October 29th is the date of the first Puerto Vallarta Old Town Art Walk of the 2009-2009 season. The folletos are printed and distributed all over town. All of the 16 participating galleries will be decorated with a theme of Day of the Dead, which is celebrated in Mexico every November 1st and 2nd, and some galleries, such as Corsica Galería, will display altars.

Galería Vallarta will feature paintings by Anita Rodriguez, the artist who specializes in art showing skeletons in all sorts of whimsical poses, but with lots of symbolism. Anita shows in New Mexico and lives in Guanajuato. Also featured will be paintings on the Dia de los Muertos theme by Cristobal and others.

Corona Galería will feature “Catrinas de Onate”, paintings related to el Dia de los Muertos.

NOTE:
Christmas and New Year’s weeks, the Art Walk will be on Fridays, December 26 and January 2 instead of on Wednesdays.

The Puerto Vallarta Art Walk will be held every Wednesday night from 6 to 10 pm through the end of May. Only on Christmas and New Year’s week will we change the day to Friday. All galleries are open to the public each Wednesday evening and most serve refreshments, wine, beer, Hors D’oeuvres… Featured artists are often present.

ALSO SEE: The Malecón Sculpture Walk on Tuesday mornings.

Ten International sculptors will converge upon Puerto Vallarta to participate in the First Puerto Vallarta International Sculpture Symposium (PVISS), which will take place January 31 – February 13, 2010.

What is a Sculpture Symposium? It’s a cultural exchange, in which sculptors from different countries come together to create work in a common environment. The City of Puerto Vallarta is a backdrop and an inspiration for the artists as they carve their forms in large blocks of stone.

This will be a unique educational experience for the community. Those who have a curiosity about sculpture and the process of carving stone in large scale are invited to visit the Symposium site to watch the sculptors work, and to exchange their curiosity and energy with the artists.

The Symposium Sculptors will also display smaller scale works during the two weeks of the Symposium at a special gallery Exhibition of International Sculptors.

The Grand Finale Exhibition of Symposium Sculptures will take place at the Peter Gray Museum of Art. All of the completed Symposium Sculptures will be installed on the Museum grounds and will be for sale, with a percentage of the proceeds to benefit the Peter Gray Museum. The Symposium Sculptors’ smaller scale sculptures will also be on exhibition at the Museum at this event.

An Educational Program will be held at Centro Universitario de la Costa Universidad de Guadalajara, in which students, faculty, and art enthusiasts are encouraged to interact with the Symposium Sculptors as they share their past, current, and Symposium works in progress via Power Point and individual presentations.

The PVISS 2010 Sculptors are:

• TOM ALLAN, Scotland
• JUAN CARLOS BEJARANO, Argentina
• MARTIN DISTANCIA, Mexico
• BIRGIT GRAPENTIN, Australia/Germany
• DAVID ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ BUCIO, Mexico
• WON LEE, Canada/Korea
• JOSE CARLOS CABELLO MILLAN, Spain
• DANA O’DONNELL, USA
• MANUEL PALOS, Mexico
• CAROLE TURNER, USA

Schedule of Events:

• Symposium site: Palos Talleres de Arte (January 31 – February 12, 2010), Calle Brasil 1039 in the 5 de diciembre neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta. The public isinvited to visit daily between the hours of 10-12 and 3-5
• Gallery Exhibition: Proyeto 512 Gallery, February 1 – 12, 2010). Exhibition of International Sculptors, 512 & 518 Venustiano in the zona romantica neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta.
• Symposium Sculptor Presentations: Centro Universitario de la Costa Universidad de Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta Campus (February 9, 2010 7-9 pm), No. 203 Av University, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
• Final Exhibition of Symposium Sculptures: The Peter Gray Museum of Art (February 13, 2010 4-8 pm), Centro Universitario de la Costa Universidad de Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta Campus

About the Organizers:

Dana O’Donnell has been creating art for more than thirty years. She is a part-time resident of Puerto Vallarta where she is represented by Galleria Dante. In Colorado, where she lived for twenty-six years, she organized the all-stone exhibitions, Stone Sculpture Showcase 2001 and 2003 at the Colorado History Museum. She has been participating in International Sculpture symposiums since 2005. She currently divides her time between Puerto Vallarta and Santa Monica California.

www.StoneSoulStudio.com

Carole Turner is a professional sculptor, commissioned and exhibited internationally. Based in Oregon, she is frequently invited to participate in International Sculpture Symposia and was recently honored to have her “Rhythmic Dancer” exhibited in Beijing during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She is the Executive Director of Columbia Sculpture Center, Northwest Stone Sculpture Association Board Member, and founding Board Member of Pacific Northwest Sculptors, Inc.

www.TurnerStudio.com

PVISS is a cross-cultural collaboration between Stone Soul Studio and Columbia Sculpture Center, in cooperation with Palos Talleres de Arte.

The 2009 – 2010 Galeria Pacifico Malecon Sculpture Tour begins November 17

by Rick Hepting

“Free” doesn’t often translate into “good,” especially for those who subscribe to the theory that “You get what you pay for.” But in this case, the Tuesday morning Malecón sculpture tour by Gary Thompson of Galeria Pacifico, “free” is great.

Every Tuesday at 9:30 am (from November 17 to April 11) Gary shows up at the Millennia Sculpture at the north end of the Malecón, just seaside of the Rosita Hotel and begins a two hour walking tour of the assorted bronze sculptures along this Vallarta beach.

There is absolutely no cost for this tour although Gary does occasionally suggest that people tip the sand sculptors and sky guys along the way. On this day we started with about 35 people and ended up with about 20. The walk isn’t hard, but it’s long and if the weather is hot, it’s a bit strenuous for the slower among us. Gary is quick and sharp, knowledgeable and humorous. He has lived in Vallarta for over 30 years and has run the Galeria Pacifico on Aldama in Centro for 21 years.

Gary Thompson has been hosting this tour for three years. It had originally been conceived of as a tour of artists’ studios, but that concept fell by the wayside as quickly as the artists forgot the dates of the tour and drowsily and in their pajamas greeted the tourists that Gary had in tow.

The talk/tour starts off with artist Mathis Lidice (real name, Fernando Baños) describing and discussing for about 15 minutes his massive landmark Millennia sculpture. Then the trek begins.

Each main sculpture on the Malecón is discussed as the tour stops before it, either by Gary or his volunteer assistant, Cathy Morrow. Even the InfoArte computers with bronzes atop are given passing mention. Gary’s method is relaxed and humorous and he provides many background details no guide book could possibly include. Gossip and scandal and human interest intersect at each stop. He discusses the artists as much or more than the sculptures, as he should, since their souls are the life blood of the cast metal.

There is ample time for audience questions and the group spends about 5 minutes on each subject. You’ll hear how most of the artists financed their projects with donations and how drunks climb and fall off the Sergio Bustamante ladder sculpture, “In Search of the Reason” (not a recommended activity – drunkenly climbing the ladder, that is, not the search for reason).

You’ll learn of artists’ love affairs and the political intrigues surrounding some of the pieces and the protests at their installations: “Bare breasts on the Beach!?!”

But more, you will learn of the men who created these sometimes massive metal objects, and why.

The end of the tour is more spectacular than the whole, finishing up in Gary’s gallery where all attendees are offered cold drinks and the opportunity to meet Ramiz Barquet, the artist who produced, without a doubt, the most romantic sculpture on the Malecón, “Nostalgia.” Señor Barquet is a man in whose presence you cannot help but feel humbled.

He sits in a corner of the gallery working on a sculpture as you enter and he immediately brightens up and will enthusiastically and gently answer all of your questions.

For anyone who has any interest in art or Puerto Vallarta history and culture, this tour is much more than ideal. It’s more than an introduction and more than a tour. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Tuesday morning.

To take this tour no reservations are necessary. Just show up at 9:30 am Tuesday at the Millennia Sculpture on the Malecón. I wouldn’t advise bringing children (you know how they are…) and if you have trouble walking long distances, the walk may be a challenge, but it will be a challenge that you won’t forget.

MORE INFORMATION:

• Galeria Pacifico, Aldama 174, Centro, Puerto Vallarta
• 322 222 19 82

With the support of the Ayuntamiento de Puerto Vallarta, el Fideicomiso de Turismo, la Asociación de Locatarios, Autoridades Ecológicas, the local and international press, the second “Festival Cuale-Cultura en Movimiento” will take place for 10 days from January 22 to 31, 2010. The festival will be a unique program with local and international artists and performers.

From December through March, twelve Puerto Vallarta artists are opening their studios to the public for one weekend each month.

by Alex Gomez

This summer, local artists Angeline Kyba and Cathy Von Rohr came up with the brilliant idea to gather together local artists with or without representation from art galleries and persuade them to allow visitors into their studios, so they could be seen working away at their art.

These artists have agreed to open their studios on a monthly basis. Maps are available at selected local galleries.

ESTUDIOS ABIERTOS – OPEN STUDIOS

• January 23-24
• February 20-21
• March 20-21

10 am to 10 pm

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
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