John O’Connor reviews the exhibition Latin America: New Paintings and Sculpture. Juan Downey, Agustín Fernández, Gego, and Gabriel Morera (New York: Art Gallery of the Center for Inter-American Relations, 1969). O’Connor acknowledges the efforts made by both the Center and the Gallery to promote Latin American cultural values that are as yet little known in the United States. He particularly references the director of the Gallery, Stanton Loomis Catlin, who has worked tirelessly to promote Latin American artists who express themselves in the languages of modern art, and downplays simplifications based on nativist or regional points of view. O’Connor claims that Latin American artists are hampered by the apathy of a conservative public in their own countries, and run the risk of resorting to imitation.

This review by the North American critic John O’Connor (1933–2009) is one of the few reactions from the New York press to the exhibition Latin America: New Paintings and Sculpture. Juan Downey, Agustín Fernández, Gego, and Gabriel Morera, at the Art Gallery of the Center for Inter-American Relations (1969), and in particular to the Reticulárea (the installation created in that same year), the signature work by the German-born Venezuela artist Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt, 1912–1994). O’Connor’s article refers to some of the problems concerning Latin American art, such as its identity and its legitimacy vis-à-vis the rest of the world. It is of interest to note that (in 1969) attempts were made to rid Latin American art of its exotic image and the simplistic interpretations that sought to diminish its undeniable values. This movement, however, would not gain traction until many years later when it was energetically endorsed by Latin American curators and researchers, and of course, by the innovative work of Latin American artists. 

With regard to the Reticulárea, although the press paid scant attention to the exhibition, Gego’s piece piqued the interest of many intellectuals, artists, and collectors, as demonstrated by the correspondence the artist received at the time.

It should be noted that this was the only time that Reticulárea was shown outside of Venezuela, and it took a monumental effort to transport it from where it was originally installed at the Museo de Bellas Artes [Museum of Fine Arts] in Caracas. The New York exhibition, as distinct from the one in Caracas, was assembled in a tent, requiring a considerable amount of design, planning, and installation work. Once back in Venezuela, the work has remained in Caracas, at the Galería de Arte Nacional [National Art Gallery] (GAN, now once again the home of the Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas).

This document is among those selected for the bilingual book Desenredando la red. La Reticulárea de Gego. Una antología de respuestas críticas / Untangling the Web: Gego’s Reticulárea, An Anthology of Critical Response, María Elena Huizi and Ester Crespin (organizers)—to be published by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Fundación Gego, Caracas.