A Multifaceted Soul: How Isabel Arguello weaves dance, art, and community into a singular vision

By Isabella Libreros, PR & Communications Assistant at Arco Design + Build

Carolina Trujillo & Isabel Arguello

Isabel Arguello’s journey toward the art world began long before becoming the Co-Founder and Senior Director at Pellas Gallery. She grew up in Nicaragua, surrounded by creativity. Dance was her first language; she trained with a professional dance company and was constantly encouraged by her parents to explore the world. Travel, art, and movement were intertwined into her childhood from a very young age.  

Her love for art emerged during an art history class at Northeastern University, when a single image by the French artist Yves Klein’s deep blue work captivated her.  

“The professor put a picture of a work by Yves Klein, and I don't know if you've seen a work by Yves Klein, but it's this like very deep blue, it's called Yves Klein blue. He created the color. And that day, I was like, okay, I need to know everything about art,” said Arguello. “His works are mostly just the blue, there's nothing on it. But for me, seeing a Yves Klein blue, I get tears, and I can just feel the emotion behind it. It's not for everyone. Not everyone understands that, but that day in art history class in Northeastern, I was like, okay, I need to know more about art.”  

Yet at the time, Isabel didn’t imagine she was going to be part of the art world. She was pursuing natural medicine, and her husband Alfredo was working in finance. Together, they began investing in art, traveling internationally, and meeting artists around the world. These experiences planted the seeds for what would become Pellas Gallery.  

“We were like, why don’t we continue this art thing that’s going so well, and we’re both so passionate about?” she recalled.  

After considering New York and Miami, Isabel and Alfredo decided to go with Boston as they felt they could bring something different to its art scene.  

“There's amazing, amazing galleries here in Boston, but we thought we could bring something different and we decided on Newbury Street, and obviously it was risky because Newbury Street is the most expensive real estate commercial that you can find in Boston,” explained Arguello. “We’re new and being a young gallery, no one really knew us, but we wanted to do it right and we wanted to represent and show all these amazing artists-- we wanted them to feel comfortable, like, okay, they do have a space in the best place in Boston.”  

Opening a large-scale gallery in 2019 was risky, especially with the looming COVID pandemic. Yet Isabel and Alfredo believed in their vision and poured time, energy, and resources into transforming the Newbury Street space. They renovated walls, replaced flooring, and curated an opening show featuring Andy Warhol, Marc Quinn, and emerging artists -- a statement that even new talent could share a stage with blue-chip icons.  

“That was our approach, telling the emerging artists, ‘you can be placed in a group show next to all these blue-chip artists and most expensive, famous artists and then emerging artists. There’s a place for you in Pellas,” said Arguello.  

Isa’s curatorial approach is rooted in emotion and human connection. Her perspective as a collector and curator drives how Pellas Gallery operates. She seeks artists who are curious, evolving, and passionate about their craft. Art is alive, and it’s all about the experience. It’s not about their market value, but about their story, their journey, and their authenticity.   

 “My eye as an art curator and collector is that I'm driven by feeling and how an artwork makes a space or people who are going to experience it feel.”  

Visitors to Pellas often experience moments of unexpected emotion.  

“I love feelings and being able to see when people come here –there's been pieces where people come, and they start crying when they see the works. But again, art means something different to everyone.”  

Isabel emphasizes that art is for everybody. Pellas Gallery hosts opening receptions every month or two, designed to cultivate a sense of community. She draws inspiration from her time living in Cape Town, where first Thursdays meant gallery hopping with friends, wine in hand.  

“We want to foster community, which we have, we have a beautiful, beautiful community. And it's not all people who buy art. It's not about that. It's about people who are interested in the art of meeting people, in the art of being part of a community,” said Arguello. “I believe community is everything.”  

For emerging artists, her advice is simple:  

“Keep showing up, keep creating authentically, and make connections. The art world can be very noisy and inconsistent in what it’s looking for, but authenticity always cuts through that noise.”

Isabel’s creativity isn’t confined to gallery walls. She hosts wellness retreats in Nicaragua at the NEKUPE Hotel, a 3,000-acre haven in her home country. These retreats blend movement, nature, community, and art, offering participants time to reflect, heal, and grow.  

“We all need to heal from something,” explained Arguello, “whether it's from burning out in work or if we just went through something personal, it could be deep or shallow, so I give options and different modalities for healing, which include movement, a time for yourself, talks under the stars, beautiful nourishing meals, and spiritual talks”  

Isa explained how these retreats are a beautiful time to connect with like minded people in an amazing community to create something, and to both learn or unlearn something about yourself.  

“I am a multifaceted soul with many passions and driven by my heart and searching for a why, a why I'm here which leads me to tap into different things that I love in the physical world, which include nature, art, and community. So that's why all the things that I create, I try to mix them all in,” said Arguello. “I want to help people grow and myself.”  

Isabel’s ethos transcends her professional work; it’s a way of life. She encourages both artists and individuals to embrace their individuality, their creativity, and their passions.  

When asked if she could go back and tell her younger self one piece of advice, Isa said, “I'd give my younger self the advice to not shrink to fit in, to fully believe in the bigness of my light and to start embodying that as soon as possible because when  I started embodying and accepting my light and my passions and who I was, that's when authentic people and the people I want next to me came.”  

On January 22nd, Pellas Gallery expanded a new appointment only location in Brookline, right on Coolidge Corner, a continuation of Isabel’s mission and commitment to bring diverse and authentic art to Boston’s community.   

Arguello was recently named one of Modern Luxury Magazine’s 41 Most Powerful People in New England — a testament to her influence and vision within the region’s creative scene.  

“We’re all art. Own that, own your magic, own your art,” said Arguello smiling.  

Whether as a collector, curator, retreat leader, or dancer, Isa’s life is a testament to living passionately, authentically, and with heart. And in doing so, she makes Pellas Gallery not just a space to view art, but a place to feel it, live it, and become part of it.  

That same sensitivity to space, emotion, and human experience is what makes Isabel Arguello such a natural collaborator for Arco Design + Build.