The art of transformations,
Dec 29, 2006

Art Opening

Thursday, January 4, 6pm

Casa Diana, Recreo 48

We will be able to admire recent works by painter Carmen Gutiérrez in Casa Diana Gallery beginning January 4. Her work is influenced by the imaginary popular and religious India, a country where the painter has been traveling for many years to absorb the teachings of her masters. In her paintings we can see a reinterpretation of ancient Hindu myths, a personal view populated with sacred animals and symbols that, because of their color, remind us of the way the Hindu artists describe the legends about their gods. Painter Carmen Gutiérrez works her canvases in the same way her Hindu colleagues do, with layers of color and characters enveloped in variegated atmospheres loaded with air and water symbols. 

In the Hindu religion, perhaps more than in any other, art plays an integral role. The “art of transformations” does not convey emotion or feelings so much as a system composed of simple and primordial symbols that depicts the world separated from worldly and ephemeral matters. 

Gutiérrez’s paintings share the gallery with works by painter Meta, sculptor Miguel Ángel Morales, artist Pedro Friedeberg, photographer Deborah Turbeville, painter Magdiel Pérez and sculptor Luis Espiridión.

Alchemical painting with chapopote
By Bill Pearlman and Roland Salazar Rose

Talk and slideshow By Roland Salazar Rose “Alchemical Painting with Chapopote” Teatro Santa Ana Thursday, January 4, 5:30–7pm

A talk and show of paintings by long-time sanmiguelense Salazar (Roland Salazar Rose) is coming to the Santa Ana in January. His paintings will be exhibited in the Biblioteca Pública all of January, and the talk will introduce the public to this unique form of artistic expression.

With his work with chapopote (tar) and traditional oils, Salazar has shown himself to be a distinctive alchemical frontiersman, creating a uniquely Mexican art from material and images particular to the Latin American experience. He draws ideas from the whole panoply of the Mexican heritage—landscape, mythology and uniquely formed figures reminiscent of ancient archetypal powers. 

Chapopote is a form of asphalt found in Mexico. Salazar began experimenting with artistic uses for this interior sealant around 1997. It is a petro-chemical, and the artist found he could add Sal-Zar (his own secret alchemical mixture) to the “chap” and use it in his unique paintings, either on paper or primed Masonite.

This radical technique is fascinating to learn about, but, as Salazar also points out, “technique is not as important as the work of art itself and its meaning and value.” 

Salazar is represented at La Galería Aspen, Mesones 74, or visit Estudio Salazar, Montitlán 6, Los Balcones. He can be reached at 152-0995 or see the website www.salazargallery.com 

A donation to the library is requested for the lecture and slideshow.