Garros Galería or Garros Gallery is located in

Colonia Roma Colonia Roma, also called La Roma or simply, Roma, is a district located in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City just west of the Historic center of Mexico City, city's historic center. The area comprises two ''colonia (Mexi ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. It is the only art gallery and museum dedicated to cats in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

History

The enterprise was begun by siblings Joel and María del Carmen Nava Polina, along with Rodrigo Moreno González, who realized that there were cat museums in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

but not in Mexico. Both come from a family of cat lovers with fifteen cats between them currently. They had also built a large collection of cat-related items over the years. The gallery began in 2006 by gathering various artists and friends to donate and put works for the gallery on consignment. Since then, the gallery has had success because it caters to a niche market which had not been served previously. Sales have included those to Europe through the Internet. Since it opened, the gallery has been featured on various television shows including

TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...

and

Once TV Canal Once (channel 11) (stylised as canal once, formerly once and once tv) is a Mexican educational broadcast television network owned by National Polytechnic Institute. The network's flagship station is XEIPN-TDT channel 11 in Mexico City. I ...

Description

It is located in Colonia Roma, which is known for having a large number of galleries, boutiques and specialty stores. Most of the gallery is dedicated to art and handcrafts with cat themes with the aim of supporting artists and artisans both from Mexico and abroad as well as promoting cats aesthetically. It works with over one hundred designers, artists and artisans to create its line of products. The catalog includes over 5,000 pieces which includes handcrafts, pillows, paintings, T-shirts, jewelry, cups, toys, photographs, watches and books. Prices range from twenty pesos for a lollipop and 45 pesos for earrings to over 8,000 for an oil painting. The merchandise focuses on original art and handcrafts, ensuring that customers are buying items available nowhere else and not buying knock offs or illegal copies of commercial products. Customers include cat aficionados or friends/family of such, curious people who pass by the site and tourists. Some of the creators who work with the gallery include Daniel Soler, Serioshka Hellmund, Roxana Elvridge-Thomas, Ricardo Ham, Karina Falcón, Iris México, Miguel Ángel Tenorio, Guillermo León, James Tomon and Ana Karen Allende. The logo for the gallery is “El gato Dedrita” (Dedrita the cat) designed by Joel Nava Polina which represents the playful nature of cats and of their admirers. The gallery also sponsors exhibitions and other events not related to cats but with the aim of promoting local artists. It has shown works by artists such as Jesús Topete, Fumiko Nakashima and Kodai Kita.

Gato Sombra

The Gato Sombra is a painting of a cat which was owned by artist Odette Paz before it died. The painting has its own niche in the gallery where it is claimed by the artist and others to grant favors for those petitioners who believe in it. Petitioners write small notes to leave with the image. The gallery also sells small images with a prayer.

Exhibitions

The gallery has a room dedicated to temporary art exhibits which are not necessarily related to cats. It specializes in work by up-and-coming artists, especially those from the Japanese community in Mexico City such as Fumiko Nakashima and Satoji Matoba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garros Galeria Art museums and galleries in Mexico Mexican art Cats in art 2006 establishments in Mexico Art museums and galleries established in 2006 Colonia Roma