The Kissing Bench

With all the construction happening in and around Vallarta, It’s hard to imagine what it looked like even 5 years ago, let alone 25. But when Patrick Smith first started to really fall in love with Vallarta, it was a totally different place. Back then, as his bus trundled down the same basic route it would today, from the marina to Old Town, the view was quite different. More rural-feeling, less traffic. The “South Beach” phenomenon we’ve got going on now, wasn’t a thing yet. 

“Like Penn Station On A Bad Morning” 

And yet, some things have been a bit slower to change. Until the Tile Park project, Lazaro Cardenas Park had long been saddled with a well-deserved reputation as a hangout for those on the fringes of society. Lots of drugs, alcohol, and unsavory characters. Patrick recalls leaving the bus at Parque Lazaro Cardenas on Saturday mornings to walk the rest of the way to Blue Chairs, wishing someone would transform that cold, drab, gray, hard, angry-feeling space into a destination. A place where people want to go, that they seek out, something more joyful and bright.

Those who remember know that even this photo is not the original state. Nat had already done the preliminary concrete work to soften the park’s hard edges.

Ms. Moraga’s Magical Metamorphosis 

In the time since that Saturday morning so many years ago, Patrick’s love affair with Mexico has continued to grow deeper. He now owns a real estate brokerage here in Mexico called PV Lives Here (http://pvliveshere.com/), as well as Sklarsky Smith Gallery which has two locations: Brooklyn and Vallarta.

So when Patrick was again walking through the park just a few years ago, and he saw Nat setting up that now-ubiquitous white tent she works under all day, he had to know what she was up to… and to be a part of it. The magical metamorphosis he had hoped for all those years before was about to happen. As someone who was now very invested in the community, in the Vallarta way of life and its livelihood, it was an honor to meet the person who would change the face of Lazaro Cardenas park, to give it new life, and it was a privilege for Patrick to get involved in the project.

It was also very personal for him. The Vallarta location of the art gallery that Patrick owns with artist Ian Sklarsky is in close proximity to the park. So for Patrick, it was a bringing together of all these different elements: a park with loads of potential, in a tightly-knit community he loves, situated near a gallery he owns with a New York based artist, that he could now put together with this Vallarta based artist… who would transform that park with all that potential… 

It was perfect. The Patrick of so many years ago would absolutely approve.

A Study In Joy, Unity, & Community 

Ian Sklarsky’s first time visiting (and falling in love with) Vallarta was in 2002, so he too has been invested in this area and its culture for twenty-plus years. When he and Patrick had an opportunity to open the Vallarta location of Sklarsky Smith Gallery he couldn’t have been more thrilled. Like Patrick, for Ian it was a chance to put some roots down, and make a difference in Vallarta in the way he uniquely can: through art.

The original sketch

Ian’s concept for the bench was inspired by the shape. As you might already know, a lot of the concrete work in the park is not original… Nat actually traveled to León, in Guanajuato, to learn how to do molded concrete work so she could create the organic, wavy, undulating patterns that help give the park its signature look.

Patrick and Ian’s bench have these two great waves that form a perfect cupid’s bow, that little dip we all have at the center of the upper lip. So the idea of making it into lips came naturally. In addition, Patrick is from Canada, and Mexico is where it’s all happening, but more than that… Mexico and Canada have a symbiotic relationship, a bond of sorts, so incorporating each country’s flag into the design was also an easy choice.

The finished product

No Rules About Rainbows 

Ian says that “Mexico always has your back, and on dependable old Canada you can always rest easy”. So the placement of the flags is both meaningful and adorably cheeky too. 

Look closely on this bench and you’ll find certain nods to the elements, like water and fish, earth, and in the air, where a popsicle-colored rainbow hangs in the sky. 

This bench, like the team who created it, has a sense of humor. When it was finished, Patrick joked that it’s not a “real rainbow”, because it’s not the red/orange/yellow/green/blue/purple that many of us think of. But Ian says there is only a definitive rainbow in terms of what human eyes can see; there are no rules about rainbows. So in a nod to non-conforming rainbows everywhere, this bench proudly sports a tropical one… and two jaunty white clouds.

Bee The Change 

Ian is a beekeeper, and hopes to one day become a master beekeeper. Shining a spotlight on the universal plight of our bee friends is one of his core missions in life. Throughout his art you’ll find bees represented, and they are there on the bench too. Ian says his is a “3-bee life”, for him they are often represented in groups of 3. As a nod to this he has a tattoo with 3 bees, and the bench is also adorned with 3 bees.

Though the design of the bench is Ian’s, he left some space unplanned, for surprises to happen, to give Natasha some artistic license. Though bees are really Ian’s thing, Nat was actually the one to add them to the design. Just one small example of that artistic synergy which is present throughout the park… great minds thinking alike.

Ian Sklarsky is a Brooklyn based, modern multi-media artist whose unique portraits, monument and edifice studies, and still life and animal works are exhibited in public venues, galleries and housed in private collections world wide. You can learn more about Ian and check out his work at https://sklarskysmith.com/ 

For Ian and Patrick, it was fun to collaborate in a way they don’t usually get to. Each a  successful businessman in his own right, there is a lot of work and energy that goes into their individual endeavors… not to mention the galleries they own together and the effort surrounding that. They’ve certainly proven that they can work together, but this project showcases their ability to play together too.

Ian (left) and Patrick (right)

Though they had a lot of fun with the design, the fun continues every time they see someone sitting on the bench and enjoying it. There are plenty of people who take it as inspiration to pucker up with their sweetie, and for Ian and Patrick that’s what really makes it meaningful, the connection it creates between people.

You can find the Kissing Bench toward the northwest corner of the park, behind the amphitheater and near the black and white vortex.