Come and meet celebrated artists Yvan Genest & Oscar Solis on Friday, February 11th at a cocktail reception opening from 6–10 pm at Galleria Dante, Basilio Badillo #269 in Puerto Vallarta's Romantic Zone.

Yvan Genest in an international artist traveling between Montreal, Paris and Vallarta - his three homes, where his art is much appreciated. This tall, gentle-natured man created his first exhibit in 1976, at Galeria La Chamade in Rennes, France.

Eight years later his reputation followed him to Montreal, where he exhibited at the Galerie Au Coin des Artistes. In the mid 90's his work was introduced to Vallarta and ever since he has been one of the main artists of the Vallarta Art Scene.

His experiences with different cities, other people and their customs are reflected is his paintings - airplanes, fish, trips, people. Faces take on a special importance in Genest's works, whether they be devils, kings or cardinals; that is where the expressions of the human soul manifest and define themselves. In Mexico he is particularly inspired by the freedom he finds in Mexican crafts and the colorful life here.

Yvan is a very interesting, unpretentious, and easy going gentleman. When talking with him it becomes clear that painting is not simply something he does; it is his way of being in the world - a way of communicating what he experiences in an effort to reach out and touch us in a profound way.

He will tell you that he was greatly influenced by expressionism of different periods, such as Francis Bacon, Picasso, Satin and Chagall. "For me, the important thing is simplicity, not the complicated. I walk down the street, by a door or a dog; something will motivate me and I paint it," he says.

Yvan has an incredible sense for color. His paintings are bright and cheerful, all combined with sense of freedom and fun. Even if you do not understand them, you want to see more of his paintings and are compelled to purchase one. In Paris, one writer described Yvan's work as " ... spicy, very hot taste that lingers in your head, your heart and your soul, even past the first exciting bite."

Yvan Genest 'City Memories' Statement:

All my life as a painter, I explored a great variety of subjects. "Among Shamans and Dreamers," my last new series, I am also revisiting a thematic that I painted more than 15 years ago, with my vision of today; the city.

Most of these scenes represent cities where I lived or traveled before. They are created from my memory and my imagination. Most of them are represented at dusk, my favourite time, when the shadows come to embrace the light.

I revisit those streets from an aerial perspective, as if I was a pigeon, so the viewer can land in the canvas and then wander into the painting, like I did once in the same streets. It is about the poetry and the memory of these places I once visited.

Note: "City Memories," which was shown in Montreal, had lots of success and brought 8 radio interviews and TV Talk Shows. Many of these paintings are in movies and TV series.

Oscar Solis: The great diversity of themes within Oscar Solis' paintings reflect his self taught skills, as well as a need to communicate his emotions in a simple and fascinating way.

Born in 1958, Oscar is a native of Apatzingan, Michoacan. He began to draw as a child, inspired by the comics that came into his hands. He started sketching and coloring, like any other child, but excelled in the drawing classes. Even at that young age, he was clear that he wanted to devote his life to painting.

By the time Solis reached puberty, he knew he wanted to become a painter. 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.

Oscar's career has taken him from art teacher to artist, he has traversed Mexico in search of work to support his family. He 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. After painting numerous styles under various pseudonyms, he still believes his best works of art are his two children, Oscar and Maria Libertad. And he and his beautiful wife, Juana are inseparable, as they often paint together. Now they inspire each other.

Today, this is his primary way of expression and he continues the creative process believing that more and more people will become familiar with and admire his beautiful art.

Oscar Solis' Statement:

Someone asked me, "Why do you paint?" to which I replied, "I drew the same things as any other child, sometimes more, maybe because my father gave me a sketch book when I was six or seven years old. Perhaps because at home we had some old paints that belonged to an aunt. Even today those memories are with me. There was only one thing that I was sure about at eight years old and that was, that I wanted to paint.

Today, for me, painting, is an activity of life, but it is also a job and a language where everything is silent. In realism there exists something far more evident, a dialogue, a communication of multiple ineffable relations - That is something small, but of the greatest importance that exists in what we to do day to day.

The opening reception for Yvan Genest & Oscar Solis at Galleria Dante is part of this week's Southside Shuffle, a fun-filled that gives everyone the opportunity to discover the treasures at twelve shops and galleries on Basilio Badillo and Constitución every other Friday from 6-10 pm through April 8th. Click HERE for more info.

Southside Shuffle Events at Galleria Dante

February 25, 2011 – Israel Zzepda (sculpture) & Oscar Capeche & Juana Cortez (painters)

March 11, 2011- Alavaro Zardoni (sculpture) & Jean-Gabriel Lambert (painter)

March 25, 2011 – Luis Valui (painter)

April 8, 2011 - Ignacio Guerrero (painter)

(Other artists to confirm: Boback, Peter Spataro, Edgar Martinez, Ute Hagen, Linda Kauffmann)

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 (322) 222-2477, or send an email to info(at)galleriadante.com.For more information, click HERE or visit GalleriaDante.com.