Oaxacan Folk Art

Collectors Shepard Barbash and Vicki Ragan have spent decades studying and documenting the art and artists from the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. They have built one of the nation’s premier collections of Oaxacan woodcarving and ceramics, choosing works that reveal the innovation of artists from the region who both keenly observe local customs and expand the limits of the imagination. 

This exhibition celebrates the recent gift of their extraordinary collection to the museum. Following in the spirit of Barbash and Ragan’s work, the exhibition explores both the creations of Oaxacan artists and the transformative effect of the global art market on artist communities in the region.​

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website