Doorway to a dream, By Erika Corral, Winding up: Eschwan's encaustics open Mero Arte Contemporaneo, On pins and needles, By Margaret Failoni, Icon painting workshop, By Mary Jane Miller

Galería Le Noir re-opens its doors this summer season with the work of a talented young Mexican painter, Adrian Gutierrez.

Gutierrez's work can be described as the line that separates our dreams and reality; the horizon line between earth and heaven; a doorway to a canvas space of endless potential, between the solid edges of life to the subtle and the ephemeral. The difference between a reality that knows how to be airborne versus that which knows only how to look upwards, but does not know how to fly.

In his latest oil paintings, "Sky" and "Water" mandalas, one can see two elements superimposed in a graphical surrealism of magical symmetry. In other work, such as "Reflexions," dolphins seem to navigate the sky, or is the sky navigating the dolphins? Inside Adrian's work, one cannot tell the difference between "dream-time" and what we deem as reality, or could reality actually be "dream-time"?

In his most recent work, a young boy without a shirt rides a unicycle on an endless road, leading to a far-off horizon, an endless journey with an unknown destination. His arms are thrown into the air, in a gesture of liberation or perhaps surrender.

Gutierrez has participated and exhibited in galleries and contests throughout the world, including the Italia per Arte 2000 and an exhibit at the Palazzo Nervi de Turin, both in Florence, Italy; at the Feria de Arte in Bologna; the Opera Gallery in Paris; and in Miami, Florida, and New York City, among other venues.

In Mexico, he has exhibited at the Loteria Nacional building in Mexico City, the Jockey Club, the Fondo Cultural Carmen 2000, the Roberta Menchu Foundation and many other locations.

Paintings by Adrian Gutierrez
Friday, June 9, 7pm, Galería Le Noir, Jesús 2A

Mero Arte Contemporaneo, located at Zacateros 24, formerly known as Galería Wey, inaugurates its new management and name change with an exhibition of all new paintings by Eschwan Winding.

She is the ideal choice for the gallery because her work perfectly fulfills the intention of Mero Arte, which is to represent a selection of contemporary artists who demonstrate a mastery over their chosen medium and a dedication to the importance of aesthetics as the guiding principal in the creation of a work of art.

Winding is a professional painter with many years of experience. She is secure in herself as a woman and as a creative being, and in her belief in the essential importance of the plastic elements of creative expression.

That is to say, her paintings are extremely beautiful. They are visual splendors that, in this exhibition, offer the viewer a sublime distillation of a lifetime of exploration of the medium of paint on canvas or board. Eschwan is a master craftsman in all oil-based paint media. In the last eight years she has turned to the ancient technique of encaustic painting. "Encaustic" is a Greek word that implies the use of heat during the application of the paint, and it is the best medium in which to practice artistic alchemy, in that it lends itself to a dynamic relationship between the creator and the medium.

One of the reasons that Winding's encaustic paintings are so successful is that they are consummately aesthetic and yet are not purely decorative, as is so much contemporary encaustic painting. This is Winding's own description of her technique: "I use encaustic to create colored layers that allow for multiple, semitransparent surfaces. Each layer of pigment-infused wax is melted into the layer beneath, then cooled. I then carve into them, creating textured surfaces and space between layers." And of her intent: "To explore the state of being which is beyond the obvious and reaches into the dream or meditative state. These are paintings that are to be felt, both emotionally and figuratively. Caress them. This is art to touch, to make your own in an intimate personal experience."

In her most recent paintings for this exhibition, Winding has been experimenting with a new variation of the myriad ways to explore encaustic painting by mixing it with fresco.

She first applies the plaster and then paints on it while it is still wet. The fresco absorbs the paint, allowing for even more visibility of the intricate layers that make up the painting.

The objective of Mero Arte Contemporaneo is to promote the work of artists with a unique personal vision, firm in the belief that not only are originality and beauty still possible in a postpostmodern world, they are the most important elements of creative expression. With this in mind, Mero Arte proudly invites the art-loving public to its first exhibition of paintings by Eschwan Winding.

Paintings by Eschwan Winding
Saturday, June 17, 7pm, Mero Arte Contemporaneo, Zacateros 24

Ornella Ridone is able to illustrate a woman's plight throughout the ages without falling into the pathetic. Using old garments, tattered clothing or rag-pressed paper, the artist spins tales of love, woe, labor and urgency by actually embroidering the images onto the surface.

Two large works consist of virgins and saints illustrated by creating the images, using straight pins and needles made of steel. Pinned onto deep blue velvet, the figures glisten in the light.

For C.A.S.A.'s ostrich egg exhibition, held to raise awareness and funds for violence against women, Ridone nestled a large ostrich egg in a cage of rusted nails; the egg became a woman's eye. In the center of the green embroidered iris, she embroidered what appeared to be the reflected image of a man waving a bat in a striking position, flesh-colored thread on a black ground. Very striking to see and to the point.

In a small but impressive work, "Un Mar de Sangre" (In a Sea of Blood), Ridone embroiders a woman swimming upstream in a sea of red waves; ominous creatures fly above.

In "Mi Madre y La Muerte" (My Mother and Death), we see death depicted as a skeleton completely featured with steel pins over a blood red ground.

"La Caida" (The Fall), is less dramatic and quite beautiful. Embroidered in cool colors, we see birds, dragonflies and other creatures flying above a black-and-white patterned ground.

At times, Ridone may pin up a tattered dress onto which she has embroidered several vignettes: a woman making tortillas, the different sauces brightly colored; a penis sprouting a beautiful flower from its core, an infant still huddled in an embryonic position, a bleeding Sacred Heart.

The literary as well as the figurative magic she weaves is astounding. One's eye is riveted toward these works, anxious to move on from one to another so as to read the next chapter of her tale of tales.

This exhibition of Ridone's works was recently shown in the Museo de la Ciudad de Santiago de Querétaro and had moved on to the Galería de Arte Actual Mexicano, where it opened June 8.

Born in Piedmont, Italy, Ridone came to Mexico almost immediately after finishing her university schooling in Milan. She spent the next 25 years or so creating art in Mexico. As of a few years ago, the artist lives and works in San Miguel de Allende, where she is preparing for another exhibition of her work to be shown in the autumn.

Artwork by Ornella Ridone
Galería de Arte Actual Mexicano, Río Danubio 125, pe., Col. Del Valle, Garza García
Monterrey, Nuevo Léon

For centuries, icons have been painted in the quiet, contemplative surroundings of monasteries. Now, you, too, can have this unique and wonderful experience. The Benedictine monastery, Nuestra Señora de La Soledad, Atotonilco, will host a six-day workshop. Padre Ezequiel, the Superior of the Monastery, will include spiritual guidance regarding icons in the early morning service.

In this retreat the students will be introduced to the practice and theory of the Christian art of icon painting in the Byzantine-Russian tradition. A multistep process characterizes the iconographic method, leading from dark to light, rough to refined, chaos to order. Explanations of iconic symbolism and the theological and philosophical basis of each step of the process are presented parallel to the technical instruction.

No artistic experience is required of the beginning student. Rather, the main goal of study is to cultivate a clear consciousness of the image of God according to which humans were created. While striving for the reestablishment of the fallen image of man in a disciplined way, the student eventually moves toward an understanding of that which stands beyond the symbol and can gain a clearer vision of God, himself and of the world. Everyone will complete the much-loved icon of Mary, Mother of God.

Retreatants are requested to arrive on Sunday, June 25, at 6pm for registration, orientation and a light supper. The workshop officially begins on Monday, June 26, at 7am with mass, which is followed by the blessing of hands. Classes will be given from 9am to 5pm. All meals will be taken with the monks in the dining room, in silence.

Silence plays a very important part in the monastic life. We try to join them in their silence during our stay at the monastery. Without silence we cannot reach our inner self and do the journey of icon painting.

Margaret Ross, retreat coordinator and oblate of this Benedictine community, and I welcome you into this experience.

Cost is 3,200 pesos, which includes room and board, instruction and art materials. Please confirm early because space is limited. What to bring: Strong walking shoes, a sweater for early morning, a flashlight and your favorite pillow. Also, bring a water bottle and insect repellent. Class items: Notebooks, pencils, eraser, ruler, compass (if you have one), paper towels and an apron (optional).For more information contact Mary Jane Miller (152-5762) or Margaret Ross (152-1140).

About icons

An icon (from Greek eikon, meaning "image") is an image, picture, or representation. In Eastern Orthodoxy and other icon-painting Christian traditions, the icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting a holy being or object such as Jesus, Mary, saints, angels, or the cross. Icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, done in mosaic work, printed on paper or metal, and so on.

The icon painting tradition developed in Byzantium, with Constantinople as the chief city. When Christianity was legalized by the emperor Constantine within the Roman Empire in the early 4th century, huge numbers of pagans became converts. This created the opportunity for the transfer of allegiance and practice from the old gods and heroes to the new religion, and for the gradual adaptation of the old system of image making and veneration to a Christian context.

Though their development was gradual, the full-blown appearance and general ecclesiastical (as opposed to simply popular or local) acceptance of Christian images as venerated and miracle-working objects has been dated to the 6th century.

During the Iconoclastic Period (literally, "icon breaking," a period in which the veneration of icons was prohibited, to prevent idolatry), which began around 730 C.E. many icons were destroyed. Image veneration was later reinstated by the Empress Regent Irene, wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus, in the 9th century.

After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, the Byzantine tradition was carried on in regions previously influenced by its religion and culture: the Balkans and Russia, Georgia, and in the Greek-speaking realm, on Crete.

Icon workshop
June 25-July 1, Benedictine monastery, Atotonilco, 3,200 pesos
Information: 152-5762 or 152-1140