Puerco Azul, a gallery like none other

in the Shopping Guide
Written by Jubal on September 29, 2006

Among Puerto Vallarta’s many wonderful galleries, one in particular promises comic relief along with aesthetic nourishment. Its name alone, Puerco Azul (Blue Pig), provides the first inkling that something beyond still-lives and pastoral scenes are in store. Originally a four-room house complete with courtyard, Puerco Azul is now home to an eclectic mix of colorful one-of-a kind art, rugs, jewelry, pottery, vintage clothing, furniture and other unique collectables. The common denominator, it would appear, is whimsy and animals.

Owners Lee and Nancy Chapman, admitted “shopaholics”, love traveling Mexico in search of the unusual. Having filled their LA home to capacity with acquisitions from their forays, the couple opened Puerco Azul in Vallarta ten years ago as a perfect venue to feed their passion and share their treasures. Initially intended for others’ works, the gallery eventually evolved as the perfect showcase for Lee’s artistic creations, as well. Schooled in marketing and fine art, he’d dabbled in painting while working as an advertising film/video director and producer. At first focused on such serious subject matters as the Gulf War, Lee made a conscious decision one day to “lighten up,” and thus was born his trademark blue pig and other fanciful creatures, now licensed in the US and pictured on calendars, greeting cards, mugs, tee-shirts, and a variety of other popular gift items sold in Pier One and Penny’s Department Stores, among others.

The Chapmans have contracted with artisans throughout Mexico to incorporate Lee’s signature artwork into traditional folk ware, resulting in some of the Gallery’s more innovative merchandise such as embroidered appliqué pillows featuring a multi-level feline housing development (catdominium) or decorative bowls with colorful clay nuns perched on its edge. Lee’s original canvases, from which these works have been adapted, are a study in artistic humor. Cirugia Plastica (plastic surgery), for example, features three stylized men and women in before-and-after poses following procedures to enhance various perceived bodily imperfections. At the bottom of the painting in a shameless effort to recruit patients, Dr. Lencho (Lee’s sometime pseudonym) has signed his name alongside his phone number.

The Chapman’s appreciation for animals and their light-hearted approach to life is evident throughout the gallery, making it an entertaining and productive place to search for distinctive home accessories, unusual mementos of one’s trip to Puerto Vallarta and hostess gifts or special occasion presents, among others. One of my favorites is the colorful Bad Dog/Good Dog products (mugs, chairs, etc.) featuring an impish pooch whose caught-in the-act expression is all too familiar and irresistible to canine lovers. Another charming item is the series of educational children’s books ($200 pesos each) featuring Lee’s artwork. In Eight Animals on the Town, targeted at four-to-eight year-olds, the text teaches simple Spanish by documenting the characters’ various activities, such as baking a cake and playing ball. Doggie Dreams, which the Chapman’s produced collaboratively, utilizing Nancy’s writing talents, is a humorous look at pups’ naptime preoccupations. Trippers Travels, scheduled for release in September is designed like a photo album that takes the reader to various countries, showing important landmarks, customs and cultural celebrations.

Other notable items offered at Puerco Azul include fanciful rooster lamps, irreverently humorous black-and-white comic books by ceramicist Jordan Van Sewell, delicate Relatillo-style pottery by Santos Lucana Neri, folk art sculpture by the Ortega brothers of Tonala, copper cookware, vintage textiles, including tablecloths and napkins, new and vintage apparel, including nostalgic felt tourist jackets ($2400 pesos) and circle skirts ($1000 pesos to $1800 pesos), and a sixteen-piece set of china, with each service-for-four featuring a different animal.

Puerco Azul offers a good selection of unique but affordable recuerdos—painted clay Christmas decorations and napkin ring sets ($220 pesos), woven market bags ($200 pesos) and wine totes, Lee’s unframed prints in a variety of sizes and prices, starting at $220 pesos for an 11 × 8, tee-shirts with reproductions of his artwork ($200 pesos), and for java junkies with a sense of humor—one-pound bags of Puerco Azul’s delicious organic Virgen (of the cocina/kitchen) Coffee ($65 pesos).

Please click on "GALLERY" for pictures of the Puerco Azul store.

PUERCO AZUL
Constitución 325
Tel. +52 322 222 8647
Mon-Sat 10:00am-8:00pm