Guadalajara Artists at Galleria Dante
 PVNN
Back by popular demand, Oscar Solis and Juana Cortez, will be painting at the gallery on November 27 & 29th from noon to 4 pm. Always a treat for those who like to meet the artists and watch them create their masterpieces. And they will also be in attendance with Gabriel Colunga at the cocktail party from 6 pm to 10 pm on Wednesday, November 28th.
On Wednesday, November 28th Galleria Dante's "Meet the Artists Night" will feature three talented Guadalajara artists: Gabriel Colunga, Oscar Solis and Juana Cortez.
Gabriel Colunga
| | Libertad by Gabriel Colunga |
Born on August 14th, 1945 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Gabriel is the second youngest of 8 children, 4 boys and 4 girls, 4 of which are painters or sculptors. Gabriel: market analyst, serigraphist, radiology technician, self-taught sculptor and guitarist.
Gabriel, has worked in terracotta, but since he graduated to bronze, he works mostly in that medium. He has won awards for his jewelry in sliver and gold, which are generally miniatures of his sculptures. His creations are partly abstract, partly stylized realism and always contemporary.
When initiating a new work he explores dozens of possibilities considering his deepest feelings for a subject before forming a concrete design. He recreates womans figures in psychologically complex and extreme situations the woman, prisoner of her own emotions, a victim caught by her own actions.
Starting with elemental outlines, Colunga knows how to endow his sculptures with intense animation and spontaneous, natural movement. His extensive work covers the 16 plus years, since he entered the path to sculpture. It bears the seal of experimentation, the quest already consolidated in this trade sculpture which is more than learned and for which he lives, breathes and expresses himself.
Oscar Solis & Juana Cortez
Both great artists, but a matrimonial team. Oscar was born in Apatzingan Michoacan in 1958. He started sketching and coloring, like any other child, but excelled in the drawing classes. By the time he reached puberty, he knew he wanted to become a painter. He is self-taught.
| | Africana by Oscar Solis |
When he first moved to Guadalajara, he earned a living by doing portraits - knocking door to door. He was lucky enough to be accepted into the " Escuela de Artes Plasticas" in Guadalajara, but because of lack of money and his family's disapproval of career choice, he only attended the first few classes before dropping out.
On returning to Morelia, he fortunately found the newly opened "Fine Art Academy." It was there that he felt like a professional for the first time, and received a steady salary. His career has taken him from art teacher to artist, he has traversed Mexico in search of work to support his family.
Oscar Solis has painted murals, portraits, and illustrations for several books. In 1986, after having gone through several disappointments in the art world, he decided to give up painting, one night burning all his paintings, oils, paintbrushes and easels.
It wasn't until 1996, after more than 10 years of not picking up a brush that he decided to paint once more, but more as a hobby than to sustain his family. We are all fortunate that he did, as his talent is "awesome" to quote many vistors to the gallery. After painting numerous styles under various pseudonyms, he still believes his best works of art are his two children, Oscar and Maria Libertad.
| | Muchacha Chinateca by Juana Cortez |
As for Juana, she was born in Michoacan. She has a degree in biochemistry from the University of Morelia and has worked as chemist, mother and housewife. Once her husband became better known and busier, she started helping him out with his paintings until she finally had her first solo exhibition in Ajijic in 2005 at the "Gathering Place Gallery."
Now Juana has her own following and no one can believe she has only been painting a few years. Juana has a beauty that radiates from within, and it is this same light that she uses to paint breath into the women in her paintings.
Both artists paint in photographic realism: indigenous tribes of Mexico, horses, birds, nopales, Africans, maize, and more. They are proud of their culture and they love to paint their people. We just received 15 of their finest works.
Open Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm, Galeria Dante is located at Basilio Badillo 269 in Puerto Vallarta's Romantic Zone. For more information, call 222-2477, or send an email to info@galleriadante.com. To see some of the art work on display at Galeria Dante, visit GalleriaDante.com. |
Vallarta Weddings
Vallarta Living | Art Talk | November 2007 
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