Galería de Arte Mexicano

The Galería de Arte Mexicano (GAM) is a commercial art gallery located in Mexico City. Founded on March 7, 1935, it holds the distinction of being the first gallery dedicated to modern and contemporary art in the city. The institution has played a fundamental role in the history of Mexican art by providing a vital independent exhibition space outside of government commissions, promoting national artists, and facilitating the entry of Mexican art into international markets. Over its nearly nine decades of operation, the gallery has organized more than 1,500 exhibitions and has been instrumental in establishing both public and private collections internationally.

The gallery was established by Carolina Amor Schmidtlein in response to the closure of a temporary exhibition space in the Palacio de Bellas Artes. She converted an old studio in her family home in the Colonia Juárez into a gallery, with adaptation work done by Juan O'Gorman and promotional materials designed by Gabriel Fernández Ledesma. The inaugural exhibition on March 7, 1935, featured works by artists including Diego Rivera, Angelina Beloff, Antonio Ruiz, and Julio Castellanos. The first work sold was a watercolor by Beloff titled Niña con rebozo azul, purchased by businessman Carlos Prieto. Within half a year, Carolina transitioned to the publishing world and handed direction over to her younger sister, Inés Amor, who was 23 at the time. At the suggestion of Diego Rivera, the space was named Galería de Arte Mexicano. Inés Amor directed the gallery until the 1980s, becoming a fundamental figure in the national art context. The gallery relocated multiple times, first to General Prim 104, where André Breton gave a lecture series in 1937 or 1938, and then in 1939 to Milan 18 in the Colonia Roma, a space secured by Rivera to display murals removed from the Hotel Reforma. It remained at the Milan location until 1986 before moving to its current site.

The gallery focuses on the promotion and sale of works by Mexican artists and international artists closely linked to Mexico. Its holdings encompass modern, Mexican, and contemporary art. From its inception, GAM provided a platform not only for the Mexican School of Painting but also for emerging proposals like the Surrealists, including European refugees in Mexico such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. It later integrated artists from the Generación de la Ruptura and continues to feature contemporary creators. Beyond its commercial role, GAM houses one of the most complete archives of modern and contemporary art in Mexico, containing letters, photographs, worksheets, catalogs, books, and press clippings. This archive is frequently consulted by scholars, researchers, and curators worldwide.

Throughout its history, the gallery has exhibited and represented a vast roster of prominent artists. Early figures include Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Miguel Covarrubias, Rufino Tamayo, Frida Kahlo, Agustín Lazo, Angelina Beloff, Carlos Mérida, and María Izquierdo. Later and contemporary figures include Gunther Gerzso, Mathias Goeritz, Joy Laville, Francisco Toledo, Jan Hendrix, Flor Garduño, Stefan Brüggemann, Magali Lara, Yvonne Venegas, and Miguel Monroy. A landmark event in the gallery's history was the International Surrealism Exhibition in January 1940, organized by Wolfgang Paalen and César Moro, with involvement from André Breton. The gallery also holds rare works in its archive, such as a woodcut by Diego Rivera titled Vasos comunicantes, created in 1938 to illustrate the Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art by Breton and Leon Trotsky.

The gallery has occupied several locations. Its original site was a converted studio at Abraham González 66 in the Colonia Juárez. It later moved to General Prim 104, and subsequently to Milan 18 in the Colonia Roma, where it remained until 1986. The current gallery building, located at Gobernador Rafael Rebollar 43 in the Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec, was the first building in Mexico designed by architect Andrés Casillas de Alba. This site is situated a few blocks from the Juanacatlán metro station on Line 1.

The Galería de Arte Mexicano is currently located at Gobernador Rafael Rebollar 43, Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec, Mexico City. It is co-directed by Alejandra R. de Yturbe, Mariana Pérez Amor, and Juan Pérez Figueroa. The gallery remains active in promoting Mexican art, organizing exhibitions, and participating in the broader art ecosystem. It is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The gallery continues to prioritize the promotion and sale of Mexican art, maintaining a vision of elevating national art both economically and exhibition-wise while looking toward the future.