LACMA Acquires Alejandro Otero's 'Tablón 32' Through Collector Support

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has added Alejandro Otero's 1970s painting 'Tablón 32' to its collection through its Collectors Committee and Contemporary@LACMA group during the 40th annual Collectors Committee Weekend. Otero, a pivotal Venezuelan artist who co-founded the Los Disidentes group in 1950, created this work using Duco automotive lacquer, a material referencing Venezuela's oil-driven modernization. The painting belongs to his Tablones series, which he often produced in collaboration with automobile painter Pedro García Rubio, whose name appears on the back alongside a personal dedication from Otero to his daughter Carolina in 1988. Otero studied at Caracas' School of Fine and Applied Arts in the 1940s before moving to Paris in 1945, where his practice shifted toward abstraction. Upon returning to Venezuela in 1952, he contributed to major public projects like the University City complex designed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva, integrating art and architecture with works by international figures such as Alexander Calder and Jean Arp. 'Tablón 32' features repetitive color modules that create optical vibration, with the artist noting its evocation of rainfall and connection to Venezuelan landscape traditions. The acquisition is part of LACMA's growing focus on mid-century Latin American art and design, with the painting currently displayed in the 'Turmoil and Optimism' gallery within the museum's new David Geffen Galleries.