“Angry Young Men, Angry New Deals” by Wendy Cabrera Rubio, on view at anonymous gallery, examines state-sponsored art programs of the early 20th century, specifically the New Deal in the United States and the Misiones Culturales in Mexico. In her second solo show at the gallery, Rubio explores how two nations, emerging from economic crisis and social unrest, used state-supported art as a tool for shaping national identity.

The exhibition examines “The Struggle Against Terrorism,” a newly restored 1935 mural at the Museo Regional de Michoacán, created by American artists Philip Guston, Reuben Kadish and Jules Langner. Invited to Mexico by their mentor, muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros, they worked in the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Federal Art Project, hoping to inspire national morale and collective purpose. The mural depicts scenes of torture and intolerance throughout history, serving as a cautionary tale against facism. Though the piece continues to receive wide acclaim, Rubio questions whether it has become a tool of diplomacy and state control.

Curated by Jairo Antonio Hoyos and Tan Uranga, “Angry Young Men, Angry New Deals” investigates the idea of “soft power” — the spread of influence and ideological control through culture, education and aesthetics rather than through force. Rubio translates this concept into material form, using felt, clay and textiles to embody the idea of softness. The exhibition invites viewers to think of art not only as a reflection of its time, but as means of persuasion and ideological shaping.

The exhibition centers on a large, felt mural. It combines detailed, historical references, such as DARP’s logo and Guston’s drawings of Richard Nixon, with unexpected contemporary symbols, such as Pepe the Frog and Chad. Together, these details demonstrate how digital memes and artistic culture can inadvertently create visual forms of propaganda.

In another piece, Rubio strings puppets of Kadish, Ludin and Guston to the ceiling, their faces modeled after teaching tools once used to instruct Indigenous Mexicans in English. On a parallel wall, masks of Lázaro Cardenas, Manuel Moreno Sanchez and Franklin D. Roosevelt obfuscate the roles of artist and politician. Rubio suggests that both can become performers in the same ideological theater.

A bronze relief depicting the room which holds “The Struggle Against Terrorism” is represented as a museum plaque. This material choice turns the institution itself into part of the critique and asks, “What happens when revolutionary art becomes a historical artifact? When an image of resistance is absorbed by the very systems it opposes?”

Rubio reminds us that while state-sponsored art seeks to depict the lives of ordinary people, those intentions are often tainted by institutionalization and state control. Amid the illegal detention and deportation of thousands of immigrants from the U.S. — often carried out by ICE agents concealing their identities, using unmarked vehicles and circumventing due process – this exhibition turns to historical reflection to reckon with the political crises that persist today. As U.S. leaders continue to push the country towards authoritarianism, “Angry Young Men, Angry New Deals” investigates how art is constructed, represented and disseminated to serve political power.

Rubio, who is based in Mexico City, has three museum exhibitions planned for next year: Museum of Contemporary Art Monterrey (MARCO), Museo Universitario del Chopo and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona (MACBA).

— Clara Scholl