Martin Ramirez. Untitled (Alamentosa). c. 1953. Pencil and watercolor on paper. The Museum of Modern Art. Latin American and Caribbean Fund and Committee on Drawings Funds. © Estate of Martín Ramírez. Photo courtesy Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY.
I first encountered the work of Martín Ramírez in the winter of 2007, when our neighbors at the American Folk Art Museum mounted a major retrospective of his drawings and collages. Making my way through the exhibition, I was struck by the vibrant landscapes and recurring iconography that appeared to reflect both twentieth-century modernization and the folk traditions of the artist’s native Mexican homeland: images of Madonnas; horseback riders, or jinete; and, as seen in this untitled work, a recent MoMA acquisition and the first work by Ramírez to enter the collection, trains entering and exiting tunnels.
