Avianca Art Collection

The Museo de Arte Moderno in Barranquilla (MAMB), Colombia, in a joined initiative with Avianca, presents the exhibition entitled Avianca Art Collection at the MAMB, to be held from December 6 of 2012 to February 18 of 2013, in what is regarded as the first phase of this collaboration between the two organizations. The second phase of the exhibition will be held at Avianca's venue, from February 22 to April 24 of 2013.

The exhibition includes more than 100 works among paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures, and photographs selected from the 368 artworks Avianca has been collecting for several decades, in an initiative spearheaded by the company's board of directors during the 1980s. At the time the "Salón Cultural Avianca" was founded in Barranquilla, a cultural space that would eventually become the epicenter of the activities of young artists and intellectuals of the time, and one that aimed at promoting the cultural life of Colombians.

The Salón organized solo and group exhibitions and proposed a wide range of cultural manifestations. In 1981, it presented the first retrospective of the work by Alejandro Obregón and, in 2001, the last exhibition with oils by Frida Sargent and sculptures by John Castles.

Renowned artists from Colombia and several from abroad, contributed to shape the collection through exchanges and donations. Many of the works showcased in the exhibition represent the early stages of their artistic productions. Subsequently, Avianca continued buying works that have helped enrich the collection's patrimony to this day. Some of the most recognizable names in Colombian art from the end of the Twentieth Century that are part of the exhibition are: Pedro Nel Gómez, Alejandro Obregón, Enrique Grau, Eduardo Ramírez-Villamizar, Gonzalo Ariza, Santiago Cárdenas, Edgar Negret, Olga de Amaral, Luis Caballero, Santiago Cárdenas, Álvaro Barrios, and Fanny Sanín. Likewise, some of the most prominent international artists include: Joan Miró (Spain), Yutaka Toyota (Japan), Carlos Cruz-Díez (Venezuela), Rogelio Polesello (Argentina), and Arcangelo Ianeli (Brazil).

According to the 10 year loan agreement struck between Avianca and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogota, the opportunity to publicly appreciate this collection will be presented where the Avianca collection was recently presented. This allows for the establishment of alliances with other national and international cultural institutions to organize traveling exhibitions with the 154 artworks that are part of the agreement.