When Dr. José “Pepe” Ainza Gastelum moved to Guadalajara from Hermosillo 50 years ago, he was struck by the number of roses he saw in the city.
“From the moment I arrived, I knew why Guadalajara was called the City of Roses, because all you could see in the camellones (medians) of every boulevard were roses,” he says. But as the years passed, Ainza began to notice fewer and fewer roses on display.
“So I started asking all the artists I knew to paint me a rose, each according to his own interpretation.”
The end result: 160 paintings, each measuring 25 by 60 centimeters, that went on show this week at the city’s Regional Museum to mark the 468th anniversary of the founding of Guadalajara.
Among the many contributors to the project on hand for the opening of Pétalos y Espinas (Petals and Thorns) were painters Cristina Partida, Ilse Hable, Lizette Aguilar and muralist Jorge Monroy. All confirmed that Ainza had simply asked them for “a painting of a rose” done to the required size. Each artist was permitted to elaborate on this theme in any way he or she wanted. The result is an unusual collection of dynamic, widely differing styles, rendered in oil, acrylic, porcelain, cloth or whatever – a collection in which art lovers of all tastes are bound to find something they like, while at the same time being exposed to forms or styles they may never have come across before.
Some of the artists commented that they consider this collection to be a homage not only to Guadalajara, but also to Ainza’s mother, now deceased, who particularly loved flowers.
Visitors to the exposition were told that this collection is so unusual that it has been registered for the Guinness Book of Records.
The great majority of the works are by Jalisco painters, but artists from other Mexican states and a few foreigners have also contributed. Most of the paintings were donated by their creators.
Speaking at the opening, Ainza said: “I would like to make my collection available for cultural exchanges, sister-city events and the like.”
Petalos y Espinas will be on display until March 21. The Guadalajara Regional Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Sundays to 5 p.m.) and is closed on Mondays. It is located downtown at Liceo 60, just alongside the city cathedral.
Admission is 37 pesos for adults. Children are free and there’s no charge on Sundays.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
