Public Programs @ the Institute

Series: Roberta and Richard Huber Colloquium

Three Pioneers of Latin American Art History in the United States: George Kubler, Pál Kelemen and Leopoldo Castedo

Thursday, Monday, February 9, 6:00pm

Lecture by Ignacio Szmulewicz, PhD Candidate, Architecture and Urban Studies at Catholic University

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The lecture will focus on three lesser known cases of art historians of the first half of the 20th century who wrote fundamental texts about pre-Columbian, Colonial and Modern Art in the twentieth century: the Hungarian-born Pál Kelemen (1894-1993), the Spanish-born Chilean scholar Leopoldo Castedo (1915-1999), and Yale University Professor George Kubler (1912-1996). They all traveled extensively throughout the region beginning in 1930 and as late as 1970. Their journeys established the basis for the early stages of art historical methodology and understanding, through direct contact, experience, and photography, of pre-Columbian sites or Colonial buildings. This lecture discusses their personalities and diverse circumstances of encounters with Latin American Art and will open questions about the importance of their contributions to our knowledge through their explorations of sites, landscapes, and environments, as well as their dialogues with an extended community of scholars and institutions throughout the Americas.

Ignacio Szmulewicz (1986) is an art historian, curator, and critic based in Santiago, Chile. He is a PhD candidate of Architecture and Urban Studies at Catholic University. He holds a BA in Art History and Theory from University of Chile, and an MA in Architecture from the Catholic University. He was the Director of the Documentary Center for Visual Arts at the National Center for Contemporary Arts (2017-20) and has published books including "Mariana Matthews. Antología Fotográfica" (Universidad Austral of Chile Editions, 2025), "Arte, ciudad y esfera pública en Chile" (Metales Pesados Editions, 2015), "Fuera del cubo blanco" (Metales Pesados Editions, 2012), and "El acantilado de la libertad" (Kultrun Editions, 2015). He was the guest curator of “Bienal en Resistencia" (Guatemala, 2023) and the curator of “Santuario: arte contemporáneo en Valdivia” (Palacio Pereira, 2024), “Lejos, muy lejos” (Matucana 100 Cultural Center, 2023) and “Collective Roadmap" He writes regularly for La Panera Magazine, Art Nexus and Artforum. Currently he teaches Chilean and Latin American Art at Catholic University of Temuco, and University of Chile.