It has been a while already. I finally write about this latest thing that happened to me in El

Salvador. On my last trip to this country I discovered a very nice gallery by accident. I was not

expecting much in the first place but I told my wife I was willing to try out my luck and see what

fine art gallery we might find in the city. Ive been to El Salvador many times before and was

not expecting to find a gallery that convinced me this time around but to my surprise I found

one in the San Benito zone. The gallery seemed to be well established and with a very good

artists represented and a very good contemporary appeal. Next thing I know, Im showing the

gallery  owner my portfolio and she is  delighted with my work. Such was the impression that

she inmediately offered me an exhibition for the month of December. For one moment I

thought  this was too soon and I really did not have anything to show for this show. But seizing

this rare opportunity I agreed. The gallery owner then started looking closely at my work and

discovering some surprises that are contained in the seemingly harmless religious images. Of

course my work is not about religious images but about consumerism and globalization. I just

utilize these religious iconography in order to comment on our world today. Some people

might not make the connection but this has been my thesis work since 2006 and I can find

many parallels between religion and consumption. After some years It becomes so evident to

me that I see no use in explaining it. The gallery owner did not comment much about this

aspect of my work and remained quite enthusiastic with the idea of showing my work at her

gallery. So I took her word and left the gallery with a sense of victory and stressed becasue of

all the work that laid before me.

So we returned to the United States, I kept in touch with the gallery in El Salvador and planned

the trip back with more work. All this time the gallery owner kept her enthusiasm and

receptivity towards my work. She had enough time to spend reading my artist statement and

looking through my work in my website. She did mention more than once that she wanted a

Last Supper but without "fast food" on the table. Obviously she did not understand the

significance and intention behind my "Panis Beatus" painting. The day before our trip back to

Central America while I was gathing material and work from the storage place, I receive a

phone call from the gallery. First of all I received praises and praises for my work. Thats when

I suspected they were going to give me some bad news. Supposedly the gallery owner had a

metting with an art historian in El Salvador. They went through my work and decided it simply

could not be shown at the gallery. Main reason: Images of  Christ, the Virgin and the saints

with objects and logos of Consumption dont mix. They found it quite disrturbing and offensive

so they asked me if it was possible for me to paint purely religious subject matter without any

personal message or contemporary approach. So of course, I had to say no. This is as I see it

disrespectful to the artist and his work. It is like a crowd that wishes to hear the melody but d

ont care about the lyrics or what the singer has to say and tell him to shut up and play.

Something like this happened to the Dixie Chics not long ago. A true artist  do not please

crowds  A true artist is genuine and honest and sticks to what he believes in.  At least that is

my opinion. Also, I see something very wrong in the notion of copying or doing replicas just for

the sake of beauty, money and fame. When ever I do a copy of a masterpiece I do it with the

intention of learning from it. Its intention is educational.

Well, no resentment here for this took off an enormous pressure for I had to pull out a show

overnight with just two months to produce artworks. This I do not reccomend to do no matter

your style or how fast you are. Quality is often sacrificed with this kind of move. Many lessons

to be drawn from this experience. Make sure the gallery owner read and understands your

artist statement and is perfectly comfortable with your work. Also make sure everything is on

paper. And finally dont make commitements for a show with two or three months in advance,

unless you have all the work ready to be hung already.  So I guess things happen for a good

reason so now Im concentraing on making good honest art work for my next show in the

Puerto Rico in April 2010. I'll post more details on it soon.