More than 100 Pictures from the Celebrated Mexican Photographer Showcase Her Full Career at The Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) in Balboa Park
SAN DIEGO, CA (February 2, 2026) – The Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA) is proud to announce its upcoming exhibition, Graciela Iturbide: Photographs from Colecciones Fundación Mapfre, a remarkable opportunity to see a solo exhibition of photography from the internationally recognized Mexican artist. Running from February 14 through June 7, 2026, the exhibition includes some of Iturbide’s most iconic photographs and features approximately 150 pictures by the artist.
Known for capturing the daily lives of women and Indigenous peoples, Iturbide (b. 1942) has spent more than 50 years bringing a singular poetic eye to images of her native Mexico and abroad. Themes explored through the exhibition include Indigenous communities in Mexico, rituals of celebration and death, travels abroad to India, Italy, and the United States, botanical gardens, landscapes and objects, and self-portraits. An additional section of the exhibition shows a selection of Iturbide’s photographs of Frida Kahlo’s bathroom, which was sealed following Kahlo’s death, and opened 50 years later for Iturbide to photograph, providing an intimate glimpse into Kahlo’s life. This exhibition is a rare opportunity to celebrate the global reach of Iturbide’s vision in her long and varied career.
“We are truly honored to display Graciela Iturbide’s work at the Museum,” said Roxana Velásquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director and CEO of The San Diego Museum of Art. “She is considered Latin America’s best-known living photographer, and her images portray a unique and moving perspective on her homeland of Mexico, the Indigenous peoples of Mexico, and her worldwide travels. From my time spent as executive director of national museums in Mexico City to today, I have long admired her work and I am especially honored to be sharing them in San Diego.”
About Graciela Iturbide
Iturbide began her career in the late 1960s while she was studying filmmaking in Mexico City working with legendary photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902–2002). Like Álvarez Bravo, she focused on capturing Mexico’s rich interweaving of cultures. She brought to her work a personal sense of metaphor and symbolism infused with dreams and mortality. Iturbide has deeply immersed herself in Mexico’s Indigenous communities, often highlighting women’s experiences and bringing a more balanced and sensitive portrayal to marginalized groups.
The early decades of her art centered on Latin American people and customs, and since the 1980s, she has expanded her travels and focused increasingly on objects and landscapes while creating starker, more abstract compositions.
Iturbide is the 2025 recipient of the internationally prestigious Princess of the Asturias Award for the Arts; a Guggenheim Fellowship; the Hasselblad Foundation Photography Award; and the Lucie Award for Achievement in Fine Art; among many others. Her works are in the permanent collections of museums around the world including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; and The San Diego Museum of Art. Iturbide lives and works in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico.
Exhibition Details
Graciela Iturbide: Photographs from Colecciones Fundación Mapfre
- Dates: February 14 – June 7, 2026
- Location: Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA), 1649 El Prado, Casa de Balboa, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, 92101
- Tickets: Members receive complimentary admission; Museum general admission tickets are required for nonmembers.
Organized by Fundación Mapfre, the exhibition was recently on view at The International Center of Photography in New York. San Diego’s presentation will also include works by Iturbide from the SDMA collection. Following display in San Diego, the exhibition will travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The exhibition is complemented by Graciela Iturbide, a publication from Mapfre that is the most comprehensive survey to date on Iturbide’s work. The publication will be available at the MOPA@SDMA Store and online. The San Diego exhibition is further complemented by art-making workshops and other community programming.
Funding for this exhibition is made possible with support from Susan and Frank Kockritz. Institutional support is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the members of The San Diego Museum of Art.
To purchase tickets and for more information about MOPA@SDMA, visit https://www.sdmart.org/visit-mopa-at-sdma/.
About The San Diego Museum of Art
Providing a rich and diverse cultural experience, The San Diego Museum of Art houses some of the world’s finest art. Located in the heart of Balboa Park, the Museum’s internationally renowned collection of more than 35,000 works—dating from 3000 BC to present day—includes Spanish and Italian old masters, the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of South Asian paintings, East Asian art, art from the Americas, Modern and Contemporary art, and the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA). The Museum regularly features major exhibitions of art from around the world, as well as extensive cultural and community engagement programs for all ages. The San Diego Museum of Art hosts experiences that invite visitors to explore art through music, dance, film, food, and so much more. At The San Diego Museum of Art, exhibition text is always in English and Spanish.
The San Diego Museum of Art is located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, 92101. The Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art is located at 1649 El Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, 92101.
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