Edith Farnsworth House in Plano to open free exhibition on mid-century Mexican design this weekend – Shaw Local

The Edith Farnsworth House will open a free public exhibition on mid-century Mexican design from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The exhibition, “Fertile Ground: Crossroads of Design in Mid-Century Mexico (1930s–1970s),” will feature remarks by curator Ana Elena Mallet at 1:45 p.m. and will remain on view through Nov. 22, according to a news release from Farnsworth House.

The exhibition was organized by the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City, in collaboration with the Edith Farnsworth House and based on Mallet’s curatorial concept, according to the release.

The site described it as the culminating exhibition of its exploration of Mexican Modernism, presented as part of Farnsworth Forward, a celebration of the house’s 75th year, according to the release.

The exhibition examines the development of modern design in Mexico from the 1930s through the 1970s and its connections to architecture, craft, industry and everyday life, featuring furniture, ceramics, textiles and other works.

The Edith Farnsworth House was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951 and is a defining work of international modernism. The site said its glass-and-steel structure creates a dialogue between distinct approaches to modernity.

The work of Michael van Beuren is featured in the exhibition. A student at the Bauhaus before its closure in 1933, van Beuren moved to Mexico in 1936, where he established one of the country’s influential modern furniture workshops, according to the release.

The opening weekend begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Chicago with “What We Carry: Design, Objects, Memory and Belonging between Mexico and Chicago” at the Chicago History Museum, according to the release.

The conversation brings together Mallet, Tatiana Cuevas Guevara and Jojo Galván, moderated by Iker Gil of MAS Context, and places “Fertile Ground” in dialogue with the museum’s “Aquí en Chicago” exhibition.

The exhibition is supported by the Illinois Arts Council, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Vilcek Foundation, according to the release.

The Edith Farnsworth House is at 14520 River Road, Plano.

This article was reformatted from a news release using artificial intelligence. A Shaw Local editor verified the information, edited the article and approved it before publication.