Exhibit spotlights colorful work of Guatemalan artists

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Guatemala deserves its global reputation for indigenous art. All over the Central American nation, proud descendants of the Mayan people continue the tradition of carving and painting the images of their ancestors’ Zodiac symbols and nature gods.

That’s not what you’ll see in the “Artists of Guatemala” exhibit, running through Jan. 25 at the West Las Vegas Library.

“There’s a whole contemporary scene that most people don’t know about,” says Sergio Aparicio, who works as a dealer for 25 modern Guatemalan artists.

The “Artists of Guatemala” exhibit spotlights 15 paintings by three of these artists: David Rodriguez, 48, a Picasso-influenced abstractionist; Mara Eva Cordon, 48, a self-taught former art teacher inspired by the environment; and Juan Carlos Cardillo, 39, who specializes in faceless female forms.

“Everybody has their own style — the color, the texture, the lines,” Aparicio says.

Aparicio claims Guatemalan contemporary art is as good as any coming out of Europe, with its own unique twist.

“The colors are more penetrating, much more alive,” he says. “In Europe, the colors are more cold. They use a lot of blues.

“We use earth tones and reds, warm colors.”

Aparicio estimates that Guatemala harbors at least a thousand outstanding artists running the gamut of styles.

“But only about 50 of them have a great career outside Guatemala,” he says. “It’s very, very few.”

To act as their U.S. ambassador, Aparicio stages retrospectives of their work. (Most are in California, since he resides in Bakersfield; this is his first in Las Vegas.)

“It’s a very hard job to open markets for them,” he says. “You have to go and explore and talk. And the people who control the art business, to get to them is the most difficult thing.”

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.