Two remarkable galleries at La Aurora
By Peter Leventhal
November 7, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Art Walk
Fri, Nov 7, 5–7pm 
Fábrica La Aurora 
Calzada de la Aurora 
www. FabricaLaAurora.com

Art is not the same as taste, and perception is different still. Sometimes, though, all three mesh and their fluid interaction gives us the opportunity for revelation. All at once the ground shifts under the expected and familiar. We take from art what we need, and we also need to expose ourselves to chance encounters with the unfamiliar.

Ordinarily a museum supplies the venue for such encounters, but as an institution it has some drawbacks. By its nature a museum filters the experience by virtue of its choices. The most edifying and pleasurable experience comes through the serendipitous meeting with a work of art in its expressive impact and its personal, unique style.

For example, I recently walked through a gallery so full of work that the display itself was a virtuoso endeavor. I passed through an exhibit of Frida Kahlo’s work. Entering the gallery, I thought I knew her work, but here were letters annotated with small drawings and studies for her own pleasure. Pleased with encountering the previously unknown, I passed through another part of the gallery and stopped before a large sculpted wood panel of a curious scene, the name of the artist unknown to me: Abraham Hemenes López. Next to it I discovered a wood-block print, signed Moshe Gat. So, here were two completely new artists for me to research. This kind of probing, almost off-hand and casual, can yield rich rewards. It takes some doing to find such galleries. This one, La Buhardilla in Fábrica La Aurora, is the San Miguel construction of Carlos Noyola Anticuarios. The results of Carlos and Lette Noyola’s perceptive collecting offers seemingly unlimited delight. One day, I found a bronze head of Moses sculpted by Antonio Rivas Mercado—an obvious self-portrait. Antonio was the celebrated architect of “La Columna de Independencia” in Mexico City.

Rare as it is to find such an interesting, there is yet another in Fábrica de la Aurora: Galería Florencia Riestra. Well known in Colonia Roma, Mexico City, for 30 years, Florencia Riestra came to San Miguel four years ago. The gallery, which functions as a small museum, has had a notable list of exhibits. A splendid show of Rufino Tamayo graphics revealed the masterly rendition of theme and color, of form and line, that makes Tamayo one of the top of Mexican artists of the 20th century. It was a show of superb work exemplifying Riestra Galería’s approach of exhibiting pieces of superb aesthetic quality and educating the public in modern Mexican art history. When the exhibit Tres Prepuestas showed, I saw three drawings by Francisco Zuniga, a pre-eminent sculptor of his time. I had never been a true admirer of Zuniga, but the quality of the drawings stunned me. Of extraordinarily sensitive line and grace, they elevated Zuniga in my mind. In the same show, work by Carlos Merida and Gunther Gerzo gave me a new regard for these artists. Riestra recently mounted a new exhibit that delights and beguiles, the works of Lucia Maya. In this assemblage of images Maya creates a symbolist world both entrancing and witty. I laughed out loud viewing the work. A casual remark about her “surrealism” began to make me ponder the history of that movement, and I realized for a small moment a shift in my thought occurred. I like when this happens; nothing better than to reassess my own convictions. I am grateful to Florencia Riestra gallery for this opportunity. 

On November 8, at the next Aurora Art Walk, stop and give time to these two remarkable gallery spaces. The Fábrica La Aurora Art Walk is held the first Friday of each month, 5–7pm.

Lila Parrilla jewelry in Pozos
By Jim Corcoran

When my business partner, Kyle Lease, and I recently opened Galería Juarez in Mineral de Pozos we decided it would be only about art and nothing else.

This was before we happened upon the jewelry designs of Lila Parrilla. We were both struck by the meticulously crafted pieces, executed in natural materials with gutsy design and an eye for quality.

Parrilla has been letting her fantasies run wild at her Cuernavaca atelier for the past 30 years, always with an eye not only on design but practicality as well.

A necklace should embrace a woman’s collarbone, as opposed to jutting out from it, and an earring should never be so heavy as to be uncomfortable as the day or evening wears on.

As with the art that we display on our walls, there is something of quality to fit everyone’s budget.

From the simple yet beautifully executed silver hoop earrings to the triple-strand pearl necklace centered with a large cabochon turquoise, we feel this is one of the best collections in Mexico.

The gallery is open Friday–Sunday, 11am–5pm.

Jim Corcoran worked for the master jeweler Schlumberger at Tiffany’s in New York through the seventies.

Mastering your flash
By Françoise Lemieux

Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
Julia Dean
Sun–Sun, November 9–16
La Posada de la Aldea
Ancha de San Antonio 15
www.santafeworkshops.com  



Final Lecture
Julia Dean & Jim Richardson 
Mon, Nov 10, 7:30pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
Free

Do you and your flash have irreconcilable differences? Julia Dean can help. Improve your relationship with your portable light source in the “Mastering Your Flash,” workshop, designed for those who feel confident with a camera but for whom using a flash can bring out dark insecurities.

(I can relate.) Participants learn to become one with their strobes through activities and assignments, including lectures, demonstrations, critiques and on-location work with models.

Dean’s students learn creative ways to use a flash in an array of lighting situations. Topics to be covered include determining exposure, controlling the flash’s light output, ways to diffuse the flash and how to make the most of ambient light. Her group will learn to use a flash so well that their photos will seem to be shot without one. (Perhaps the dreaded red eye will even be eradicated.)

Dean is a photojournalist, educator and director of the Julia Dean Photo Workshops in Venice Beach, California. With a BS in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MA in journalism from the University of Nebraska, she started out as an apprentice to renowned photographer Berenice Abbot. She later became photo editor for the Associated Press in New York City. Dean has traveled the world freelancing for relief groups and magazines.

For more than 25 years, she has taught at institutions such as the University of Nebraska, Santa Monica College, the Santa Fe Workshops and the Maine Photographic Workshops. She also wrote and photographed A Year on Monhegan Island, an award-winning children’s book detailing a year in the life of residents of a tiny isle off the coast of Maine. This is her fifth year with Santa Fe.

Don’t miss the last Santa Fe photography lecture; the stories and images are better than the movies. Presenters are Julia Dean and Jim Richardson, a photojournalist for the National Geographic Society and a contributing editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine. To see a slideshow of Dean’s fascinating black and white work, go to www.juliadean.com.  To get a peek at Richardson’s remarkable images, go to www.jimrichardsonphotography.com. 

It’s nearly time to say adios to the photographers. But don’t worry—they’ll be back next year. If you’d like to be part of the fun, be sure to sign up early; many courses fill up far in advance. Full 2009 workshop information is posted on the website in mid-January. Ask about price reductions for San Miguel residents. With an eye toward nurturing budding young photographers, Santa Fe usually awards one scholarship per week and sponsors one work-study student. For details, call or send an email. 

Françoise Lemieux is a writer and photographer living in San Miguel.