Jorge en Joy shows the story of love and art of a painter and a writer

The painter Joy Laville (1923-2018) and the writer Jorge Ibargüengotia (1928-1983) managed to coexist not only personally, but also professionally for almost 20 years, a relationship that was cut short after the death of the novelist and playwright in a plane crash . A relationship between two creators does not always have good results; However, the English woman and the man from Guanajuato were able to combine their professional and personal lives.

At the same time very unitedwere respectful of each othersays José Valtierra, co-curator of the project, which also includes a book, the original idea of ​​which is from Editorial Diamantina. Valtierra is curator of the part relating to Laville, while Jorge F. Hernández, in relation to Ibargüengoitia. The exhibition is divided into sections relating to moments in the couple’s life.

The exhibition includes around 120 works by the artist, including painting, drawing and sculpture, which are intertwined with texts by the writer in order to put together and tell the story. Only Laville’s work made during his relationship with the writer is included.

Joy Laville and Jorge Ibargüengoitia met in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, at the El Colibrí bookstore, where the former worked. After dating each other for a while, even living as a couple, they married in 1973. According to Valtierra, Jorge was not the Ibargüengoitia that we know today, but rather he was in the process of building his name and his career. Joy, for her part, painted almost as a hobby. From the beginning of his painting career, Jorge became Joy’s main promoter, as he began to move his paintings around his close circle until he consolidated his purchase..

Collaboration in The dead

Ibargüengoitia encouraged her partner to participate in Confrontation 66, controversial exhibition organized at the Museum of the Palace of Fine Arts, whose purpose was to recognize valuable Mexican artists.

Laville brought two small works that were accepted. Your cake Three nudes and a ladder was awarded the Acquisition Award. In that exhibition, Inés Amor, owner of the Mexican Art Gallery, saw her work, invited her to be part of her artists’ catalog and gave her her first individual exhibition. At that moment his career was catapulted.

It was then that Ibargüengoitia stopped being Laville’s agent. When he saw that Joy had a stronger career, he gave her space and let her grow at his side. I didn’t pressure her. I let her be Joy Laville. He was in love with Joy the woman and Joy the painter. She, for her part, stayed completely out of Jorge’s creative side.Valtierra noted.

Ibargüengoitia also became a recognized writer, with invitations to teach in different parts of the world. The couple’s travels through Europe, even to Africa, They nourished Joy’s imagination. It is clearly seen in his paintings, the moment before and after living with Jorge, because his color palette changes. Shapes appear that did not exist beforenotes Valtierra.

During a stay in Paris, Laville painted a painting inspired by some photographs of circus women he saw by Diane Arbus. The subject was a woman in a landscape, with outstretched arms and a cape.

“At that time, Jorge had finished writing his novel The dead (1977). He saw Joy’s watercolor, which had a great impact on him; So, he asked her to be the cover of the book. That’s where a collaboration between the two began. Laville’s work illustrated a total of 17 covers of Jorge’s books, many posthumously,” said the curator.

Jorge in Joy: Story of a love, Joy Laville and Jorge Ibargüengoitia It is exhibited until February 16, 2025 at the Museum of Art and History, in León, Guanajuato.