Museo Jumex
Blvd. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 303, Granada, Miguel Hidalgo, 11520 Ciudad de México, CDMX
55 5395 2618
https://www.fundacionjumex.org/es
A museum completely devoted to contemporary art was something missing in Mexico City and the resolution to this conundrum became Museo Jumex, a modern building designed by renowned British architectural firm David Chipperfield Architects. The museum is located in the multipurpose Plaza Carso, which also includes fellow museum Soumaya (right across the street), in Polanco. The museum hosts the art collection amassed by Mexican multi-millionaire Eugenio López Alonso, the sole heir to the Jumex fruit juice company fortune.
Jumex is a Mexican company founded in 1961 by Eugenio López Sr., that originally produced fruit juice and canned fruit products (nowadays it has a wider variety of products). Eugenio López Jr. spent the 1990s studying art and traveling around visiting museums, trying to come up with ideas on how to showcase his father’s art, and the art that he would acquire himself. The museum was finally built in 2013 and now houses a collection of 2,800 works, which include popular works by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Gabriel Orozco. The cost of access is $50 pesos. The museum aims to project contemporary art through programs involving collecting, education, research, and the funding of artists and other museums. One of Eugenio Lopez´Jr.’s original inspirations for his devotion to art philanthropy, was to use his position of privilege to help talented Mexican artists.
Some can’t miss artworks at Museo Jumex are Dan Flavin’s “Untitled” (1963), Francis Alÿs’ “ When Faith Moves Mountains” (2002), Andy Warhol’s “Five Deaths” (1963), and Gabriel Orozco’s “Oval Billiard Table” (1996); there’s also Jeff Koons’ “Balloon Dog”, a tasty magenta sculpture of a larger than life balloon dog, which according to Koons, comes to represent the optimism in life, and juxtaposes the ordinary with the monumental, the reflection emitted by the sculpture is meant to inspire introspection in the audience as well. There are five of these dog balloons in the world, one of them sold at $58 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive artworks by a living person.
Museo Jumex might not be as flashy as its neighbor Soumaya, yet both compliment each other with different interpretations of art in human history. Visiting both museums, one after the other, might be the best idea.
