From the time of its founding, the Club de Grabado de Montevideo (CGM) not only used all means available to disseminate printmaking in an array of spheres, but also attempted to make contact with cultural institutions and players from other countries (the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Alliance Française, cultural delegates of East Germany, the Goethe Institut, and others). Those institutions furthered the CMG’s efforts at international outreach and facilitated support, as well as helping the club obtain grants to expand its studies. This document—the announcement of an exhibition of a group of CGM artists in Sèvres, France to be held on March 22, 1968—attests to one case where the club worked outside the local sphere. The fact that the show in question enjoyed government support is evident in the presentation by the Uruguayan delegate to the UNESCO and by the director of the International Center of Pedagogical Studies in Sèvres. Jorge Calvete’s text focuses on the independence of the club and on its choice of printmaking for technical and social reasons. Paraphrasing one of the club’s founding principles, Calvete speaks of “the need to take culture to the masses.” He mentions that the members of the CGM are respected artists in Uruguay, and that their work is found “in galleries and museums the world over.” Of the twelve artists in the show, Calvete mentions specifically Luis Mazzey (1895–1983), Leonilda González (1923–2017), Luis Solari (1918–93), Hugo Alíes (b. 1945), Gladys Afamado (b. 1928), and Gloria Carrerou (1919–82)—all of them important artists in the sixties.
[For further reading see, in the ICAA digital archive, the following texts published by the Club de Grabado de Montevideo: “Concurso de grabado para edición” (doc. no. 863481), “13 años de actividad de Club de Grabado de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1183571), “El arte correo en el Uruguay” (doc. no. 1191850), “Boletín N° 7 Club de Grabado de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1182833), “Club de Grabado compra su casa” (doc. no. 1192649), “Club de Grabado de Montevideo 22 Aniversario 1953 - Agosto 1975” (doc. no. 1183514), “Club de Grabado de Montevideo a la población de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1183124), “Cuando el Tercer Mundo se mira a sí mismo. II Bienal de La Habana” (doc. no. 1184459), “De los grabados de ayer a las ediciones actuales” (doc. no. 1191787), “Definiciones / Uno” (doc. no. 1189065), “Entrevista a Luis Mazzey” (doc. no. 1186991), “Entrevista a Óscar Ferrando” (doc. no. 1186747), “Entrevista a Óscar Ferrando [segunda parte]” (doc. no. 1186802), “Fundamentos a propósito de su 22 aniversario” (doc. no. 1182640), “Mini Grabado Internacional de Cadaqués. España” (doc. no. 1191135), “La necesidad de la imaginación” (doc. no. 1190793), “Nuestra institución” (doc. no. 1182010), “Los nuevos movimientos de las artes” (doc. no. 1182868), “Opiniones (I)” (doc. no. 1185411), “Palabras de clausura para un año de apertura” (doc. no. 1191167), “Referencias sobre identidad, cultura y arte en Latinoamérica” (doc. no. 1183641), “Reflexiones en torno a la supuesta crisis de las artes plásticas” (doc. no. 1185539), and “Sobre el papel de la crítica” (doc. no. 1187071)].