Artists Living in Exile

For artists who live in exile from their native countries, a new perspective on the world deepens and enriches their work immeasurably. This is true for artists of every medium. However, music and the visual arts readily cross borders and transcend cultures because they do not depend on language to express ideas and emotions. My own experience as a poet and painter has taught me the artistic value of living and working in a foreign culture. In San Miguel, my eyes have been opened to new ways of seeing and expressing the universal truths about the human condition.

Many artists have fled their homeland for political or personal reasons. Others have simply left in search of a more congenial environment. Painters such as Amadeo Modigliani, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Marc Chagall, and Pablo Picasso found tremendous sources of inspiration in foreign lands.

The work of expatriate artists living in San Miguel is greatly enriched by the local Mexican culture. But there should be more cultural exchange, more give and take between the two cultures, Mexican and foreign. This situation seems to be a one-way stream with all of the advantages going to the expatriates. There should be a flow of ideas back into the culture of Mexico, but this doesn’t seem to be happening.