Happy Memories
by
Jesus "Chucho" Reyes Ferreira
Original painting by renowned listed Mexican artist JESÚS "CHUCHO" REYES FERREIRA (Mexican 1882-1977) Titled - "Happy Memories"
Gouache, pigment, watercolor, and gold paint on crepe paper, laid down on paper board and cloth background. The carved frame is painted by Chucho as well and has the Dyansen Gallery (New York) label at back. The frame measures 42.5 inches by 32 inches. The painting measures 29.5 inches by 19.5 inches and is covered with plexiglass. Certainly one his nicest works of art depicting the image of a skeleton with flowers, The artwork is undated and was created during the mid century. Some loose paint flecks have settled at the lower portion of the glass frame as an added characteristic.
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Jesús Reyes Ferreira, (1880-1977) born José de Jesús Benjamín Buenaventura de los Reyes y Ferreira and also known as Chucho Reyes, was a self-taught artist and antiques/art collector and vendor. Reyes Ferreira began painting on crêpe paper, a delicate material not meant to last, as a way of decorating paper meant to wrap sales from his antiques/art store. The decorated paper became popular enough to be sold on its own. Although he began this activity in Guadalajara, he did not produce the bulk of his work until after he moved to Mexico City when he was 58 years old. Here he continued collecting and selling objects such as colonial art and Mexican handcrafts and folk art, being one of the early exponents for the appreciation of these objects. He also spent several hours a day painting. His work was first exhibited in 1950 with his first individual exhibition in 1967 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes after a half century of painting. As a self-taught painter, his works are relatively simple and often are dismissed as folk painting but they were and his aesthetics were praised by famous artists and architects at the time.
Known as the Mexican Chagall, his particular aesthetic point of view is an example of Mexican modernism. Chucho employed the tempura technique, prepared by combining pigments with boiling water and vegetable glue. Subsequently, this work presents a "crackle" or "antique" effect, that the painter achieved by adding white lead to the mix. With a marked expressionist character, the painter uses bold strokes of strong color with lines that close, open or move the space at will. The plasticity of rice paper and its fragile consistency is used in creating backgrounds, textures and colors.