El Museo Latino Spotlights Carlos Mérida’s Art on Trajes Mexicanos

Visit El Museo Latino to view Carlos Merida’s art on traditional Mexican clothing.

Photo courtesy of Phoenix Art Museum

By: Xitlally Velasco

South Omaha’s Latino art and history museum is presenting a selection of stunning silkscreens by Guatemalan artist Carlos Mérida. The collection features work dating back to the 1940s during Mérida’s travels throughout Mexico. The collection features vibrant work on Indigenous groups and their traditional clothing.

Mérida is best known for creating Modernist abstract art that integrated Latin American culture with 20th-century European painting. He presented his first art exhibition at the age of 19. Shortly after, he moved to Paris, where he worked alongside Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, and Amedeo Modigliani. Mérida returned to Mexico and worked with Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo.

He worked on several projects that included graphic works, sketches, tapestries, stage sets, and costumes for dance performances. Mérida’s work was known for integrating colorful geometric representations of people, watercolor, oil, parchment, and plastic. He received the highest awards in both Guatemala and Mexico for his masterpieces. Mérida died in 1984 in Mexico City at the age of 93.

This exhibit will run until August 12, 2023. Visitors can attend on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday any time from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is priced at $5 for general, $4 for college students, $3.30 for K-12 and seniors, and free for members. El Museo Latino is located at 4701 S 25th St.

Xitlally Velasco is a University of Nebraska at Omaha journalism student with a concentration in public relations and advertising and a minor in Psychology. Velasco is the Digital Content Curator at Lozafina Marketing and Public Relations. Send your tips and story ideas to office@lozafina.com