Mundos: A contemporary mix of art
By Margaret Failoni, Nov 17, 2006

Art Opening, “Mundos” Saturday, November 25, 7:30pm Galería LeNoir, Jesus 2A

Galería LeNoir is proving itself a leading contender in San Miguel’s art scene with brilliant exhibitions, mostly of beautifully executed realism, from superb photography to brilliant painting. Occasionally, the gallery delves into the world of abstract art, carefully choosing the participants. Such is the case for their upcoming exhibit titled “Mundos,” which includes a small selection of works by Santiago Corral, José Corral, Roberto Cortázar, Margarett Dawitt, Adrián Gutiérrez, Arky Robbins and Nane Wenhammar.

Santiago Corral is no newcomer to the San Miguel art scene, but he has moved to Galería LeNoir and is preparing a one-person exhibit there in the very near future. After a very successful show at the Querétaro City Museum and Oaxaca’s Museum of Modern Art, the artist cemented his success by winning the very prestigious Rufino Tamayo Award three years ago in Mexico City’s Rufino Tamayo Museum of Art.

Santiago’s brother, José Corral, is a brilliant painter in his own right. Currently living on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, he specializes in hyper-realist paintings of great depth and beauty; beautiful ocean scenes are part of this collective exhibit. 

Superstar Roberto Cortázar has never shown in San Miguel before, although his work is in several important San Miguel collections. With a major exhibition in the Amparo Museum of Puebla, we are delighted that Galería LeNoir was able to obtain a recent work especially created for this exhibition. Cortázar has long been considered one of Mexico’s major realist artists, working with paint as well as etchings. His work is part of Mexico City and Monterrey collections and can be found in every major museum.

Margarett Dawitt is another important San Miguel artist whose work in the realm of figurative painting is always of the finest quality. She is a brilliant teacher as well. Equally gifted with painting and pastels, her work can be found in most serious San Miguel collections.

Adrián Gutiérrez is a cousin of the Corral brothers and just as gifted an artist. What a family! His hyper-realist style of painting in the surrealist vein is a joy to behold: technically superb and whimsical in subject matter. Some of his work during this exhibit includes a magnificent ocean scene.

Arky Robbins is a talented, upcoming artist working in the abstract genre. He uses beautifully surfaced painting with a fine choice of well-balanced color, creating some very tasteful and interesting works.

They are subtle and yet have beautiful movement.Nane Wenhammar is an incredible artist and is well known in her field. She creates hand-crafted works on paper with incredible textures and profound themes. Wenhammar has exhibited throughout Mexico and locally at Bellas Artes. 

Margaret Failoni is an independent curator and art historian who has lived in San Miguel for 13 years. She curates exhibitions of contemporary art for museums, public spaces and some galleries in Mexico after a full-time career in Rome, Italy.