The Guadalajara Reporter

Small art space an undiscovered jewel

For art lovers who have never visited Casa Vallarta on Avenida Vallarta in midtown Guadalajara, now is a good time to do so.

This converted mansion, built around 1920 in that era’s prevailing wedding-cake style, is too often overlooked in favor of better known cultural attractions such as the Instituto Cultural Cabañas or the Paraninfo.

Like the Paraninfo (and located not far away from it), Casa Vallarta is managed by the University of Guadalajara (UDG), which uses the main level as a small art museum with high-quality changing exhibits that frequently showcase the work of Mexican artists with a history of international ties.

Such is the case with both of the current exhibits. One, up until July 19, shows an impressive group of medium-large bronze sculptures by Leonora Carrington, that breakaway British debutante who died a year ago at age 94 after adopting Mexico as home for much of her life.

Carrington is probably better known for her surrealistic painting and these sculptures embody that surrealism, reflecting a personal mythology about which the artist is said to have been close lipped.

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