Since 1906, Casa Serra has witnessed the development of Mexican art. It began as a tlapalería (a traditional hardware and paint shop) and later became a supplier of materials for generation after generation of artists, including names of the stature of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. To commemorate its 120 years, the house presents the I Bienal de Pintura Casa Serra (I BPCS), conceived as a thank-you to the artistic community that has been part of its history and of the history of art in Mexico. The Biennial continues a competition for young painters held in 1999 at the Museo Anahuacalli at the invitation of Dolores Olmedo. Both CENART (1994), which hosts this first edition, and the I BPCS share a commitment to supporting the training, production and dissemination of the arts in Mexico, through education, research, exhibition, the supply of materials and day-to-day support of creative processes.

The Biennial is conceived as an exercise in continuity and responsibility, in tune with a history that values artistic work, the quality of processes and the relevance of the creative act as a cornerstone of the country’s cultural life. That is why the I BPCS goes beyond a conventional competition: it seeks to open a dialogue between institutions and emerging artists in order to “question painting itself, confront it as ‘painter-versus-painting’ to push its category forward,” as the I BPCS team tells us. The initiative aims to create meeting points where institutional backing, financial support and strategic connections can have lasting effects on an artist’s career, and thus contribute to the continued development of art and culture in Mexico.