Eva Peréz Martínez, “Zacatlaxcalli Vignette, Nahua, Mexico, Guerrero, Xalitla” (2023), watercolor on amate, 7 7/8 x 11 3/4″ (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, commissioned with funds provided by Lillian Weiner. © Eva Peréz Martíne)
A new exhibit at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art highlights the genius of Mesoamerican artists with more than 250 works spanning 3,000 years
Certain Mesoamerican mythologies held that as the sun sinks beneath the horizon in the red glow of sunset, it enters the mysterious, black underworld only to rise again at dawn, bringing the blues, greens and yellows of new life.
This ever-present cycle of shifting colors formed Mesoamerican artmaking and is on full, vibrant display in the sweeping exhibition “Painted Worlds: Color and Culture in Mesoamerican Art” at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Spanning nearly 3,000 years of artmaking from pre-Hispanic times to the present day, the exhibition marks the first time in nearly 40 years that Mesoamerican art has been presented at the museum.
There are 250 works (30 of which come from the Nelson-Atkin’s collection), including textiles, ceramics, paintings, murals and codices. Though the exhibition is themed around color, subject matters range from cosmic deities to everyday objects. Curated by the museum’s Kimberly Masteller, not only does the exhibit explore the rich artistic traditions of Indigenous Mesoamerican artists, but it also roots audiences in the science and history behind their practice.
“Painted Worlds” opens with a map of Mesoamerica in what is now Mexico and Central America, detailing the cultures represented within the exhibition. Audiences then enter the immersive design of Sherry Huang, who repeated Mesoamerican themes in the interior design of the space, using colors and wall placement to achieve the effects of being inside a Mesoamerican cosmogram. Interpreter Sally Otis took the vast works and contextualized them for patrons through panels, videos and interactive elements.
Early on, audiences learn that within Mesoamerican cultures, artists held an elevated status — they were even thought to possess a divine gift — as they were able to form narratives through their craft. Masteller explains, “Artists using natural materials created works of art that are intensely colored and decorative, and enriched with meaning to shape the world around them.”
The exhibition is split into color categories of white, blue/green/yellow and red/black. Associations related to these colors are complex, multilayered and repeated in small and large ways throughout Mesoamerican cultures. However, in the most basic terms, white represents the beginning; blue, green and yellow represent cycles of nature; and red/black represents the supernatural.
“There’s this wonderful way that the artworks, especially in the (black and red) section, reinforce the direct connection of the artists. When they’re looking at black and the earth and what’s in the ground, they’re making the works out of materials like that,” explains Masteller. “We have works that are covered with tar that they just scoop right out of the ground or works that are made out of obsidian that they flinted like arrowheads.”
The brilliance of Mesoamerican cultures is also evident through codices on display throughout the museum. These painted books of “specialized information about the heavens, timekeeping, rituals, local histories and genealogies” were common throughout the Mesoamerican world, according to an information panel in the exhibition. However, what were once likely thousands of codices were decimated by Spanish efforts to convert Indigenous populations to Christianity.
Today, only 15 pre-Hispanic codices exist, including the Codex Laud on loan to the Nelson-Atkins from the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford. Because the deerskin, jaguar skin, gypsum and pigment codex is double-sided and folds out accordion style, viewers are only able to see nine pages of the codex. However, the Nelson-Atkins has created a digital interactive to allow for deeper exploration, including interesting details like the fingerprints of an artist, varied deities and a marriage almanac.
The codex is vividly colored and incredibly well preserved. “This book is over 600 years old and looks like it was painted yesterday,” says Masteller. The Florentine Codex, written by a group of Indigenous Nahua writers and painters, commissioned by Friar Sahagún of Spain, is also on display. These two works detailing both pre-Hispanic and Hispanic time periods provide unique looks into Mesoamerican beliefs, creation and culture.
While there is much for audiences to absorb within the exhibition, there are certain pieces that stand out. When considering a particularly meaningful work, Masteller chose “Set of Figurines.” These 14 figurines were uncovered in Teotihuacán in 1997. The mysterious figurines are believed to be mothers, children and midwives and were likely used in a tomb. Two women sit with baskets holding infants. Midwives stand near them in elaborate headgear. “Seeing this group together, I found to be incredibly moving,” says Masteller. These objects depict the importance of motherhood and midwifery, as well as the precarity of childbirth, which is still an issue today. Imagining the purpose of these figurines, “resonates across 2,000 years,” says Masteller.
Contemporary works are present throughout the exhibition and blend seamlessly, thematically and aesthetically. Present-day connections to Mesoamerica truly shine at the end of the exhibition with an artist studio from Zapotec textile artist Porfirio Gutiérrez. “Linia del Tiempo/Timeline” showcases colorful skeins of yarn that hang above audiences, as audio of Gutiérrez working plays overhead. Within the section, viewers can see how contemporary Indigenous artists are “reclaiming an old art for a new world,” as Masteller says, by using dyeing and artmaking techniques first introduced by their ancestors.
Ultimately, “Painted Worlds: Color and Culture in Mesoamerican Art” is a journey through time, culture, belief, and of course, color. Audiences are oriented in the exhibition through video, scientific explanation, digital interactives and even touch stations. However, with 250 pieces of art spanning 3,000 years, Masteller emphasizes that, “It’s the works that will stick with you.”
“Painted Worlds: Color and Culture in Mesoamerican Art” continues at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art through Feb. 8, 2026. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Saturday, Sunday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. For ticketing and related events, 816.751.1278 or visit nelson-atkins.org.
