ART SCENE IN PUERTO VALLARTA

Puerto Vallarta’s vibrant art scene is an enormous draw to artists and art-loversalike, as evidenced by the large number of art galleries in the city.

These galleries showcase varied art genres including collectible folk art, intricate pottery, sculptures and modern art, among others.

Astounding works of art are created by some of Mexico’s most influential artists, as well as promising up-and-comers.  During high season (mid-October through mid-May), galleries in downtown Puerto Vallarta collectively host a weekly Art Walk on Wednesday evenings.  This offers a wonderful opportunity to take in the beauty of some gorgeous works of art, purchase a piece to beautify your residence and share in the wonderful community of art-loving full-time and part-time Vallartans.

The newly renovated Malecon could be considered a museum. A collection of contemporary sculptures by well-known Mexican are strewn throughout the city’s boardwalk.  Internationally acclaimed sculptor Sergio Bustamante’s In Search of Reason is undoubtedly one of the most photographed sculptures along the Malecon.

This work, inspired by Nobel Prize winner Betrand Russell’s book “The Conquest of Happiness”, comprises of three central figures, one of which is at the bottom of the stair case calling upon the other two who are ascending on a spiritual quest.

Talented Jalisco sculptor, Rafael Zamarripa, was commissioned by the government to create what has now become the symbol of Puerto Vallarta, a statue of a boy riding a seahorse. Zamarripa chose the shape of a little seahorse because he found it graceful, appealing and magical. He thought that if it were possible for a person to ride a sea creature, then that creature would be a seahorse.

Alejandro Colunga’s La Rotonda del Mar is a beautifully sculpted collection of bronze chairs.

Even the boardwalk itself features art, namely stone designs inspired by Huicholes, an indigenous Indian tribe native to the State of Jalisco.

Everywhere you look, whether inside galleries, local architecture, the sculptures along the Malecon or the sunset, Puerto Vallarta is an art-lover’s paradise.