October 2, 2005 – January 15, 2006
Upper Level Gallery

This comprehensive exhibition examines the brief yet prolific career of Ana Mendieta, and includes more than 100 works from numerous public and private collections in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1948, Mendieta was relocated with her sister to Iowa in1961 as part of “Operation Pedro Pan.” They were among fourteen thousand children whose political asylum in the United States was facilitated by the Catholic Church in response to Cuba’s Communist revolution.

Her personal and professional development was greatly informed by the experience of exile as well as the intersection of Caribbean and North American cultures. Incorporating her own body into multimedia and performance-based works, Mendieta used art to reconnect with her cultural roots and to explore universal spiritual themes.

Although she was only 36 when she died in 1985, she left a rich artistic legacy that has influenced subsequent generations of artists.

• Gallery notes 
• Press Release 
• MAM's Mendieta in Miami map and guide 
  

Ana Mendieta Untitled (Body Tracks), 1974, Lifetime color photograph, 10 x 8 in. Copyright of the Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York

Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985 was organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. and curated by Olga Viso.

The exhibition is made possible by The Henry Luce Foundation, the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation, and The Judith Rothschild Foundation.

Initial research was supported by Craig Robins and a Curatorial Research Fellowship from the Getty Grant Program. Additional support for the exhibition catalog was made possible through the generosity of Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz and Isabel and Ricardo Ernst.

In Miami, the exhibition is supported by Miami Art Museum's Annual Exhibition Fund and is coordinated by Assistant Director for Special Projects/Curator Lorie Mertes and Curatorial Research Assistant René Morales.