Singapore, 9 May 2025 – The Miguel Covarrubias: A Mexican Artist’s Fascination with the Pacific exhibition is a collaboration between the Embassy of Mexico in Singapore and the National Library Board. The exhibition is being launched as Singapore and Mexico celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations.
About Miguel Covarrubias
Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) was a multifaceted Mexican artist whose visits to Bali, during the early 1930s, ignited his fascination with the histories and cultures of the Pacific. His book Island of Bali (1937), which inspired so many other artists, marked a turning point in Covarrubias’s career from artist to budding ethnographer.
A self-taught sketch artist, Covarrubias arrived in New York in 1923, at the age of 19, having worked as a map draftsman and a cartoonist earlier in Mexico. He quickly developed a reputation as a brilliant caricaturist and illustrator for the popular magazines Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. In 1930, he married the talented Mexican-American dancer and actress Rosemonde Cowan (also known as Rosa Rolanda). The couple travelled to Bali twice, first as part of their honeymoon in 1930, and again in 1933 to complete their research for Island of Bali.
After his first visit to Bali for his honeymoon in 1930, Covarrubias earned a Guggenheim Scholarship to support his second trip back to Bali in 1933 which allowed him to complete Island of Bali. Beyond the famed book, his creations from his combined 20-month sojourn in Bali also appeared in other exhibitions and magazines. These works helped bring much public attention to Covarrubias’s artistry and ethnographic eye.
Eventually, Covarrubias returned to Mexico by the 1940s. He began focusing on the cultural heritage of his own country, particularly its southern regions. Rooted in his Bali experience, he continued to write and paint based on his keen observations of other cultures.
About Miguel Covarrubias: A Mexican Artist’s Fascination with the Pacific exhibition
Covarrubias’s time in Bali to mark a long fascination with the Pacific, as well as his own development from artist to ethnographer. This exhibition features 23 paintings and photographs from Covarrubias’s iconic representations of Balinese culture, marking the start of his fascination, to his magisterial murals, Pageant of the Pacific (1939), which comprises 6 illustrated maps (reproductions) vividly displaying Covarrubias’s study of the Pacific Rim’s interconnected histories and cultures.
His works also inspired those who came after him, including the four artists featured in the Untold Stories: Four Singapore Artists’ Quest for Inspiration in Bali 1952 exhibition - Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng.
Miguel Covarrubias and Untold Stories: Four Singapore Artists’ Quest for Inspiration in Bali 1952 Exhibition
In 1952, four of Singapore’s pioneering artists — Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng — similarly travelled to Bali and Java in search of fresh artistic inspiration. Untold Stories shows the influence of artists like Covarrubias on their vision of Bali and their decision to embark on this epic journey. On display in Untold Stories at Level 10 Gallery of the National Library Building is Liu Kang’s personal copy of Covarrubias’ Island of Bali, which Liu Kang initialled and dated 1949. The 1952 Bali trip culminated in an exhibition the following year, now regarded as a milestone in the development of Singapore art.
The Miguel Covarrubias: A Mexican Artist’s Fascination with the Pacific exhibition is held at Level 10 Promenade, National Library Building. It is open to the public from Friday, 9 May to Sunday, 3 August, daily from 10am-9pm.
-END-
About the Embassy of Mexico in Singapore
The Embassy of Mexico in Singapore serves as the official diplomatic mission representing Mexico in Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and Myanmar. Established in 1990, the embassy works toward strengthening bilateral relations since Mexico and Singapore established diplomatic ties in 1975. Under the leadership of Ambassador Agustín García-López Loaeza, the embassy promotes cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, education, and cultural exchange. During his tenure, the Embassy of Mexico has been engaged in the cultural exhibitions: Hanging Gardens – Mexican Roots at Gardens by the Bay (2022); Day of Dead exhibits at the National Museum of Singapore (2020, 2021 and 2022); Manila Galleon: From Asia to the Americas at the Asian Civilisations Museum (2023-2024); Tropical at the National Gallery Singapore (2023-2024); and currently Miguel Covarrubias: A Mexican Artists’ Fascination with the Pacific at the National Library Singapore.
For additional information, please visit the Embassy of Mexico in Singapore’s official website or consult its social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
About National Library Board
The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through its network of 28 libraries, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore. NLB also forges strategic partnerships that encourage awareness, appreciation and greater discovery of Singapore's history through its rich collections in Singapore and the region.
NLB achieves excellence through innovation, focusing on citizen engagement and co-creation, resource and digital innovation. This creates learning opportunities, greater access to library resources, services, and archival collections, as well as a continual development of innovative library spaces. Established on 1 September 1995 as a statutory board, NLB is under the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).
For more information, please visit the NLB website, and NLB’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube channels.
For media queries, please contact:
Steven Milon
Cultural Attaché
6298 2678 (ext.1006)
smilon@sre.gob.mx
Quah Jia Ling
Senior Manager, Weber Shandwick
9699 0830
jquah@webershandwick.com