Galleria Dante Presents Israel Zzepda, Cherie Sibley & Jean Jacques Hudon Claire Guarniere - Galleria Dante
January 22, 2016

As part of the Southside Shuffle in Old Town Vallarta, Galleria Dante invites you to the cocktail opening exhibition of Israel Zzepda, Cherie Sibley & Jean Jacques Hudon on Friday January 22 2016 from 6:00 until 10:00 pm. Come meet these exciting artists!
 
Israel Zzepda

At only 45, Israel Zzepda has already been a professional artist for more than half his life. He has been painting and drawing for more than 28 years, but also sculpts. Israel’s body of work is remarkably large given his age, but when you consider he became an apprentice at the age of 15 and a full-time art teacher at the age of 19, it isn’t so surprising. He taught both art and fashion illustration for more than 13 years, and, as a teacher, he has influenced many young artists, including several members of his own family.

There is a sensitivity, innocence and refined discipline about Israel. His work explores religious, spiritual, sexual and existential realms, reflecting truths and questioning established thinking, and he is not afraid to express himself. "The artist is a reflection of daily life. I want to be a chronicle of my time," says Zzepda, who seeks to reflect his own unique style and honesty in all of his work.
In his approach of the human figure, texture plays an extremely important role. Instead of painting photo-realistic portraits, he sacrifices the perfection of the human figure in hopes of revealing part of the shared human experience that resides within him. "We are all good and bad, we construct and we destroy, we are of light and somewhat dark, journeying daily through the streets of the planet." Israel’s imaginative capacity is, perhaps, the most dominant striking feature of his work. The viewer cannot help but be drawn in and intrigued by the thematic contents of his paintings. Some of his works appear to be recreating ambiguous and mysterious worlds often made up of strange, desolate environments while others display serene, sometimes humorous, eroticism. He also embraces notoriously religious topics, as well as ontological and metaphysical subjects.

Israel has also painted more than 1000 meters of murals, both public and private, in Cancun, Uruapan, Michoacán and Jalisco. In addition, he completed 7 murals in Sardinia, Italy, in 2011. He also participated in a collective show in Turin, Italy, on March 15th, 2014. He is also working on a new conceptual art project that delves into human and social justice in the setting of globalized power and its effects on ecological consciousness and human rights. Every 6 months the gallery receives new works that over reach our wildest expectations. His latest work, represents a new cycle of creative production and personal growth for Israel, and we are all very anxious to see where it leads.

The new work this season shows a variation in the support the color receives.  It is an industrial plastic material derived from what is known as PVC.  It is also known as macocel.  It is a very noble material, with good consistency, while its structure allows for the use of engraving tools, as well as being a great receptor for oil and enamel pigments.  Also, because of its origin in the plastics family, it is very durable, given that today’s plastics are the most difficult to be degraded by nature.  “Knowing the noble characteristics of this support, it occurred to me to make a fusion between the drawing, the texture in bas relief and the oils. Visual ideas have a common conceptual aspect, the geometry, like a chess board, as a symbol of the duality in the claroscuro of the human soul.  Wisdom and instinct in spiritual cohabitation that does not explain the progress and human growth without such duality.  The universe, known and unknown, is the vital  space where we discover ourselves through suffering, happiness, loss and gain. There can be no certainty without uncertainty or light without the comparison of darkness.  We are in this daily cycle of self-destruction and self-reinvention.  All ideas had the challenge of constructing themselves in the experience of memory without using a single model.”  Due to the fact that these paintings are three dimensional, a photo will not do them justice.

Cherie Sibley

“This last year has brought me a time of experimenting with new and old subjects and materials! I continued to paint my beloved water birds but also found myself drawn back to the ethnic people who inspired me a few years back. I painted 6 indigenous women from Chiapas, Mexico and remembered just how much their rich culture inspires me. And then, I started playing around with an abstract concept that had been floating around my subconscious for too long....utilizing zippers in my artistic expressions. After one painting and 2 sculptures using zippers, I am on my way. Literally anything can be used to express concepts and ideas about life around us...but you be the judge. So, this year's show will be a reflection of three different ideas. 10 new paintings and two small sculptures.”

Cherie's artistic mission is to provide the viewer with a tranquil moment amid a world filled with chaos. The stillness of her work counteracts the rapid pace of everyday life, reminding us all that there is so much beauty and peace to be found in nature, just by being quiet and observing it.  "When I look at a potential subject for a painting, I see contrast - how the light is hitting the subject matter... how the colors of the subject interact and vibrate with or against each other... how the light and the dark work together to create excitement." She is fascinated by the unique interconnection between the two which makes the sum of both greater and more beautiful than the individual components.
 
Cherie is a native of Southern Louisiana with a BFA, who has been teaching adult art classes for the last 14 years. Her work is collected internationally, and her reputation has steadily grown over the years. She now divides her time between Mexico and Canada when not traveling.

Jean Jacques Hudon

A native of La Pocatière. He studied and completed his studies at the University of Laval in Quebec where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a certificate in higher education. After an internship in France, he taught for thirty years with different clienteles. He also gave private lessons in mixed media, acrylic painting, and oil.  Hudon has been active for nearly thirty years both in teaching visual arts in artistic production. He has the chance to express his art in numerous collective and solo and we can also find his works in both Canada and the United States.??He has always made his pictorial research a priority and has evolved significantly since 1982. His works are structured, often compartamentalised. Reading is formal and frequently leads the viewer into the appreciation of the work. Employed mediums are diverse and are used for understanding of the work. His current concern is the global purpose of urbanology, the artistic study of urbanization in all its aspects, including geographic, human and architectural.
 
Hudon has exhibited and participated in numerous group and solo works. He is involved in his community as he is co-founder of the "Off Gallery" in St-Jean, Quebec and also has participated in various artistic enterprises. His stage is oriented around several themes, and the techniques used vary according to the purpose of the work: mixed, oil and / or acrylic. The graph becomes his pictorial writing and his latest collection is enhanced by this influence. Many viewers feel as if they are looking at a stained glass window, when admiring his works. This is his 2nd season exhibiting at Galleria Dante!
 
Galleria Dante is located at #269 Basilio Badillo in Old Town Vallarta. Telephone is (322) 222-2477. While there, visit the upstairs wine bar, Di Vino Dante.

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