The exhibition includes Lola Álvarez Bravo’s “En su propia cárcel / In Her Own Prison,” 1950. (photo © Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation)

“Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography,” an exhibition tracing nearly a century of Mexican photography through the work of 13 photographers, will be on view from Sept. 1-Jan. 3, 2027, at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

The bilingual exhibition examines the artistic connections and cultural exchanges that shaped Mexican photography from the late 1920s through the mid-2010s. Featured photographers include Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Manuel Carrillo, Antonio Reynoso, Héctor García, Mariana Yampolsky, Rodrigo Moya, Pedro Meyer, Graciela Iturbide, Yolanda Andrade, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Cecilia Salcedo Méndez and Flor Garduño.

“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/revelación’ 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 Paz’s reflections on Álvarez Bravo’s work, the exhibition is divided into five thematic sections with titles drawn from Paz’s poem “Cara al tiempo,” or “Facing Time.”

The sections explore relationships among photographers who were friends, teachers, students and partners; the use of framing and perspective to transform everyday subjects; the connections between photographers and artists including Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Frida Kahlo; and photographers’ responses to social, political and economic changes in Mexico.

“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 Getty Museum’s Department of Photographs 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,” Pestarino added. “When these photographs are viewed collectively, recurring motifs and ways of looking emerge, revealing a complex tapestry of cultural and artistic dialogue.”

The photographs in the exhibition come from donations to the Getty Museum by collectors Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser. During the past 25 years, their donations have expanded the museum’s holdings of Mexican photography and form the foundation of the exhibition.

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

A panel discussion will be held on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. with photographers George Rodriguez, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Reynaldo Rivera and Yolanda Andrade. Moderated by Elizabeth Ferrer, the discussion will focus on working in Los Angeles and Mexico City.

Spanish-language guided tours will be offered monthly throughout the exhibition. A bilingual Spanish- and English-language catalogue featuring reproductions of works in the exhibition, essays and artist biographies will also be available.

The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive.

For information, visit getty.edu.