great dresses

Beto Araluce traces the movement of dancers in low relief on a set of four canvases. "Dance is an ancestral method for achieving an altered state of consciousness and knowledge. Dervishes use it in Turkey, as did the Maya civilization. Dance as union, dance as the great pacifier. That great union of the material with the spiritual in a dance that begins with inner peace, with music and meditation," he says. Araluce works in mixed media on canvas, adding texture with sand and resins. He then applied a layer of 18k gold leaf.

Titled "Danza dorada I paz" in Spanish

Miguel Chacon finds magic in the lovely town of Acos. Set into the mountainside, traditional homes line a steep, stepped path in the shadow of Andean peaks. Townspeople come and go in this historic town that is their home. Cusco was once the capital of the great Inca empire, and the area played an important part in Peru's battle for independence.

Regarded as the celestial overlord of deliverance through destruction, Shiva dances to the sound of his damru drum while his wife, Parvati, watches. She holds their son, Ganesha, in her lap. Shiva is one of the most complex gods of the Hindu pantheon, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is both destroyer and restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. As he dances the tandav, he represents the process of creation, maintenance and dissolution of the material universe. Indian artist Devendra Kumar Jha depicts the scene in a meticulously hand-drawn Madhubani painting. Originating in northern Bihar, Madhubani painting was once used to decorate the floors and walls of homes. Life in harmony with nature is a popular theme for this art style.

As each painting is an individual creation, each is unique.

Tumbling across two canvases en voluptuous array, rotund clay jars mingle with copper pots and cauldrons. Ylce Vilchez exalts their rich terracotta tones in a diptych of classic elegance.

Titled "Bodegón de barro" in Spanish.

A musician dressed in traditional costume serenades the agave in card number 23 of Marina Pallares' exclusive interpretation of Mexico's lotería. It is a unique version of the classic bingo game featuring traditional images. The loteria made its appearance in the second half of the 18th century, and it is still a favorite at schools, fairs, carnivals and festivals. "I grew up in Jalisco, known for the production of tequila from agave plants, and as a child I used to play lotería all the time. These two facts inspired me to create the 'Tequila Lotto' series," confides Pallares, who credits the influence of Leopoldo Méndez and José Guadalupe Posada in her work. She masters aquafortis and aquatint etching techniques to create this eloquent composition.

Titled "El músico" in Spanish

Warm colors of gold and brown decorate the surface of the canvas, depicting wild and abstract shapes that are full of passion. When painting, Peru's Carlos Lopez Avila hopes to translate the visions of his soul to the viewer, painting with broad, textured strokes. For this painting, the artist finds inspiration in the change of time, as older generations pass their understanding of the world down to the newer ones.

Titled "Corpus Ancestral" in Spanish.