On April 22nd Israel Zzepda travels to the island of Sardinia, Italy to celebrate, with all of Italy, the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of the Italian Republic and the 120th Anniversary of one of its most important socialist fighters, Antonio Gramsci.

As part of the celebration, Sardinia has proposed an international culture symposium that will include theater, jazz, dance, poetry, literature, film, modern art, and other forms of artistic expression. With the backing of the Italian government, the Bank of Sardinia and the European community, they have invited several artists from Spain, Mexico, United States and, of course, Italy to participate.

From all of Mexico there are only two artists invited to participate, a sculptor who lives in Valencia, Spain and Israel Zzepda an artist from Guadalajara, Mexico. Israel will spend 30 plus days collaborating on the painting of two murals with the theme of liberty and the socialist fight, in different social institutes. Following that, he will also teach a course in mural painting for 15 days, to young artists from the University of Sardinia.

At the end of this event, Israel's objective is to spend two weeks visiting museums in the cities of Florence, Rome, Venice and Madrid, visits that he says will nourish him as an artist. He returns to Mexico on June 26th. We wish him an amazing journey.

Knowing how dedicated he is to his studio, I am sure the decision to leave for two months has been a difficult one. But weighing the experiences he will encounter, he has been encouraged, by friends, family and collectors to make the journey.

For those of you who do not know much about Israel, we have added some quotes from an Art History Curator and an Art Critic, in the hope that you will understand this artistic young man a little better.

Also at this time Galleria Dante is offering you the chance to buy paintings and sculptures Israel created prior to November 2010. His works of art created prior to this date have not yet realized a price increase, but those of you have followed his career for some years will be aware that he is a good investment and that there has been a substantial increase in prices in 2011.

Galleria Dante offers layaway and discounts on the listed prices if you would like to add an original painting or sculpture by Israel ZZepda to your collection. Click HERE to see the works of Israel ZZepda on display at Galleria Dante.

About Israel ZZepda

Born in 1971 in Guadalajara, Mexico, Israel ZZepda has been painting and drawing for more than 25 years. He recently expanded his artistic expression to include sculpture in paper mache, bronze and, most recently, cast aluminum, as well as experimental photography. The public is consistently surprised at the huge body of work Zzepda has produced for a man so young.

During his childhood Israel was involved in art workshops, and at the age of 15 he became an apprentice in the studio of Professor Pedro Eufraca. After high school he joined a school of visual arts in Guadalajara where he developed a personal style that he defines into symbolism.

A full time art teacher at the age of 19, Zzepda has influenced many young artists, including various members of his own family who are aspiring artists. He taught art and fashion illustration for more than 13 years and has painted more than 1,000 meters of murals in both public and private venues in Cancun, Uruapan, Michoacán and Jalisco. He has also sculpted thousands of figures in arcilla, a type of clay used on tennis courts, metal, paper-mache and bronze, and has experimented with photography, kaleidoscopes & set design.

People are often surprised by the quiet, gentle manners of this remarkable artist, whom they expect to be of a stronger temperament, possibly even a troubled soul. There is a sensitivity, innocence and refined discipline about this young man, who has just turned 40.

His work penetrates into the religious, spiritual, sexual and existential realms, reflecting on truth and questioning established thinking. He is not afraid to express himself. "The artist is a reflection of daily life. I want my work to be a chronicle of my time," says Zzepda.

Over the past few years many of his works have touched on social, political, spiritual, and artistic themes. Zzepda attempts to interpret the human condition and spiritual dualities. Texture plays an important role in his idealized handling of the human figure.

He can paint photo-realistic portraits, but instead sacrifices a little of the perfection of the human figure to reveal his own inner self. "We are all good and bad, we construct and we destroy, we are of light and somewhat dark, journeying daily through the streets of the planet."

"When the windows of my body are opened at dawn, my soul is amazed again at all those things that make me part of that calmness and harmony. I leave behind the darkness of the night, and once I take the brushes and start painting, time no longer matters; I feel the need to seize images that produce the melodious smile of waking children. The far away sound of tolling bells invites me to meditate, and later to paint, as if praying as the old ones do under the cloak of devotion, so persistently as if it was the last moment of my life. Knowing that one life is not enough makes me more attentive and inspires me to value and marvel at everything around me. I find myself before the canvas again: I am painting. By evening I'm still painting. Then I fall asleep. My spirit travels and drives the illogical development of a thousand movies. The images make me experience contrary emotions, from laughing to crying; I wake up again to work. The time seems short and the days go by. Sometimes I regret being able to capture only few images from the enormous stream flowing every second, but it comforts me when anyone else besides me values them. The art is nourished by diverse social influences that result in hybrid ideas. There is also globalization of symbols merged into multiple iconography and adapted at different times and in different contexts to private needs," says Zzepda.

This is the most precise approach to his work. Under the formal influence of the Mexican muralist movement, he presented a series of religious works in which sanctification multiplies, becoming a divine mixture beyond the emasculating aspect of religion. ZZepda transforms common and recognizable Catholic scenes of early Renaissance art that decorates the sacred interiors of churches, blending them with more contemporary elements.

In The Dimensional Window, Zzepda uses the window as an escape point to release his angels and cherubs that, resembling muralism, become enormous embryos on their way to exploring. In some of his works, such as Martyr Cow, this concept becomes clearer.

Within common religious scenery, as in Christ's crucifixion, Zzepda shows a cow as a martyr and places it in a city surrounded by highways and parading cars. The cow, protected by a divine halo drawn around its head, suffers, while a pigeon, symbol of the Holy spirit, tries to comfort it. Additionally, the cow is marked with a money symbol.

This almost prophetic or apocalyptic work reveals a moment in time when only some children are angels; others wear a disguise granted by history. Zzepda narrates the story of Biblical chaos awaiting a new origin: a savior who shall clean the dirt and show the light.

"His paintings live in a mythological dream, where the purest beings, babies, children, fairies and unicorns grow and are free to ultimately find salvation."
Mirna Calzada - Art Critic

"The imaginative capacity of Israel ZZepda is perhaps the most dominant visual feature of his work. However, another outstanding characteristic among the many formal qualities this artist possesses is his ability to draw viewers into his vision, intriguing them with the thematic contents of his paintings.

Israel reveals himself as a witness to human suffering, and he indeed has an extremely sensitive personality, that of a genuine artist. His aesthetic interpretation of reality is full of visionary environment, even though the artist takes as models certain elements proper to human existence, which are either altered or completely fictitious.

Zzepda's work appears to recreate ambiguous and mysterious worlds. Therefore at times his paintings portray strange, desolate environments with abundant, yet not scandalizing, sensual allusions. Zzepda also displays serene and sometimes humorous eroticism. He embraces notoriously religious topics, as well as ontological and metaphysical subjects, the plastic messages which resemble symbolism.

Finally, recapturing the introverted temperament of this artist, it needs to be said that his vocation as a profane 'image-maker' is an indispensable way of compensating his own nature. That is to say, Israel ZZepda seems to be regretting his painful duty. If so, the paintings of this artist are welcome to serve as a vital means of exteriorizing his feelings."
Mario Raul Garcia Jimenez - Master in Art History