Pauline Adamek
The Getty has paired two new photography exhibitions under the umbrella “Photography/Fotografía: LA & México,” with both running from September 1, 2026–January 3, 2027 at the Getty Center. These exhibitions are presented in English and Spanish and are connected by their focus on photography as a way of recording cultural history, identity, and artistic exchange.
Above photo caption: Victor and Billie Backstage, 1982, printed 2026 Patssi Valdez (American, born 1951) Digital pigment print Courtesy of the Artist © Patssi Valdez
Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography
This exhibition traces nearly a century of Mexican photography, from the late 1920s through the mid-2010s, through the work of 13 photographers. Among the better-known figures represented are Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Héctor García, Graciela Iturbide, Mariana Yampolsky, and Pablo Ortiz Monasterio.
A particularly important fact is that all of the photographs come from gifts made to the Getty by collectors Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser over the past 25 years. Their donations significantly expanded the Getty’s holdings of Mexican photography and form the foundation of this exhibition.
The exhibition is organized around five thematic sections, whose titles are drawn from lines in Mexican poet Octavio Paz‘s poem Cara al tiempo (“Facing Time”). Its title, Instante/revelación, also takes its cue from Paz’s influential 1982 book Instante y revelación, which paired his poetry with photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo. The emphasis is therefore not simply on individual photographers but on the friendships, influences, collaborations, publications, and artistic exchanges that shaped Mexican photography.
The accompanying bilingual Getty publication contains nearly 150 images—12 color and 143 black-and-white illustrations—and was written by Getty assistant curator Julieta Pestarino, who also curated the exhibition.
Every Minute Is History: Five Views of Los Angeles
The companion exhibition turns the lens toward Los Angeles and its Chicano/a communities during the second half of the 20th century. It features five photographers: Laura Aguilar, Reynaldo Rivera, George Rodriguez, Patssi Valdez, and Ricardo Valverde.
What makes this show particularly interesting is its rejection of a single documentary definition of LA. The photographers employ social documentary, staged photography, fashion imagery, performance, and influences from popular media to portray communities and places that were often overlooked by mainstream representations of the city.
The artists also have distinctive relationships to LA’s cultural history. George Rodriguez, for example, photographed Chicano political activism and everyday life; Patssi Valdez, a co-founder of the influential art collective ASCO, made highly personal photographs and documented performances; and Ricardo Valverde photographed spaces and communities in which conventional boundaries of gender, class, and sexuality could dissolve.
The exhibition is curated by Arpad Kovacs, associate curator in the Getty’s Department of Photographs, and, importantly, brings together a number of recent Getty acquisitions. Kovacs describes it as an opportunity to better represent the museum’s local communities through its collection.
Why the two exhibitions matter together
The pairing is more than a convenient geographic connection. Mexico and Los Angeles are presented as interconnected photographic cultures, with artists, ideas, publications, and communities crossing borders. Moments in Mexican Photography looks at the development of a sophisticated national photographic tradition, while Every Minute Is History examines how photographers used the medium to reframe who and what counted as Los Angeles. Together, they amount to a significant expansion of the Getty’s photography program toward Mexican, Chicano/a, Latino/a, and Southern California histories.
Both exhibitions are free with a timed-entry Getty reservation (parking costs extra).
Photographs Council © Esperanza Valverde and Christopher Jude Valverde
About the Getty:
The J. Paul Getty Museum collects Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts to 1900, as well as photographs from around the world to the present day. The Museum’s mission is to display and interpret its collections, and present important loan exhibitions and publications for the enjoyment and education of visitors locally and internationally. This is supported by an active program of research, conservation, and public programs that seek to deepen our knowledge of and connection to works of art.
Visiting the Getty Center
The Getty Center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5:30pm. The Getty Center is open until 8pm on Saturdays, year-round. It is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, December 25 (Christmas Day), and January 1. Admission to the Getty Center is always free, but a reservation is required for admission. Make reservations online or at (310) 440-7300. Parking is $25, $15 after 3pm, and $10 after 6pm. The Getty Center is at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, California.
Brian Sonia-Wallace
Terry Morgan