Artists of the new Millenium
winter-spring/2001

The art market in Puerto Vallarta is evolving and despite the fact
that the naïf and the Mexican folklore-oriented schools still find a receptive niche, other alternatives are setting trends. The new millennium, a reference for changes, ushers a new wave of artists who have come to refresh the local art market, which formerly followed a more tourist-oriented criterion. While we all agree that Puerto Vallarta is neither Paris nor New York or Mexico City, little by little, a more solid sense of modernization and refinement can be noticed.
It is meaningful that season after season more galleries open with more accomplished national and international artists. So good and abundant are the offerings that this writer had a difficult time setting fair selection parameters in restricted space. The following are just some of the creators with high quality standards who reside and work in Puerto Vallarta, and whose offerings differ from the old-schemed market. The corresponding abbreviations mean I: introduction, D: graphic description, U: pictorial universe and M: subliminal message.

Manuel Adriá
Life is a merry-go-round

I: Self-taught Catalan painter. As a youngster, he worked with Dalí on the master’s Saliva Sofa project. Participated in many exhibitions in Barcelona, Mexico City andPuerto Vallarta, where he has lived since 1983. Although an independent artist, several galleries distribute his work. D: Bright colored or monochromatic compositions in a post-modernist style on canvas or paper. U: Distorted human and animal figures. M: How absurd yet beautiful life is. Do not overthink. Take the money and run.

I: Born in Tepic, Nayarit. He abandoned medicine for art. His work is represented in Chicago, Santa Fe, Los Angeles and locally by Galería Uno. D: Aged color oils with a style nurtured in Mexico’s colonial painting and the great masters of classic art. U: Bucolic landscapes, antiques, encyclopedic iconography, traditional characters, birds, flowers, fruits. M: The past was better and more beautiful. Spiritual values are international and eternal.

RaymundoAndrade
And the Ship Sails On

I: Grandchild of famous architect and pioneer art gallerist Tito Brockmann, Javier Brewster obtained his master’s degree in fine arts in the U.S. He stands with one foot in and one foot out of the gallery circuit, defending his autonomy. D: His work goes from minimalism to expressionism, and from austerity to remarkable contrasts of color using mixed media with a strong keenness for yellow, red and black. U: Anthropomorphic and zoological figures on empty color-patched backgrounds. M: How I missed you. Tranquilize my dreams. Be you.I: Grandchild of famous architect and pioneer art gallerist Tito Brockmann, Javier Brewster obtained his master’s degree in fine arts in the U.S. He stands with one foot in and one foot out of the gallery circuit, defending his autonomy. D: His work goes from minimalism to expressionism, and from austerity to remarkable contrasts of color using mixed media with a strong keenness for yellow, red and black. U: Anthropomorphic and zoological figures on empty color-patched backgrounds. M: How I missed you. Tranquilize my dreams. Be you.

Brewster Brockma

Tie a yellow ribbon ’round the old oak tree

I: Active in the art world from the late ‘70s, he applies his architectural skills in sculpture and painting. A long-time resident in bohemian San Francisco, California, this American-Italian artist has been spending eight months a year living and working in Puerto Vallarta over the past twelve years. His work is presented at Galerie des Artistes. D: Bronze, wood and paper assemblings as individual sculptures or decorative pieces like door knobs and murals. Acrylics on canvas, ink on paper and collages in mixed media. U: Geometric shapes carved with detail into reliefs with a strong archeological appearance. M: Ancient cultures are worthy of being revived. Add some color to your life.

Michael Costantini
Back to the Future

I: He moved from his native Guasave in Sinaloa to Puerto Vallarta twelve years ago. His work possesses a shocking primitive impact. Galería Pacífico represents him. D: Mixed media on canvas, wood, paper, etc. in an expressionist style, collage and sculpture with varied materials. He makes profuse usage of primary colors and black. U: Anthropomorphic and zoological figures. M: Create and enjoy your own world. Follow your instincts.

Rogelio Díaz
To the sound of the tam-tam

I: A native of Mexico City, he studied business psychology at the Technological Institute of Monterrey, Mexico. He obtained two scholarships, one for Paris and another for Kyoto (Japan), and he then completed his training at La Esmeralda, the national fine arts academy. This year he was granted the painting prize by the local chapter of Guadalajara’s Salón de Octubre. Arte Latinoamericano represents his work. D: Manipulated photographs, engraving, photomontage and painting on surfaces of industrial usage, installation. U: Abandoned factories, measuring instruments, industrial pieces, bridges. M: Science goes forward but nature is almighty. Progress leads us to decadence.

Sergio Martínez
A clockwork orange

I: Born in Panama but raised in Mexico City where she studied art at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She worked as a cultural delegate in Houston; director of activities at the National Fine Arts Institute and the Museum of Fine Arts in the Mexican capital. She started her artistic work back in 1972. Arte Latinoamericano gallery represents her work. D: Canvases and wood boxes painted with a symbolic impressionist style. U: Family, women and authority figures in bucolic landscape backgrounds. M: Force of habit is stronger than love. Don’t tell me it was only a dream. I forgive but don’t forget.

María Fernanda Matos
Love in the times of cholera

I: This painter and sculptor comes from Guadalajara and has lived in Puerto Vallarta for the past 25 years. In 1989, he obtained the painting prize at the Salón de la Plástica Nayarita, and the Omnilife sculpture prize of the reputed Salón de Octubre in Guadalajara in 1999. He prefers working without distraction and so moved to the small village of El Nogalito, on the highway to Mismaloya. D: His pieces are carved in a single wood block following the forms suggested by it, providing them a polished finishing. In painting, his “feathered” textures are his trademark. U: Organic and anthropomorphic forms. M: A superior world stalks on us. Expand your consciousness. Rise.

Francisco Sanmiguel
The teachings of Don Juan

I: Manhattan born, she studied at the New York State University at Purchase. Her contact with Mexico dates from 1993, when she had an exhibition in Guanajuato. She lives and works in Boca de Tomatlán and is represented by Galería Uno. D: Oils and acrylics, art objects and installation. Her palette is austere with dramatic touches of bright colors in an expressionist style. U: Animals, shadows, color stains, mysterious silhouettes. M: Do not only believe your eyes. The invisible stalks on us. Knock on wood.

Sheila Devine
And then there were none