Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico

Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

March 7, 2021 to January 2, 2022 | Tower Gallery

Depictions of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and numerous saints play a vital role in Catholic communities in Mexico and New Mexico. They act as a focal point for prayer, hear people’s appeals for help, and express gratitude when that help is received. Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico features works drawn from the DMA’s Latin American collection that embody the active spiritual relationships between their creators, patrons, and communities. The works featured in the show are historical examples of living traditions that continue to be practiced today.

VIRTUAL TOUR

 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Ex-votos are a type of votive art—small oil-on-tin paintings commissioned by individuals to express gratitude for an answered prayer. The paintings pair a visual illustration of a miraculous event with a written account. Often hung in churches near altars dedicated to the holy figure featured in their creation, they offer a visual testament to the figure’s power. The ex-votos in Devoted each tell the story of an individual’s personal miracle and come from various cities in Mexico, including Mexico City, Puebla, and San Luis Potosí.

Create your own ex-voto to express a meaningful event in your life that you’re grateful for or a future wish that you have. Submit your stories to devoted@DMA.org or tag us on social media at @DallasMuseumArt for a chance to have your ex-voto displayed in Devoted. Download the template. ¡Actividad disponible en español!

MORE TO EXPLORE

  • MAKE
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    MAKE

    In Mexico, embossing is often created using tin and is referred to as hojalata. Many Mexican artists choose tin as a medium for sacred or spiritual depictions in the form of an ex-voto or bulto.

  • CREATE
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    CREATE

    Nicho boxes are an adaptation of the Roman Catholic retablos, which are pictures of patron saints or depictions of miracles, commonly painted on wood or tin surfaces.

  • WATCH
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    WATCH

    Join Paintings Conservator Laura Hartman behind the scenes in the Conservation Studio, including a close look at a complex 18th-century painting adorned with milagros.

Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art. The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of DMA Members and donors, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture