Original & Vintage 

Altos De Chavon Annual Festival Church Geometric

Art Print - Dominican Republic 

I started by creating a limited edition hand-pulled invitation. Signed and numbered. It was sent out to all the same group that never came before and voilà, the gallery opening was a major success. Next, I started designing posters for each exhibit and a miniature for the invitation. We would do a 300 poster run for marketing and 100 in good paper to sell in the boutiques. It worked. With the sales of the 100 posters, we were able to pay for all the rest and more. Ironically, people everywhere stole the ones we put up around the country so a lot of people kept the cheap ones too. Soon, we were having people come from everywhere to the exhibit openings. ~Betsy Arvelo

This artwork is in great condition as displayed in the photo gallery. Item is framed, matted, and sealed on the back. Its a great addition to your decor and collection a scarce item in print by a highly regarded artist. Frame measures approximately 24 by 26 inches.

Altos de Chavón was an artist village located on the edge of the Chavón River in La Romana, Dominican Republic. I say "was" because it is not longer an artist village. When the Fanjul Corp bought it from Gulf & Western, they discontinued all art in the village that wasn't associated with the Art & Design school and the education trust. Apparently, art is not one of their things. So sad. The village is now a silly tourist villa. Although there is still some art because of the Art school, it is nothing like the cultural and social center that it was in the early 80s! Those were the days...concerts, gallery openings, fairs, a discotheque, celebrities, and the beautiful people.

A little history: The village was a present from Charlie Bloudhorn, CEO of the, now defunct, Golf & Western Corporation, (Paramount, Miss Universe, Catalina, Sega, Simon & Schuster, and much more) to his artsy-fartsy wife. It served two purposes: please his wife by bringing culture and artists to the area, and a hook to sell real estate in the area being developed by Costasur, the real estate company responsible for the sale of Casa de Campo Real Estate. He was successful in both. The wife was thrilled by the artists that followed and the real estate sold like hot cakes, bought primarily, by the artsy-fartsy. (Artsy-Fartsy: These are the people that follow artists everywhere they go. They buy paintings and boast that they know artists. But, their friends are gallery owners not the artists themselves. Think of Soho. Artists moved there because there was cheep space to rent. They turned it into an artist mecca. It wasn't long before the jet set was buying lofts in Soho. Soon artists the artists had to leave because the rent was really high and they couldn't work in peace.  This is the usual lifespan of an artist neighborhood. )

1983 chavon staff 2 vert

Roberto Copa built movie sets for Dino De Laurentis and was brought to Casa de Campo to design and build the village based on Italian medieval cities. However, although the spaces were beautiful, they were built more as movie sets and less as living or work spaces. There weren't any of the comforts you would find in a space that was meant for people. There were living and commercial spaces, 5 art galleries, many boutiques, restaurants, a disco, and a 5,000 seat amphitheater with state-of-the-art sound all built out of or surrounded by rocks. 

I arrived in the Dominican Republic in October of 1981, after separating and later divorcing my husband Tom. A couple of months later, my sister, who had been studying in London, came home for the holidays. She decided to not go back. Our friend Vivian called us to let us know that she was working in Altos de Chavón and they had job openings. So we went to visit her and check out the place.

My sister and I arrived at the village and were blown away with the beauty of the location, the architecture and the cultural center that it was. Not to mention a group of very good looking single men, some Italian. We were hooked! We were also hired. I was assistant to the Gallery Director and Jackie as an events promoter.

We were totally exploited by Gulf & Western because we were Dominicans. The US employees were paid in US dollars and at US rates. We got paid in pesos and as slave labor (normal US corporation exploits). However, the fringe benefits made up for the money. Most of my jobs have been like that. The experience, fun and fringe benefits made up for what I didn't make in cash. We lived in one of the most expensive, high-end resorts in the Caribbean and paid very little rent, had free access to the tennis courts, golf courses, and a private beach. I  was totally disconnected – I didn't have a car, a TV, a radio or a telephone and loved it! Since most of the restaurant chefs were our friends and/or lovers, we ate for free at 5 star restaurants, then danced in a disco with the best sound system in the island. Great food, great lovers, great life. What Fun!

One of the best perks was our proximity to famous musicians, artist, writers and celebrities who would hang with us "locals" and share with us the excitement of being in a great hideout where they could be themselves, surrounded by people who didn't want anything from them, except to have fun. There were many artists, writers, musicians and celebrities living and working in Chavón. 1983 me claudio macaoAt any given time, you could run into the rich and famous. Jerzy Kosinski was living there, writing a book, when we first arrived. Oscar de la Renta, one of the first to buy a home in Casa de Campo, also had a small a boutique in Chavón, and hung out there with his posse of beautiful young men, when he was in town. You never knew who you might run into: Diana Ross, Isabella Rossellini, Merv Griffin, or Geoffrey Holder (The Un-cola man, Annie.) There were the Berliners – a group of neo-expressionist artists that had come as Artists-in-Residence before the village was ready for them. Most were very good artists, but very angry and ready to start sabotaging the village because they were promised a studio, canvas and art supplies,  and had not received any of it. In contrast, there was an older Italian painter, named Vivaldi, who was full of himself and ready to buy a gun to kill the Berliners since they drove him crazy. They went out of their way to entice the Italian. It was an all out war between them. A few Dominican artists were also staying and exhibiting there, such as Aurelio Grisanty, a great artist and one of my greatest inspirations. Then there were the Italians... these beautiful men had been brought there by Dino De Laurentis to work in the village's high-end Italian restaurants. They were a great part of the Bohemian flavor of the village. Great chefs and restaurateurs and beautiful men to add to the ambiance. They all went on to own great restaurants.

In 1983 the amphitheater was inaugurated with concerts by Frank Sinatra, Santana and Heart. This was a 5,000 seat theater inspired by Greek amphitheaters of antiquity. Other great concerts, included Joan Jet & the Blackhearts, Bob James, Spyro Jira, Paco de Lucia, Chick Korea, The English Beat, French Toast, and many more. On any given day there were gallery openings, or a local band playing, or a crafts fair, or a concert in the amphitheater, or the disco would be pumping. On the weekends, if there were no events, the whole group of Chavonites came to our house for pancakes, then went to the beach. If there was a concert, everyone came from all around the island and we would have 10 people sleeping on the floors. ~ Betsy Arvelo - Artist, Painter, Graphic Designer