Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Exhibitions by Montreal artists Yvan Genest and Jean-Gabriel Lambert open at Galleria Dante on Friday, March 8, as part of the South Side Shuffle. Stop by Puerto Vallarta's largest and most eclectic art gallery to meet the artists and enjoy complimentary cocktails from 6:00-10:00 pm.

Yvan Genest's New Exhibition at Galleria Dante

Galleria Dante is pleased to present "La hermosa Bahía," the newest series of paintings by the renowned artist Yvan Genest. This new show has been mostly inspired by Banderas Bay, the artist second home for 25 years.

"I always had the Banderas Bay in mind while painting this show," explains the painter. "For me, the Bay is a cradle of life and beauty where are born many of my ideas."

Yvan's Genest's new paintings are inspired from his life experiences, mainly in Puerto Vallarta but also in places around the bay, including Yelapa, Sayulita or Conchas Chinas.

"I spent so many nights watching the Bay's always magnificent sunsets, contemplating the stars, the solitary tiny lights of the fishing boats, or the millions ones of the cruising ships. Then the following day, a walk along the Malecón between two studio sessions would give me another burst of inspiration," says Yvan.

Yvan has been exhibiting in Puerto Vallarta for more than 20 years and never before his art has been so masterful.

Unconventional beginnings
Yvan Genest's career had unconventional beginnings. At first, his artistic temperament drove him to music. As a songwriter, musician and singer, he toured throughout Europe as a performer for many years, until he discovered painting, where he found an unforeseen ground for his fertile imagination.

For many years, Yvan worked and had successful exhibitions in Paris, while honing his art with renowned artists. A first trip to Mexico in 1985 led him to discover the profound spirituality of Mexican art. His first exhibition in Puerto Vallarta, in 1998, brought him immediate recognition.

From Paris to Puerto Vallarta
Since his first watercolors, sold door-to-door in his native Montreal decades ago, Yvan has painted and exhibited in many cities (Paris, Toronto, Ottawa, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, to name just a few), while building his unique and inspiring iconography. He has created thousands of paintings, drawings, watercolors, pastels, etchings, engravings, collages and digital works that have found collectors internationally.

Yvan Genest's maverick personality drove him to explore all paths of visual arts and develop his unique, shamanic and timeless imagery. A self-taught artist, he paints as a dancer dances, with both his body and spirit. His influences are diverse, from Mexican popular culture, Expressionism and modern free-form figurative painting, to specific artists such as Joseph Beuys, Rufino Tamayo and Francis Bacon.

An inspiring sense of infinite freedom
Yvan's luminous eye-catching colors and imaginative figures offer a fascinating world that dives into our own. His paintings, bright and cheerful, combine inspiring senses of depth and infinite freedom.

The artist will be present at his opening show, a great opportunity to discover and discuss with him his fascinating new production.

Jean-Gabriel Lambert

Colours, movement, depth, light and colours again: Jean-Gabriel's paintings are thrilling and explosive. From his first ink and pastel scribbles to his most recent acrylic canvases, this artist is telling us a story that has begun more than two decades ago.

A self-taught painter, Jean-Gabriel first studied Pharmacy. He then enrolled in theater school upon earning his degree. Jean-Gabriel has performed on stage and has also starred in a few movies. He later added singing to his artistic accomplishments.

Driven by an irrepressible desire to create, it's finally in the visual arts that Jean-Gabriel finds his true passion.

Drawing and painting opened up the possibility for an unimpeded daily practice: it's this great freedom that Jean-Gabriel has long sought. From the moment that he began painting, he knew that he'd pursue this endeavour for the rest of his life.

For the following three years, Jean-Gabriel devoted himself seriously to painting and took a few technical courses. He first acquainted himself with large-format oil painting before switching to acrylics.

As he had always desired, he starts practising his art daily and gradually asserts his distinctive style. His numerous trips to Mexico, which has become his second home, provide much of his inspiration.

Jean-Gabriel continually finds in his Montreal studio the same energy that propels him towards his daily ritual: his improvised movements are triggered by music and meditation. A tangible context stemming from reality is at the core of each of Jean-Gabriel's paintings.

Whether it's Mexico's colours or an emotion related to friendship or love, each painting is the realization of a simple concept. It is sometimes through series that the artist, with thoroughness and wonderful freedom, creates his artwork such as his Pierres précieuses/Piedras preciosas, his finely crafted and colorfully sparkling gems.

Holding the secret to the personal story that he has been telling from the very start, Jean-Gabriel gives us the clues through his canvases' titles: El espejo, La fiesta, Reforma, La pura vida, Madeleine, Volver, etc.

The beauty in Jean-Gabriel Lambert's art rests in the multitude of layers in his paintings. There is the artist's story and all the stories of each spectator. If they differ, there is always however an emotion as powerful that Jean-Gabriel's artwork infuses to its public.

Since 2000 Jean-Gabriel has been represented by several art galleries in Mexico and Canada. His public has remained faithful throughout the years which Jean-Gabriel greatly appreciates. He enjoys meeting people and sharing with them. "Love that we never tire of," says the artist, enriched from these exchanges.

Don't miss your chance to meet these talented artists for cocktails at Galleria Dante while you're out doing the South Side Shuffle on Friday, February 8 from 6-10 pm.

While you are there, be sure to check out Di Vino Dante, a chic wine and tapas bar overlooking the gallery's sculpture garden that serves creative cuisine and cocktails. Last summer, Di Vino Dante opened a small dining area on the ground floor in a corner of Galleria Dante, for those who like to people watch. This year, they've added lunch service in the garden, daily from 12 pm. Please Note: Di Vino Dante does not take reservations on South Side Shuffle nights.