Museo Franz Mayer presents the work by Felix Tissot, ceramist whose career illustrates creative relationships in Mexico, the success of the collaboration between handicraft work and contemporary design proposals.
Felix Tissot was a French ceramist who worked in the film industry during the early 20th century. Later, he won recognition for his furniture and pottery design in California (United States); however, his arrival in Mexico defined his designer career.
After traveling across some states in the country weighing the relevance of indigenous crafts, he settled in Taxco, Guerrero. It was there that he saw the potential of the tourist market in the fusion of handicraft work and contemporary design. Later, his art production was characterized by the collaboration of craftspeople from Ameyaltepec.
He used to create ceramic pieces with modern volumetries and the Nahua craftspeople painted them with traditional motifs, this collaboration led to his line Fantasía. This production dynamic was part of the Cerámica Taxco workshop for 40 years.
Curator Ana Elena Mallet, along with the ceramist’s family, developed the exhibition for one decade. Its name, The Eternal and the Modern emphasizes the history of artistic collaborations and reconsiders the narrative of the term “cultural appropriation”.
In Mexico, there is a long and healthy tradition of collaboration between artists, architects, designers, and craftspeople. It is part of our creative network. And this kind of project makes it clear. -Ana Elena Mallet
Where: Museo Franz Mayer
When: Through February 16th, 2020