We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art

In Mesoamerican art, colour served more than an aesthetic purpose. The use of pigments made from natural materials held great cultural significance in many communities, connecting them to ancestral practices and beliefs and to the earth itself. This is the focus of this exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which features more than 270 objects, including dyed textiles, mural fragments and ceramic vessels (15 September–1 September 2025). The exhibition is divided into seven thematic sections: three examine the roles of specific colours in Mesoamerican art, while others look at the history of colour production in the region. The importance of colour in Mesoamerican art and society is also explored through 17 newly commissioned works by Indigenous artists such as Porfirio Gutierrez, which demonstrate the revival of ancient pigment-creation practices.

Find out more from LACMA’s website.

Bowl (200–650 CE), Mexico, Basin of Mexico, Teotihuacan. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico

Fragment from Mural of the Mythological Animals (250–350 CE). Mexico, Basin of Mexico,
Teotihuacan. Acervo de la Zona de Teotihuacan. Photo: Javier Hinojosa; © Museum Associates/LACMA

Zacatlaxcalli Vignette (2023), Eva Peréz Martínez. Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Photo: Javier Hinojosa; © Museum Associates/LACMA/the artist