Carlos Fentanes

My initial foray into the realm of commercial art galleries emerged soon after completing my architectural studies in Guadalajara, Mexico. The year was 1993, and I found myself employed as a draftsman at a modest architecture firm. Serendipitously, news spread of Guadalajara’s inaugural Mexican Art Fair, a momentous occasion for our city.
On a whim, I attended the fair with a friend, assuming the role of curious observer rather than participant. My knowledge of art commerce was scant; I possessed merely a visceral urge to translate my creative impulses onto canvas with oil and pigment. My companion, a gregarious soul unlike myself, made an offhand remark at a fledgling gallery’s stand, opining that my paintings deserved a spot among its offerings.

To my surprise, the gallery owner approached us, claiming familiarity with my person. Perplexed, I obliged him with an introduction and shared my fledgling portfolio. Before long, I found myself in esteemed company at an Art Fair soirée, mingling with luminaries like Armando Morales, whose recollections of the Nicaraguan revolution and Pedro Almodovar’s early partner filmmaking escapades left a lasting impression.
Through a stroke of fortune or perhaps mere curiosity, the gallery owner extended an invitation to showcase my work in Mexico City. Over time, his gallery ascended to prominence as a bastion of Figurative Art in Mexico, and he solidified his standing as a prominent figure in our nation’s art scene.
Reflecting on this journey, I’m reticent to offer advice on securing gallery representation, as my own path was paved more by happenstance than design. Nonetheless, my enduring relationship with this gallery endures, with my most recent exhibition there just a few short years ago, affirming our continued rapport.