by Terry K. Biskovich
Celebrating 25 years of work by Rosamaría
Pascual de Gámez, who may well be one
of the most inspired of the Guatemalan painters
alive today, Cantón Exposición/Fundación
G & T Continental invites you to the inauguration
of her show on Thursday, 2nd at 7pm.
In 1997 Rosamaría Pascual de Gámez said
of her work, “When I started painting it was
like a miracle happening in my life.” Today her
accomplishments include 27 exhibitions, 225
square meters of religious murals, participation
in art auctions, national and international
shows, and what may be her ultimate painting
to date, Devotion to Esquipulas Christ, which
was placed directly in the hands of Pope John
Paul II on his second visit to Guatemala.
Incredibly, Rosamaría did not begin her
artistic career until she was 40 years old. “I
started mostly with portraits.” She laughed
and said, “I used to ask everyone, ‘Who wants
me to do their portrait?’ I painted about 200
in all and then I switched to doing still lifes.”
She also blends a passion for art with her
deeply held religious beliefs. “I began painting
for churches and went in a mystical direction,
doing huge murals that I thought I
could never do. When the church asked me
to do the first one, I said, ‘Oh no, I’ve never
done anything like this.’ They said, ‘Oh yes,
you can!’”
Though her atelier is filled with sunlight
she explained, “There was a moment some
years ago when I made a change in my style. I
used to paint with a lot of light but suddenly
something must have happened because I
went to dark. I began to include burning candles
in my still lifes. Their warm glow, their
light against the darkness, is always a challenge
to capture. I also started adding more
texture to my work.”
