Paintings, pastels, drawings, sculptures and photos by a select group of U.S. artists will show Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, in the garden, stairway and salon at the American Society of Jalisco (AMSOC), located in Guadalajara’s graceful Colonia Chapalita.
The show will be open nine hours on Thursday (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and six hours Friday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
“Come and chat with the artists and join our open luncheon Thursday, if you like, from noon to 1:30 p.m.,” says AMSOC board member Cam Esser. “It’s an opportunity to reconnect with old friends or meet new ones.”
The artists are all AMSOC members with a variety of artistic trajectories and media, and some say they see the show as a possible means of forming an artists’ group.
“By showing together, we get to know and help motivate each other,” says sculptor, painter, art restorer and art therapist Art Sanchez, who was an active artist in California but encountered situations in Guadalajara that, until recently, led him to put art on the back burner.
“In California, I first did a small sculpture that became a memorial urn for a mom whose son was killed by a drunk driver. It depicts a mother embracing a child. It was so popular that now I’ve done about 20.” Sanchez will also show paintings and drawings in the exhibit, about 12 pieces in all.
One of the more prolific artists and AMSOC members is Marcia Gran Argentín, who will show about six of her pastels and oils.
“I’ve lived for 60 years in Guadalajara, and I consider myself half Mexican and half American, but I still look at things through the eyes of a tourist. I choose to paint beauty, the little villages, the streets, the walls. I paint three or four times a week and I was a painting teacher,” she noted, adding, “I enjoy painting in the sense that it makes me feel closer to God’s creation.”
Photographer Gail Early is also inspired by the unique beauty of Mexico. “I’ve worked at it as a hobby over the years, for fun. I might photograph nature, indigenous dancers in the festivities for the Virgin of Zapopan, sunsets or sunrises,” she said.
Early will show about five photos. “When I got an inheritance from my late husband, it financed my first digital camera,” she elaborated.
A welcome beverage will be offered on the show’s opening day.
AMSOC, Avenida San Francisco 3332, about five blocks west of Glorieta “Estampida” (with running horses sculpture). Call (33) 3121-2395 for more information.