Tom Swope Gallery debuts with Chinese and Maya antiquities and their ‘Unexpected Similarities’
Tom Swope’s first Mérida exhibition will highlight unexplained similarities between archaic Chinese motifs and Maya art.
Swope, a former antiquities dealer about to open his eponymous gallery in the La Ermita neighborhood, is inspired by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) and has examined Chinese jades in his own collection.
“I have been looking at archaic and early Chinese art for most of my life, from when I was first exposed to it at Harvard and saw the Grenville Lindall Winthrop collection in the Fogg Art Museum,” Swope says. “It was not a subject I pursued for study. At the time, I was most captivated by the art of the ancient classical world, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Later, I handled the art of classical antiquity. But early Chinese art is something I have always looked at and sought out on my visits to museums here and abroad.”
In the last two decades, Swope says he began to see “very fine examples” of archaic Chinese jades on the market at prices that seemed like bargains and early Chinese Buddhist sculpture.
Swope, who previously ran his operation in Hudson, New York, moved to Merida in the fall of 2019, selecting a house with a space to accommodate gallery space. But the pandemic “took the wind out of my sails,” he admits.
Now, he’s finally ready to open his doors to the public.
Swope explains that his interest in ancient art is “catholic with a small c, wide-ranging and inclusive.”
“I find the art of different cultures and times fascinating in that they illustrate the many different solutions different peoples came to with problems or issues common to us all,” Swope continues.
How are these similarities possible? The exhibition offers no conclusions. “I present these objects and images simply to provoke thought and illustrate the value of looking at Maya art in relation to the art of other cultures, times, and places,” Swope says.
“The purpose of this little exhibition is to present the objects and show a relationship that remains unexplained. In time, we will learn the why. For now, let us just look at what is in front of us,” he continues.
Tom Swope Gallery, Calle 64 597, between 71 and 73, opens to the public on Thursday, Nov. 14, with “Monster Masks — Unexpected Similarities in China and Mexico.” Hours: Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
Lee Steele is the founding director of Roof Cat Media and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012.
