Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - At 6:00 pm on Friday, February 10th, a cocktail reception will open the newest art exhibit at Galleria Dante, featuring the works of Cherie Sibley & Ignacio Guerrero. Cherie is a 16 year local expatriate while Ingnacio is a Mexican native from Guadalajara.

Cherie Sibley - a native of Louisiana, but a resident of Vallarta for 16 years, believes (like her mentor Robert Henri) that, "Art is Painting, not painted."

"When I look at a potential subject for a painting, I see contrast - how the light is hitting the subject matter; how the colors of the subject interact and vibrate with or against each other; how the light and the dark work together to create excitement."

Her recent work, Birds of Mexico, involves exploring the limitless supply of water birds and their relationship to the water that sustains them. She is fascinated by the unique interconnection between the two which makes the sum of both greater and more beautiful than the individual components.

Cherie made her second trip to Ecuador recently, visiting the Amazon Basin and the Andean Paramo' (high plains above the tree line). Her experiences are reflected in her show this spring which also features the people of Ecuador. "There are two things evident about Ecuador: 85% of the population are indigenous (Quichua or Quechua) and the entire country is packed with flora and fauna." Both themes she loves to paint.

Cherie finally finessed her brush stroke, and after traveling extensively, started painting portraits of the people she saw through her lens, from Morocco to Ecuador. The "Bird Lady," as she is now fondly called, mesmerizes her admirers with her paintings of flamingos, cormorants, pelicans, and mallards. All forms of water fowl. Her use of light captures the water in motion and the birds in flight. Everyone agrees that she has found her calling.

Ignacio Guerrero - "Stop scratching the walls!" is the phrase that his mother would scold him most consistently with in his childhood, and of which he remembers fondly. Even though he knew he would be punished, he continued to paint on the walls.

Born on December 4, 1963 in the city of Guadalajara, Ignacio is essentially a self-taught artist. The home-grown talant displayed an interest in drawing and painting from childhood. After obtaining a degree in graphic design at the University of Guadalajara, he achieved the post of art director for several prestigious advertising agencies in the city, as well as illustrating for numerous magazines and newspapers. Nevertheless, he subsequently left the world of advertising to devote himself completely to painting; something that he feels gives him total freedom of expression.

His work, which is surrealist in quality, has been exhibited more than 60 times in Mexico and abroad; in places as distant as Portugal, Italy, Australia, and New York. He has to his credit many awards and special recognitions. In 2009 and 2011, his work was selected by the National Committee of the International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Italy. "Paint until you drop or until there is nothing more to say to the canvas," says Ignacio.

The fun, surreal, dream-world of Ignacio Guerrero, conjures up hiding places along the road to the impossible. Everything that is observed is a game, a wonderful set of tones and textures. Motivated by fantastic muses, his pictorial work celebrates life and obliges us to look at something that has not stopped being here, but we often forget: the harmony of nature.

Galleria Dante Art Openings
February 24 - Yvan Genest, Alvaro Zardoni & Jean-Gabriel Lambert
March 9 - Luis Valui
March 23 -Oscar Capeche & Jorge Costes & Nicolas Gomez

Andante Art Openings
February 24 - Guillermo Gomez
March 23 - Collective

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.

Click HERE to learn more about Galleria Dante.