Good Friends, Great Art

On Friday night we had the chance to go to the opening of a new art gallery in San Miguel de Allende which features the art of Federico Correa.  (Click on his name to see his site) Our friends in San Miguel told us that the gallery would be opening and we knew we had to be there.

When we first saw the space - which is on San Francisco - off the Jardin - in an historic building - it looked ok - but in the ensuing months the gallery has taken on some real improvements.   The opening was well attended - and the party before and after was a great weekend.   Federico's work involves some pain, some humor and lots of color.

A lot of Federico's work is large.  But he also displayed some smaller pieces including the Jackrabbit on the right.  These were made out of scrap lumber.  They are playful and colorful.  Federico has a lot of education in art but there is a mix between his training and his inspiration.  Both are evident in his work.

As a result of the opening he was asked to do a show in Zacatecas.  That will come in a couple of months.    I am intrigued by a couple of things here.  First, the intensity of his commitment to his art is inspiring.   Second, like any other commodity, an artist needs to think about both the creation of value and how to market his work.   A gallery does that - but there is a lot more involved.  Matching his work with people who would be interested in purchasing it is not an easy proposition.   In November we had the chance to tour his studio - he has thousands of works (a comment on the passion that he brings to his work).   And from his comments and those of his partner (Don Bell) he seems singularly committed to his task - often working on a motif for a period of time just to figure out where it will go and then like a writer with brushes refining the original idea(s) until they come to some kind of sense.   I had not realized how iterative his profession actually is.

For a full journal of the opening and all the people who squeezed into the space on Friday night click on the word JOURNAL (above).  The new iPhoto for the iPad has a feature which I have begun to love called Journal which can organize a set of photos and then post them to the web.   I like the program but it was great to be back in San Miguel and to spend a couple of days with our friends there.