Mexican painter Luis Castellanos Valui shows off the 'joy of life' in exhibit

When Pittsburgh sculptor James Simon met Mexican painter Luis Castellanos Valui in the late 1970s, he was blown away by the exuberant paintings produced by this fellow artist, who was nearly the same age.

"We've been friends ever since," Simon says. "I've always wanted to bring him up here."

Now, more than 30 years later, Simon has done just that, inviting Valui to be a part of Art on Gist Street, an ongoing community project Simon started over seven years ago. The project invites artists from other cities and countries to create art to decorate the many buildings on Gist Street in Uptown.

Last weekend, Valui began working on a colorful mural in the yard turned outdoor studio at Simon's unique digs -- a three-story building he turned into his home and studio in 2000. (Readers may recognize Simon's work from the 15-foot sculptures of three jazz musicians that stand near the entrance to the soon-to-be expanded ToonSeum at 945 and 947 Liberty Ave.)

In a unique community collaboration with the Pittsburgh Association of the Deaf, Valui's 12-foot-by-15 foot mural will be placed near the entrance of its building on Gist Street, diagonal to Simon's studio. Valui says the painting, which depicts a band on bicycles flying over a city, will incorporate American Sign Language into the composition, at the request of association. "There will be sign language for the words 'peace,' 'imagine' and 'I love you,' " Valui says.

Valui, who currently lives in Lake Chapala, on the border between the states of Jalisco and Michoacan, was born Sept. 4, 1955, in Guadalajara, Mexico. He studied for two years at the Fine Arts University in Guadalajara. At the age of 20, he moved to Mexico City, where he studied at the "Esmeralda" school. He restored colonial and pre-Hispanic art for three years at the request of the Mexican government. He then established himself in the Bohemian community of Tepoztlan, Morelos, a small village south of Mexico City.

That's where Simon met him. "When I first met Luis, he was painting in this beautiful little studio on a hill in Tepoztlan. His paintings were gorgeous back then. And really, people would come from all over to check out his paintings."

Friday evening, Pittsburghers will have a chance to check out more of Valui's paintings during the opening of his solo show at Mendelson Gallery in Shadyside.

Many of the paintings featured will be of enlivened scenes like in the mural, which are filled with folks having a good time, such as in "Coffee Night" where a couple can be seen dancing the tango among chatting coffee drinkers. Or "Fiesta On The Town," in which the couple dances to music being played by a mariachi band in the middle of a vibrant blue seaside village.

Some, like "The Music With The Muse" with its floating couple above a city, are reminiscent of the work of Russian-born Marc Chagall.

"For me, in the beginning it was van Gogh," Valui says. "But, over the years, I learned about the German Expressionists, pre-Hispanic art, and became influenced by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall."

As for his own art, Valui says, "It's a combination of many schools (of painting). It's very optimistic but, at the same time, it's very expressive. You can understand the figures, but, at the same time, they are very expressionistic. ... It gives you the feeling of life, the joy of life."

Not just people, but animals are also a favorite subject -- crabs, parrots, lions, tigers being some of his most favorites to paint.

Turning to the small watercolor titled "Cosmic Crab," he says, "I make crabs, sometimes the size of half of this wall, on canvas. And then you work on the texture. You go to the idea that the cosmos is inside the crab. That there is a big connection between the cosmos and the little things in the world. That's the whole idea. You go into the details, and it's like a universe unto itself."

The mural project, which Valui has tentatively titled "The Traveling Band and Artists On Town," will feature a filmmaker, musician, writer and dancer in addition to the traveling band floating above the city. At least that's the plan for now, he says.

"You never know what's going to happen. The process is giving you the rules in a way. They take their own life, the paintings."

Valui will be in town through Sept. 7 when he will give a lecture at the University of Pittsburgh on his work over the past 40 years. "Over that many years, I've created many, many paintings. Actually, well over 1000," he says. "And I will be showing some slides of those."

The next day Valui plans to return to Mexico, but the mural will remain on view indefinitely. "I hope people enjoy this mural," Valui says, "because it's honoring the city because of the beauty of this place."

The lecture "Forty Years of Painting in Mexico" is planned for 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 7 at University of Pittsburgh, Posvar Hall (next to the Hillman Library), Room 4130. Admission is free.

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Additional Information:

'Luis Castellanos Valui at Mendelson Gallery'

When: Through Sept. 3. Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; opening reception, 6-10 p.m. Friday

Admission: Free

Where: Mendelson Gallery, 5874 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside

Details: 412-361-8664