Current exhibition

Art as cosmic unity. Manuel de la Cruz González and Geometric Abstraction

Great master of Costa Rican art, Manuel de la Cruz González, is made known with the new exhibit in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery of the Central Bank Museums, not only as an abstract geometric artist but also his less known angle as theoretician and art philosoper.

“Manuel de la Cruz González has been known for his great contributions to Costa Rican art, fruit of his great plastic talent; yet few are familiar with the philosophy always tied to his artistic creation, specially during the years he engaged geometric abstraction”, explains María Alejandra Triana, visual arts curator of the Museums and exhibit.

The new exhibit, named “Art as cosmic unity. Manuel de la Cruz González and Geometric Abstraction”, is intended to show the evolution his art went through during the time he worked on this style, approximately from 1950 to 1971.

Two basic aspects are emphasized during the visit: how the artist built his abstract geometric compositions and which was his theoretic thinking behind them. “Still, the main objective is that people may enjoy his creations ” mentions Triana.

This sample selection is made up of 56 works, including pencil sketches, ink sketches, lacquers and oil paintings produced by the artist. Most of them belong to the Central Bank collection, yet works belonging to the Museum of Costa Rican Art, the Costa Rican Social Security Chest, and some private collections are also exhibited.

The exhibit is divided into 5 thematc areas enabling to see the way the artist produced his works, a comparison between abstract art and music, his relation to architecture, and finally, his philosophy of art “as cosmic integration”.

Also, some of the most important aspects of the artist’s life and historical facts that marked his approach to geometric abstraction are made known.