Quebec born Francoise Roy has lived in Guadalajara so long that she writes poetry in Spanish as well as French.
Now, with support from the state Secretary of Culture, she has turned her artistic eye on her surroundings, producing a memorable collection of poems that are matched with photographs of denizens of Jalisco, culture, landscapes, flora and fauna.
Besides offering all of it as a free, electronic book, she is presenting it in traditional form for viewing at a unique and intimate new midtown venue, Galeria de los Poetas, near Avenida Americas and La Paz.
Some of Roy’s poems have even been translated into English, she noted at the opening of her show last Friday. Like her photographs, the poems are forthright and easy to get the gist of, even for the poetically challenged.
If you don’t believe me, google jaliscoensolmayor and treat yourself to 100 photos with accompanying poems in three languages.
But if you prefer your art tangible, see Roy’s work (a bit less of it — 60 photos) before November 24 at the laid-back Galeria de los Poetas, where you can also cozy up to a cup of coffee in the sophisticated cafe which occupies the lowest level (the former garage) at this house-turned-gallery.
The small to medium-size color photos are mostly pictorial and painterly and were developed manually, gallery owner Hugo Gutierrez explained, without added effects from programs such as Photoshop.
Their emphasis is on composition — a bit like picture postcards of the state, from its sea to its cities and towns, but far more imaginative and with an eye attuned to the sometimes abstract shapes and colors found in watery reflections, urban shadows, vegetative patterns and the like.
“I have crazier photos,” Roy observed, but these presumably would not have served her theme.
This is Roy’s first individual show, calling attention to the fact that the Jalisco Secretariat of Culture is providing openings to new artists and at an accessible gallery, with free admission and ample hours (10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; closed Sunday).
Galeria de los Poetas, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 176, between La Paz and Lerdo de Tejada, Colonia Lafayette. Francoise Roy, www.francoiseroy.com, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..