IPN Art Collection Exhibition Opens

Reporter: Adda Avendaño / Information and Photos: Courtesy of Cultural Outreach

The exhibition at the José Luis Cuevas Museum will run through June 6 and features works by renowned artists such as Raúl Anguiano, Manuel Felguérez, and Francisco Toledo.

As part of the celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), the Educational Services Secretariat, through the Directorate of Cultural Outreach (DDC), inaugurated the exhibition Aesthetics of Technique at the José Luis Cuevas Museum, located at Academia No. 13 in the Historic Center of Mexico City.

Featuring more than 40 pieces from the Polytechnic artistic collection, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on technique not only as a tool or productive means, but also as a sensitive language that permeates human experience. The exhibition will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 hours until June 6. Admission to the José Luis Cuevas Museum is 20 pesos, with free entry on Sundays.

José Antonio Cruz González, Director of Cultural Outreach at IPN, explained that the exhibition brings together works by prominent artists such as Raúl Anguiano, José Luis Cuevas, Manuel Felguérez, Francisco Toledo, Leonardo Nierman, and Francisco Castro Leñero, among others, to create a dialogue between different artistic disciplines and forms of expression.

“The presence of José Luis Cuevas’ work takes on special significance when exhibited in the venue that bears his name,” Cruz González stated alongside Lilia Cárdenas Trejo, Coordinator of Interinstitutional Relations at the José Luis Cuevas Museum.

Polytechnic muralism also has its own section within the exhibition, including references to works such as Man, Master and Not Slave of Technique by David Alfaro Siqueiros and Technique at the Service of Peace by Federico Silva, which encourage reflection on the ethical dimension of technological progress.

The exhibition also incorporates reproductions of emblematic works from the IPN artistic collection, including Allegory of Work and Allegory of Construction by Saturnino Herrán, which engage with the present through a historical perspective on the relationship between knowledge, labor, and society.

Aesthetics of Technique proposes a reconsideration of the role of technique in everyday life—not as a dominating force, but as a practice that, in dialogue with art, opens possibilities for understanding, sensitivity, and transformation.

In a context where technology constantly reshapes the way people inhabit the world, the exhibition reminds audiences that every technique is, at its core, a way of seeing, feeling, and creating: a meeting point where art restores the most human dimension of technology.

The exhibition is part of a collaborative network between the Instituto Politécnico Nacional and leading cultural institutions aimed at expanding and enriching the reach of its artistic endeavors. Through these spaces for dialogue and exchange, IPN strengthens an active cultural presence connected with diverse audiences.