Old San Juan's Galeria Botello
Galeria Botello is a modern gallery which exhibits Latin American artwork created by painters and sculptors who live in the region. The gallery is housed in Angel Botello’s home – an old mansion which he personally restored to its former glory – which is located at 208 Del Cristo Street in Old San Juan , Puerto Rico. Prior to the 2006, Galería Botello in Hato Rey and the Galería Botello in Old San Juan were separate entities, but now they have been brought together and are able to offer the public a much larger and more diverse selection of art.
The mansion-turned-gallery is painted a crisp white so the brightly colored art pieces provide the perfect contrast to the building’s pale walls. It is here, within the striking walls of this sturdy old building, that many of the talented local artists have sat down and created artwork specifically for a number of public areas in San Juan. These artists use the gallery as a place where they can meet with architects, project developers and designers to come up with an artwork that will be suitable for urban, residential and commercial areas. These projects really add to the atmosphere of the city as well as improving the value of a particular area and emphasizing the history of the town.
The name of the gallery comes from one of the most talented artists to ever come out of Puerto Rico, Angel Botello, and it is a living tribute to of all the artwork he completed. Angel Botello was born in Galicia, a small village in Spain, just as the Spanish Civil War ended. It wasn't long after when he made a move to Haiti in the Caribbean where he stayed for a further twelve years pursuing his love for art. At the gallery you will be able to see many of his paintings and bronze sculptures. What is interesting about his style of art is that he uses very bright colors. He also occasionally uses an evocative technique which is quite unusual and different. Much of his style is influenced by his background and experiences.
The gallery also includes in its collection many works from local artists who have produced some really outstanding pieces for show. The artwork that is collected from local artists does not follow a specific genre of art, but changes according to the artists whose work is being displayed there at that time. Something else that the gallery collects a lot of is antique Puerto Rican Santos, which are wooden, hand-carved figures of saints. Some of the artists featured at the gallery may include Myrna Baez, Lorenzo Homar, Aileen Castañeda and Cecilio Colon. You may also sculptures by Jaime Suarez and Nestor Oterro.
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PuertoRico.com Team - 2011-07-18 10:53:03
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Rita Korst - 2011-07-16 21:35:25
in 1966 my husband bought a painting at the galeria botello.signed deubeicies 65 I have taken pictures, do you have a e...mail i like for you to see it. we used to come often to P.R. from st thomas.
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Wanda Caban - 2010-10-14 00:25:39
My grandfather carved santos out of wood and they are on display im not sure what museum since he died before I was born I would love to see his stuff & learn more about my family history
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