Art collector Patricia Phelps de Cisneros stood outside the Grey Art Gallery Monday night cradling and beaming at her grandson Tomas. She wore nearly the same expression as she walked into the gallery a few minutes later to give a tour of the exhibit “Geometry of Hope,” which features works from her pioneering collection of abstract art from Latin America.

The presence of her youngest family member at the opening seemed apropos: The promise inherent in a child connects to the themes scholars suggest the artwork represents and that the foundation espouses: hope and optimism for Latin America’s future.

And there was an even more personal connection for Ms. Cisneros: Collecting art that, many years later, is discussed in scholarly research and hangs on the walls of galleries at Harvard, University of Texas, and now, NYU, has had a parental kind of thrill for her.

On Monday, she got to show off both her art and her family to many important New York collectors, mostly friends from the Museum of Modern Art, where she is a board member, a group that includes David Rockefeller, Marie-Josee Kravis, and Agnes Gund. Also on hand were the curator of the Grey Gallery exhibit, Gabriel Perez-Barreiro; the director of the gallery, Lynn Gumpert; the president of New York University, John Sexton; the director of El Museo del Barrio, Julian Zugazagoitia, and the director of the Miami Art Museum, Terence Riley.

Ms. Cisneros’s husband, the Latin American press magnate Gustavo Cisneros, left the spotlight to his wife.

Baby Tomas came into the gallery in the arms of his mother, Adriana Cisneros de Griffin, who had just seen the Spring 2008 fashion show of a fellow Venezuelan, designer Angel Sanchez, for which she had raves. The collection is based on the “Geometry of Hope” exhibit (see p. 26 for a review of the show).

Ms. Cisneros de Griffin was eager to show her son the artwork she grew up with in her home in Caracas.

“I feel really homesick,” she said. “This one was in the entrance. I passed it every day on my way to and from school,” Ms. Cisneros de Griffin said, pointing to a red, pink, and orange work by Carlos Cruz-Diez.

At his home in Chelsea, Tomas stares intently at the art on the walls, especially the polka dots in many different colors in his nursery (Ms. Cisneros de Griffin has the same decorative scheme in her nursery). Tomas also has exposure to the written word through his father, Nicholas Griffin, whose novel “Dizzy City,” a work of historical fiction set in New York, was published this month by Steerforth Press.

Adriana’s brother, Guillermo Cisneros, who lives in Miami, noted a sculpture he used to bang on to make music. But it seemed inappropriate to recreate the moment in a gallery setting.

“It’s great to see it here,” Mr. Cisneros said. “It’s not home, but it is an intimate setting.

agordon@nysun.com