20th-century Mexican photography exhibit starts in September at The Getty

The exhibit “Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography” will present works by 13 photographers, tracing a trajectory of Mexican photography from the late 1920s to the mid-2010s.

“Photography has long served as a powerful means of capturing both personal experience and collective history,” said Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle, Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “‘Instante/’ traces the creative connections among generations of photographers whose images offer profound insights into Mexico’s cultural life, while demonstrating the power of artistic exchange to shape how we see the world.”

The exhibition takes its title and conceptual framework from the 1982 book “Instante y revelación,” which pairs the poetry of Nobel laureate Octavio Paz with photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Inspired by the writer’s poetic reflections on Álvarez Bravo’s photographs, the exhibition is organized into five thematic sections. Each section is titled after lines from Paz’s poem “Cara al tiempo” (“Facing Time”), offering a lyrical path through the exhibition.

The 13 Mexican photographers whose works from the late 1920s to the mid-2010s are featured in this exhibition are Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902–2002), Lola Álvarez Bravo (1903–1993), Manuel Carrillo (1906–1989), Antonio Reynoso (1919 - 1996), Héctor García (1923–2012), Mariana Yampolsky (1925–2002), Rodrigo Moya (1934-2025), Pedro Meyer (born 1935), Graciela Iturbide (born 1942), Yolanda Andrade (born 1950), Pablo Ortiz Monasterio (born 1952), Cecilia Salcedo Méndez (born 1957) and Flor Garduño (born 1957). Their images record the transformations that have shaped Mexico’s social history and photographic scene during the last century.

The different sections at the exhibit will consist of: 

Lo idéntico y lo diferente / Identical and Different - This section explores the relationships between photographers who were friends, teachers, students and partners. 

La sensación y la percepción / Sensation and Perception - This section takes as its starting point early works by Manuel Álvarez Bravo from the late 1920s and explores the capacity of photography to transform the ordinary by means of cropping, displacement or change of context throughout the 20th century. Photographs by Graciela Iturbide, Pedro Meyer, Cecilia Salcedo Méndez and Lola Álvarez Bravo use similar strategies to emphasize light, texture and form, thereby creating a strong sensory experience. 

Lente de revelaciones / Lens of Revelations - This section presents photographs that turn everyday moments into poetic and mysterious scenes. By removing context and using selective framing, artists transform ordinary subjects into images that invite interpretation rather than clear answers. This approach is central to Manuel Álvarez Bravo and continues in the work of Lola Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Flor Garduño and Yolanda Andrade. The section also highlights publications such as “ Imagen,” “El Maestro Rural” and “Mexican Art and Life”, which helped circulate these works.

El ojo piensa, el pensamiento ve / The Eye Thinks, Thought Sees - The relationships between photographers and other Mexican artists, like Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, Octavio Paz and Juan Rulfo, are explored in this section through portraits and shared creative networks. It features works by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Rodrigo Moya and Héctor García, as well as photographs from Graciela Iturbide’s series on Frida Kahlo’s bathroom.

El tiempo no cesa de fluir / Time Never Stops Flowing - Featuring works spanning from the 1930s to 2016, this section shows how photographers documented and responded to major social, political and economic changes in Mexico. The images reflect key moments, from the so-called “Mexican Miracle” of the mid-20th century to the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa. Featuring work by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Mariana Yampolsky, Héctor García, Rodrigo Moya, Graciela Iturbide and Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, the section also highlights photobooks that played a key role in sharing and preserving these works.

“The photographs in this exhibition were taken over nearly 100 years, and they all address topics and concepts relevant to Mexico, a country with a rich history and multiple cultural memories,” said Julieta Pestarino, assistant curator in the Department of Photographs of the J. Paul Getty Museum, and curator of the exhibition. “20th-century Mexican photographers worked in close collaboration with each other, as well as with artists, writers, filmmakers and even anthropologists. When these photographs are viewed collectively, recurring motifs and ways of looking emerge, revealing a complex tapestry of cultural and artistic dialogue. ‘Instante/revelación’ presents the public ‘instants’ that reveal the many ways in which Mexico can be seen.”

All the photographs featured in “Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography” come from donations made to the J. Paul Getty Museum by collectors Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser. 

“Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography” is presented in conjunction with “Every Minute Is History: Five Views of Los Angeles”, which highlights five photographers whose distinct practices expanded representations of Chicano/a communities in Los Angeles during the second half of the 20th century.

Accompanying the exhibition, Getty Publications presents a bilingual catalogue in Spanish and English featuring full reproductions of the works on view, along with an introductory essay, section texts and artist biographies, offering readers deeper insight into the exhibition’s themes and artistic dialogues.

The exhibit will be on view from September 1, 2026, through January 3, 2027. The Getty Center is at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, California. Admission to the Getty Center is always free, but a reservation is required for admission. Make reservations online or at (310) 440-7300. 

On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition, Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m., moderator Elizabeth Ferrer will lead a panel discussion with contemporary photographers George Rodriguez, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Reynaldo Rivera and Yolanda Andrade. The artists will discuss the challenges, opportunities and implications of working in Los Angeles and Mexico City.

Spanish-language guided tours will also be offered monthly throughout the exhibition. See the tour page for dates and additional information.