In the Art Park

Near the intersection of the Paseo de la Reforma and Insurgentes Avenue there is a park with the un-Mexican name of Parque Sullivan.  Since 1958 local artists have been exhibiting and selling their artwork here on Sunday afternoons in what has been described as the world's largest outdoor art market.  I have been there several times, but last Sunday, Alejandro and I paid another visit to the park.

There is an enormous variety of artwork for sale.  Not all of it is work that I would care to hang in my living room, but all of it displays the fantastic talent of the city's artistic community.

I loved the large landscape painting of the Valley of Mexico toward the left.  On closer inspection, it was an imagining of what the valley looked like in the times of the Aztecs, when their capital of Tenochtitlan stood on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

On previous visits I had not noticed that there were many stalls selling artists' supplies.  I guess this will be the place for me to come when I need to buy paints and brushes for my own artwork.

For a number of years I participated in the art shows of a local fine arts club back in Ohio.  So, I like to support the artists by making a small purchase when I am here.  Besides, I was looking for a small piece of traditional Mexican art for one particular spot in my new apartment.  As we wandered around the park, I finally came across something that was perfect.  The artist did not remember me, but, on a previous visit some years ago, I had purchased another one of his small paintings.  It was a picture of an agave plant, a plant which is so much a part of the landscape of central Mexico.  I still have to get that painting framed, but, along with my latest acquisition, the two of them will be just right for the space.

 

This painting shows a woman walking down a dirt road in rural Mexico.  There is an agave in this picture also (to the right), so it ties in with the other painting.