World-renowned artist Daniel Martin Diaz and his wife, Paula Catherine Valencia, had no intention of opening a gallery when they stood in a vacant downtown building discussing the city's future with a group of people.
"It chose us. We weren't really thinking about coming down here," Valencia said of the building at 245 E. Congress St.
Sacred Machine, which the couple bills as a gallery, museum and curiosity shop, opened May 15.
"He has been showing so much elsewhere that it was nice to be able to have a place to show his work before it leaves. We can share it with friends and family, and the community," she said.
Diaz's work will rotate in and out of the gallery as he creates it, and before it's shipped off to collectors and galleries around the world.
A private collector in Nova Scotia purchased 12 of the pieces currently on display in the gallery.
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"It's nice to be able to see the work hanging all together as opposed to at our house, where you have a piece here and there, and pieces are in boxes and you never see them as a body of work," he said.
Diaz's art combines religious icons, his interest in alchemy, symbolism from secret societies as well as other dark themes.
He works primarily with oil on wood.
In one piece now featured in the gallery, Diaz depicts Christ as a baby in a womb. The baby wears the crown of thorns.
While his work doesn't lack influences, Diaz said his ideas for paintings are never conscious.
"It just comes out. I know from painting over the years that when I do try to formulate something, it never turns out. When it's finished, then we try to analyze it, and even then we still don't truly know what it means. I really don't want to know what it means. The magic would be gone," he said.
Diaz and Valencia want Sacred Machine to inspire people who may not have an eye for art or who find art dull.
But Sacred Machine is more than just an art gallery.
It has an invigorating atmosphere despite the dark colors splashed on the walls and the dead roses preserved in glass vases.
A grand piano the couple found on Craigslist and a 15-stop harmonium from the early 1900s pour music into the gallery when Diaz is in the mood to strike the keys.
Vintage light bulbs from the 1920s and 1940s hang from a handmade chandelier in the gallery's restroom.
T-shirts designed by Diaz, handpicked books, posters and other items can be bought at the gallery and range in price from about $1 to $25.
Some of his work also is sold at the gallery and costs $100 to $20,000.
In addition to Diaz's work, pieces by local artist Francisco Rodriguez also are on display for a limited time in the gallery.
Diaz and Valencia, who have been married for 18 years and have a 17-year-old son, would like to host invitational shows in the gallery a few times a year.
They also want to welcome musicians into their space to share their music.
The pair's band, Blind Divine, has released six albums and is a big part of the family's livelihood. Valencia sings and Diaz and their son, Damian, each plays guitar. They are joined by other members as well.
Diaz and Valencia have built a sort of empire around their art and music, and the gallery's just the latest venture they can be proud of.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to wake up every day and do what we love," Diaz said.
If you go
• What: Sacred Machine gallery, museum and curiosity shop.
• When: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday; or by appointment.
• Where: 245 E. Congress St., Ste. 123.
• Admission: Free.
• Information: www.sacred machine.com or call 777-7403.
Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at arivera@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.
