The Pat Henry Studio has announced a series of Open Studio Evenings, and Friday, January 9, marks the first event for the 2009 season. Henry will welcome visitors to see her new direction in painting as well as a series of monotypes from 6:00 PM until 9:30 PM at Jacarandas 183 in the Zona Romantica.

Henry has been a well-known member of the permanent expat community of Puerto Vallarta ever since she arrived alone on her sailboat more than eleven years ago at the end of a solo around-the-world adventure. She financed that voyage with colorful, highly detailed watercolors of the ports where she stopped along her 40,000 mile voyage.
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For the third year in a row, Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery celebrates el Día de los Muertos with great beauty and solemnity, to commemorate and remember our Dear Ones that have passed on.

This year Alejandro Baez, owner and curator of Sol y Luna galleries, has invited seven talented Mexican artists to be part of this unique Art Exhibition. There will also be original paintings by the famous Mexican Master Chucho Reyes, whom the Altar will be dedicated to, as he was – and still is – one of the most important and talented Artists that Jalisco has ever given Mexico. The Altar itself will be artistically done with ornaments, flowers, candles and lots of Love and Respect.

Shaman Richardo will celebrate a Prehispanic Ceremony and the soprano singer Gabriell will perform beautiful songs. Selected paintings will be auctioned. Don’t miss this wonderful Celebration at Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery on Wednesday October 29th and Wednesday November 5th from 6 to 10 pm.

The Altar and Artwork of Día de los Muertos will be on display until Saturday November 8th at Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez 155 A in downtown Puerto Vallarta. for more information, call (322) 113-0475 or send an email to solyluna (at) yahoo.com.

SOL y LUNA WEBSITE

Galleria Dante begins 14th Season

There are always lots of new artist profiles to review, and never enough wall space for all the great artists who present their works. Many of the current stable of artists are experimenting in new mediums to offer the customer the possibility to continue collecting, even in a troubled economy. The local Art market has continued to increase over the past 5 years, and will continue to grow this season. Much art is a good investment and for many collectors has been one of the most stable markets to invest in. Mexican art and it’s artists are passionate, as are the people who collect their works.

This month we received new art by almost every artist. New works are arriving this month by Alvaro Zardoni, Luis Valui, Oscar Zamarripa, Pipo Brockman among others.

Twenty new paintings this week by Oscar Solis, Juana Cortez and Libertad Solis. When asked, Oscar Solis states: “ After years of painting portraits, horses, Africans, I want to make a break again. I want to play in a looser style. I want the freedom to explore, the courage to experiment and of course I want the sales so I have the confidence to continue. Artists are plagued with the constant insecurity of “will there be a market for my works?” Sometimes it is exactly that which holds us back. When I visit the gallery, I want to sculpt, explore other mediums. The gallery inspires me to paint and to better my works”.

Oscar Zamarripa – to know him is to love him. The saying a photo is worth a thousand words, well a smile by Oscar works the same way. Having been creating art for 40 years or more and still coming up with new styles. His famous two-sided stone sculptures with bronze heads, his bronze-headed bowling balls & cue balls, his use of semi-precious stones, seashells, lava glass and silver. You wonder when this man sleeps. And if you can’t afford one of his masterpieces, he does one of a kind jewelry.

Israel ZZepda, surreal artist from Guadalajara not only paints, but sculpts. Israel leaves a description of his pieces so that the gallery can explain his meanings to all those interested. When asked where he gets his ideas, he states: “ When I was young, my grandmother used to tell me lots of stories. And those stories still play out in his mind and he pulls from that catalogue of memories when he paints.” He does not sketch out his work on the canvas. He begins by painting one element and then from there more images appear. He used to paint a portrait, but he feels that too much realism caused people to focus on one particular image and not the meaning in his painting. So now he paints his female figures from memory, sometimes exaggerating the details, so that the over- all message in his paintings is more prominent than anyone figure.

Paintings by Leticia Schmidt, new to the gallery this season, she not only paints abstracts, but her encaustic works are mesmerizing. There is so much detail in the layers that you want to take a magnifying glass to make sure you do not miss anything. The colors are warm earth tones, which are a nice balance to the bright primary colors used by many Mexican artists. We will advise you in advance when Leticia will be visiting the gallery, as she is a delightful, young woman.

Galleria Dante is open Monday – Friday, 10am to 5pm at Basilio Badillo 269.

Galeria International is proud to announce that an art exhibition by celebrated local artist Philippo Lo Grande will be on display at their Marina Vallarta Gallery from Mar 27th to April 23rd, 2008.

Trained in Florence Italy, this gifted artist has been painting in the Banderas Bay area for 20 years, and his art is on display throughout Puerto Vallarta. One such example is the monumental mural the sacristy of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

“I’ll never forget how I felt when the mayor and the city fathers carried my 2 x 4.5 meter painting into the church to be dedicated,” Philippo said. “When Padre Ramirez announced ‘Now Philippo is a Mexican too,’ to the jubilant congregation, I felt that the outpouring of love and respect was not only for me, but for all of the unrecognized artists who ever lived.”

Known by many as the artist featured in “Which Way Por Favor,” the feature-length romantic adventure filmed on the sun-drenched beach of Yelapa, Philippo is a familiar face around town. The diversified artist plays music on Saturdays at the Yelapa Yacht Club, and loves to remind us of our childhood with his famous rubber band tricks.

Showing together with Philippo is José Alvarez C., an accomplished painter and sculptor from Mexico City. José has 25 years painting and sculpting in bronze, but after only one year in Vallarta, he has become a popular member of the art scene with paintings in homes around the bay, the United States and Canada.

Be sure to stop by Galeria International, Local #8 Marina Las Palmas Marina Vallarta, on Thursday, March 27th for this special event. In addition to an exhibit by these talented artists, you’ll enjoy live entertainment along with wine and cheese from 6-9 pm.

by Alejandro Baez

Dear Artists, Friends and Patrons:

It is an honor to invite you to the First Year Anniversary of Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery and Sol y Luna Art for the Uninhibited, which will begin with the Art Exhibition “Love is in the Air!” featuring works by two of our talented International Artists, Don Quade and Sushe Felix.

The opening begins at 6 pm on February 13th, with the presence of the Artists at the Contemporary Gallery on Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez 155 A in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Following the art exhibition at 10 pm, we will continue the Celebration at Flickers Roof Top Lounge Bar, located at L. Vallarta and Lazaro Cardenas in the Zona Romantica.

We look forward to seeing you and hope you will join us in celebrating this wonderful occasion!

Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery is located at Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez #155 A in downtown Puerto Vallarta.

MORE INFORMATION:

• TEL: 322 137 46 38
• EMAIL: solylunapv(at)yahoo.com
• WEBSITE: SolyLunaPV.com