By Maru Vázquez
Since 2006 I started, under the sponsorship of Telmex, this enormous effort to create dignified spaces in which female art was shown in all its splendor.
Over the years, being an artist, one learns everything that needs to be done to achieve a place in the plastic arts, and more in the Mexican plastic arts. Great artists, curators and museographers have been forgotten because there are no historical records of their work and great influence within art, which would surely have changed history. Knowing that and living the restrictions that still exist so that female art is recognized as well as that of our great masters, I gave myself the task of organizing exhibitions in which women could show the public their enormous talent, creativity, and mastery in the handling of their technique and materials in the various branches of plastic and graphic art.
Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey were the first cities in which we carried out these exhibitions. The National Auditorium, the Bancomer Auditorium, the Monterrey Arena and the Telmex Auditorium in Guadalajara were the venues that hosted these exhibitions in which almost 80 career artists showed their work to more than 64,000 people who attended each night the exhibitions were presented.
Two years ago I moved to this wonderful city, San Miguel de Allende, after a long time of wanting to do it, and, believe me, the only thing that will never be missing in this place is ART. Everywhere one’s gaze lands there is art in its different expressions.
Upon my arrival I was lucky enough to meet Merry Calderoni, renowned artist and owner of the Calderoni Gallery, the first to have a studio in what is now known as the Centro de Arte y Diseño La Aurora. She opened the doors for me to show my work and gave me the opportunity to collaborate with her and Luis to showcase the work of other local artists, including this great project of Women in Art, which this year, for the second time, will be presented in her space.
It is worth mentioning that each of the exhibitions has been multidisciplinary and has brought together artists from other countries thanks to the huge foreign community that exists in San Miguel. For me it has been a great honor not only to be in contact with each artist and to know the reasons for their artistic expression and the use of the various materials they use to transmit their emotion to the public but also to promote their art. Participating in each exhibition is a joy and an increasing challenge for me, as an artist in my personal work, and to raise the quality of each exhibition.
My eternal thanks to Merry Calderoni and Luis Segura Franco, because without them this would not be possible. Luis and his extraordinary museography have made these exhibitions a unique experience. His constant care in the handling of each piece combined with his always friendly treatment of the public and each of the artists have made a difference that, together with the efforts of all of us, have given wonderful results.
Merry, Luis and I cordially invite you to attend this August 13 exhibition, to enjoy and admire in each piece the beauty, technique, and strength of each of us who participate this year in the second edition of Women in Art.
