collection\u2019s acquisition or relocation, which remains owned by the Zambrano family, and respects Mexican heritage law,\u201d reads a 23 March statement<\/a> by Banco Santander. \u201cWe reiterate it is the owners\u2019 will and our commitment to return the collection to Mexico after the temporary export.\u201d The Art Newspaper contacted both INBAL and Santander, but both declined to comment beyond their prior public statements.<\/p>\n

Clamouring for Kahlos<\/p>\n

Despite the need to navigate Mexican heritage laws, institutional interest in Kahlo\u2019s work has never been greater. \u201cThere is a waiting list of museums wanting to show works from the collection,\u201d Borja Baselga, the director of Fundaci\u00f3n Santander, said at the January press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cScarcity is a factor in Kahlo\u2019s work, and these works are masterpieces,\u201d Berzunza says. He adds that most of her works are owned by institutions and private collections: \u201cThe Mexican state only owns one Kahlo self-portrait.\u201d<\/p>\n

The controversy over the destiny of the Gelman Santander Collection has even reached the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who said at a 25 March press conference<\/a>: \u201cOur wish is for it to stay in Mexico\u2014we should speak to those who have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

More details of the agreement between the Zambrano family, Banco Santander and Mexican authorities emerged on 29 March, when the Mexican newspaper Reforma<\/a> reported reviewing the 7 January agreement between the three parties confirming the \u201cfive-year renewable loan\u201d. A source close to the Zambrano family told Reforma that their goal is also to exhibit the works in Mexico.<\/p>\n

According to the agreement, per additional reporting by Proceso<\/a>, subject to renewals the collection will not return to Mexico until 30 September 2030, to \u201cavoid, as far as possible, periodic and recurrent returns, given the risks of handling and transport that could damage the works\u201d.<\/p>\n

At a press conference<\/a> on Monday (30 March), the culture minister Claudia Curiel stressed the importance of international movement, stating that the collection will return in 2028, as required by \u201ccustoms-related issues,\u201d and that its exhibition in Mexico is planned. No specific date was shared. She also announced that the Museo de Arte Moderno\u2019s exhibition of works from the Gelman Santander Collection will continue through July, until after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n

But concerns remain in the Mexican cultural community. \u201cThis perverts the law; the contract opens the unprecedented possibility of extending the works\u2019 export indefinitely,\u201d Berzunza says. \u201cWhy did authorities sign this agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n