In 1958, Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA), whose headquarters were in the province of Córdoba, launched the I Salón IKA [1st IKA Salon], whose goal was to create greater exposure for local artists and their work. The Salon was originally limited to artists from Córdoba, but in the four subsequent editions the scope was widened to include artists from other provinces as well. In 1961, IKA decided to expand the parameters of the event, and organized an international biennial painting contest. These Latin American Art Biennials were not only promotional vehicles for IKA; they were also an expression of the company’s Pan-American policy, endorsed and promoted by the OAS through the Visual Arts Unit headed by José Gómez Sicre (1916-91).
Successive Latin American Art Biennials presented “exhibition tributes” to Cándido Portinari (Brazil), Pedro Figari (Uruguay), and Xul Solar (Argentina) in 1962, 1964, and 1966, respectively. The latter tribute was no doubt prompted by Aldo Pellegrini, the Argentine art critic, who was a member of the jury at the 3rd Biennial and who was also the first to write an essay on Xul Solar in 1967. This document is the invitation to the event honoring the work of Xul Solar at the Museo Provincial Emilio A. Caraffa, in Córdoba, during the 3rd Latin American Art Biennial.