Sol Dorado - Art Gallery
Blvd.. Mijares No: 33, Col. Centro, C.P. 23400, San José del Cabo, B.C.S. Tel: (624)14-219-50
email: rosadu@prodigy.net.mx web_page: www.soldoradogaleria.com

MARIO GONZÁLEZ

MARIO GONZÁLEZ IS YOUNG, ENTHUSIASTIC AND IMAGINATIVE.ALTHOUGH HE TAKES HIS WORK SERIOUSLY, IT NEVER LACKS HUMOR. DEEPLY COMMITTED TO HIS ART, GONZÁLEZ IS A TIRELESS, INSATIABLE SEEKER: HE OBSERVES, INVESTIGATES, DESIGNS AND MODELS IN ORDER TO SHARE HIS UNIQUE VISION OF THE WORLD. ONCE I WENT TO PUERTO VALLARTA AND SAW A H BOY ABOUT THIRTEEN WASHING A CAR, WITH AN IGUANA PERCHED ON HIS HEAD. WHAT A _ STRANGE PET, I THOUGHT... STRANGE TO ME, THAT IS, BUT NOT FOR HIM. SOMETIME LATER THIS EXPERIENCE WAS REFLECTED IN NIÑO CON IGUANA (BOY'WITH IGUANA)... ONLY THAT — MINE HAD BEGUN TO GROW,HE'S ON THE THRESHOLD OF MATURITY, AT AN AGE WHEN YOUR ARM GETS IN THE WAY, AND YOU ARE NOT EXACTLY SURE JUST WHERE TO PUT YOUR FEET"
DREAMS AND FANTASY ARE HIS MAIN SOURCE OF IDEAS: OTHER WORLDLY BEINGS FORGED THROU GH A SLOW, UNCENSORED METHAMORPHOSIS UNDER THE-HAND AND EYE OF MARIO GONZÁLEZ? ARE TRANSFORMED IN A WORK OF ART: A ROOSTER WITH A WOMAN RESTING PEACEFULLY ATOP HIS -CREST; A MAN-EAGLE ON THE VERGE OF SOARING INTO THE AIR FROM A MOUNTAIN PEAK; A --STAR MASK WHERE GALAXIES, SUNS, MOONS AND COMETS SWIRL IN THE TRESSES OF A WOMAN -WITH A STRANGE LOOK IN HER EYE; THE DREAMINGS OF A NAVIGATOR AS HE SAILS THROUGH UNKNOWM WATERS, TO WHATEVER HIS LEAP-SHIP MAY LEAD, THE WOMAN WHOSE GRASS COAT SHELTERS TWO BIRDS AND A LION. TOUCANS, MERMAIDS, PHEASANTS, IGUANAS, OWLS AND SEA HORSES ARE ONLY SOME OF THE ELEMENTS MARIO GONZÁLEZ INCORPORATES INTO HIS WORK. IN TLAQUEPAQUE, A SUBURB OF THE CITY OF GUADALAJARA WHERE THE ARTISANSHIP TRADITION
IS AS OLD AS THE COBBLESTONE STREETS. HERE, GLASSBLOWING, CLAY SCULPTING, METAL -HORK AND PAPIER MACHE HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES FOR HUNDRED OF YEARS. TODAY -THE TOWN IS HOME FOR MARIO GONZÁLEZ'S STUDIO. ALL THROUGH THIS LARGE BUILDING DI-VIDED INTO DIFFERENT ÁREAS. 40 ARTISANS WORK HERE. MARIO GONZÁLEZ EXPLAINS THE PRO CESS HE USES TO PRODUCE HIS PIECES. HE USES ORIGINAL BLACK CLAY PIECE HE'LL USE TO MAKE A PLASTER CAST FOR FUTURE REPRODUCTIONS. ONCE IT'S FINISHED, IT WILL DRY FOR THREE TO SIX WEEKS OUTDOORS. IF THE PIECE IS DESTINED FOR PAPIER MACHE, THE MOLO IS LINED WITH SEVERAL LAYERS OF CARÜBOARD AND PASTE, LEFT TO DRY, AND LATER LIFTED FROM THE MOLD.
BIT-BY-BIT THE PIECE IS Cut APART AND THEN PUT BACK TOGETHER, PAINTED WITH A COAT-OF WHITE, AND COVERED WITH A SPECIAL MIXTURE OF GLUE, GROUND PAPER, AND PAINT. FOR A GLOSSY FINISH, THE PIECE IS SANDED, COLOREO PAINT IS APPLIED, AND THEDETAILS— ARE PAINTED ON. FINALLY THE PIECE IS LAOUERED, TO PROTECT THE PAIN AND PROVIDE A -SHINY FINISH. EACH PIECE HAS TO GO THROUGH A CYCLE, A SMALL PIECE WILL TAKE A — MONTH AND A HALF OF WORK, AND A LARGE PIECE WILL TAKE FOUR TO FIVEMONTHS. THE EDJ. TIONS ARE LIMITED TO BETWEEN ONE AND THREE HUNDRED, ALL SIGNED AND NUMBERED.
THE MÉDIUM MARIO USES-PAPIER-MACHE, CERAMIC AND METAL-ARE CLOSELY LINKED TO THE CHOSEN THEME, AS IN MUJER BUHO (OWL WOMAN)(A TRIBUTE TO REMEDIOS VARO) WHOSE MASK-IS MADE OF SMALL POLISHED PIECES OF LAMINATED METAL. THE REST OF THE FIGURE IS CERAMIC, AND THE SOLIO EFFECT WAS WAS ACHIEVED BY BURNING THE CLAY AFTER REMOVAL FROM THE MOLD, AND SANDING AND PAINTING RESULTED IN A PORCELAIN-LIKE FINISH BEFORE THE PIECE WAS TURNEO OVER TO AN ARTISAN, WAITING WITH BRUSHES AND COLOR.
MARIO GONZÁLEZ HAS HIS -WORK IN DIFFERENT PLACES: TLAQUEPAQUE, CANCUN, MÉXICO CITY, _ PUERTO VALLARTA, ACAPULCO, IXTAPA, LOS CABOS AND HAWAII. THE FACT IS THAT MARIO --GONZALEZ'S WORK HAS BEEN, AND CONTINOUS TO BE QUITE POPULAR. DIFFERENT EXHIBITS IN MÉXICO AND THE UNITED STATES HAVE CONFIRMED THIS: THE ART-EXPOS IN NEW YORK AND — PHILADELPHIA, ONE MAN SHOWINGS IN ASPEN AN LOS ANGELES, AND ONE IN JAPAN
BORN IN MÉXICO CITY, MARIO GONZÁLEZ MOVED TO GUADALAJARA (I4) YEARS AGO TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK OF THE ARTISANS-AND STAKE OUT NEW TERRITORY. HE STUDIED ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, BUT HIS HEART IS WITH HIS ART, BY COMMUNICATING HIS FEELINGS THROUGH HIS ART -PIECES.
MARIO'S ORIGINAL GOAL WAS TO RECRÉATE PRE-HISPANIC ART, OF WHICH HE IS A GREAT -ADMIRER, BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED ALONG THE WAY.HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF MORE AN ARTESAN THAN AN ARTIST ALTHOUGH HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE.
WHEN THE EDITION OF A PIECE IS OVER HE BRAKES THE MOLD. FORTUNATELLY HIS INSPIRATI ON WILL CONTINUÉ TO CRÉATE NEW PIECES OF ART.