... in response to Re: Art galleries in Cali?, posted by Cali vet on Apr 9, 2002La Tertulia is indeed a great place to start. The gift shop has some very interesting hand crafts as well as signed, limited edition prints of good Colombian artists. I spent a lot of time this last visit looking for the good galleries and found a couple. Don't expect to "steal" good art in Colombia though. They know what it is worth now and it is as expensive as anywhere else. Beware of the street 'galleries' that display on the sidewalks outside of their shops. Much of the stuff is "assembly line" art that sells cheaper in the US, there is also a lot of European import 'assembly line' out there too. They bring in the pre-painted canvas and stretch them in the local shops.
If you don't want to spend heavy bucks, the signed, numbered lithographs (like everything else in Colombia) have been reprinted (illegally) and are available for about a tenth of what a legitmate one costs. Of course the quality is not as good and the signatures are forgeries...but, hey!..if you're looking for an inexpensive way to bring a little slice of the country home, go for it. These kinds of things are generally found in "Art Fairs" that the shopping malls and other places occasionally sponser. Chipichapi had one going on a couple of weeks ago.
Ecuador is the place to go for high quality watercolors at really good prices. Some of the artists there are excellent and have not yet discovered what the world will pay for quality. Of course, since they have gone on the US dollar things may have changed. Prices intially rose dramatically on everything since no one could get a mental grip on what a dollar was worth compared to the old currency.
Luz has a number of originals by some of the heavy-duty artists in Colombia because she, or some of her friends, know them and/or their wives and got deals before the prices went crazy. She found out this week, while checking on shipping them to Florida, that they have to be submitted to a government reviewing authority prior to shipment to make sure that no "cultural heritage" is being lost. I think that this is primarily a check for historical stuff, but I am not sure yet. We will find out soon I guess, but that is something to get straight with the gallery you deal with if you go for the good stuff.
If you email me I will get directions and addresses from my fiancee. We went to so many little side streets, nooks and crannies that I can't remember which is where...but I will find out for you.
