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A collection of moments become memories, memories become lessons and over time these are distilled into a finely honed percipience. In this exhibition where a selection of ouvre from various periods of Carlo Magno’s artistic endeavors are represented, one could also surmise to say that the artist’s hard earned wisdom is recorded with each splash of color, rended brushstroke and grain of sand.
With each artwork and each exhibition, the artist draws from experience and realizations, from ideas deconstructed and reconstructed. These highly nuanced meanderings are then frozen in time as artistic expressions, a freeze-frame as it were, of the artist’s frame of mind in that given moment.
Represented in this exhibition are a cohesive selection of mixed media paintings and sculptures that showcases the artist’s latest foray into new mediums. It is this unquenchable propensity for something new is what has driven Carlo Magno’s stellar 4-decade long career in the arts. He started as a hyperrealist and later made the bold transition into abstraction in the latter half of his artistic journey.
Now, we find that he has struck a balance between the real and the abstract, expression and representation, the implied and inferred. In an ironic twist, his latest artworks feature layered and textured mixed media presented as smooth and polished surfaces. In this series, the artist also ventured into works cast in various metals, even integrating metals in his framed pieces.
his exhibition invites the viewer to participate in a discourse with the art and the artist through form, color, texture, and refractions of light to extract meaning and substance that will challenge their own percipience.
Cindel Tiausas CURATOR
Recently known for his abstractions on canvas, the versatile and mercurial Carlo Magno has produced a deep oeuvre of high-quality works that spans more than four decades of art production. In the trajectory of Magno’s practice, one can see the development of a complex artistic temperament that has experimented with a diverse multitude of media, styles, techniques, and forms. The artist’s rich career of more than 50 well-received solo shows held locally and abroad is a both a testament to the restlessness of his character, and proof that the notion of evolutionary re-invention is the driving force of his practice.
Magno’s career started at the tail-end of the Modernist era of Philippine art. Starting out as a Architecture undergraduate at the Mapua Institute of Technology, in 1976 Magno shifted to the Fine Arts program of the Philippine Womens University, under the auspices of its then-director Raul Isidro. Founded by Manuel Rodriguez, Sr., PWU’s College of Fine Arts was, at the time, a bastion for printmaking and abstract works. Modernism in the late 70s and early 80s was in a period of transition, where the early discourse of the likes of Victorio Edades and Jose Joya were already accepted by the art community. The completely abstracted landscapes of the likes of Arturo Luz and H.R. Ocampo dominated the preferred aesthetics of the art community, and this is the environment which informed the new generation of baby boomer artists of which Magno belongs to.
So it isn’t surprising that Magno’s earliest works actually went against the abstraction trend of the 1980s. In 1980, Magno won first prize at the YMCA Painting Competition for his work called “Bayanihan.” This, and his subsequent first solo show at the Greenhills Art Center in 1981, garnered him a reputation for painting hyperrealist paintings of Filipiniana artefacts - church interiors, gardens, and antique furnishings - that were heavily fused with a nostalgic sensibility. Making a name for himself with these works, Magno held exhibitions at some of the most important art spaces in the Philippines--including the Ayala Museum in 1990 and the Madrigal Art Center in 1992
In his early works, the overriding character of Magno’s pieces is that of precision. Nary a chair, table, desk, or lamp is out of place and everything is considered, logical, and orderly. Art critic Cid Reyes wrote to note the “...the subtle synthesis of subject and structure in Magno’s works where the precise relationships of geometric shapes-squares, rectangles, triangles, and ovoids-constitute the frameworkof his old houses.”
This attention to form and its relationship to shapes, colors, lines, and textures eventually led the artist abandoning figuration in favor of pure abstraction. His 2003 exhibition “Transformation” was his first show of pure abstraction, which was heavily influenced by the gestural quality of East Asian calligraphy. Abstraction is also Magno’s approach to sculpture. Using a diverse set of metal casting techniques, Magno has created a series of public art sculptures that demonstrate his sense of space and volume in relation to material. His work at the lobby of Joy Nostalg in BonifacioGlobal City is a fantastic example of the convergence of medium and structure
Never satisfied with resting on his laurels, Carlo Magno’s very latest works show a fusion of his earlier hyperrealist style with abstracted landscapes. This unique topography of hybrid works merely represent the latest in a career that will undoubtedly grow into what will eventually become one of the most storied visual art careers in modern Philippine art history.
34.5” x 19.5” x 19.25”
Polished Aluminum
SILK SATIN I, II, III
60” x 18”
Mixed Media on Canvas 2022
Blaze of Glory XII
24” x 24”
Mixed Media on Canvas
2020
Light Beats
60” x 30”
Mixed Media on Canvas 2022
Song For You 60” x 30”
Mixed Media on Canvas 2022
Al Mendering Thoughts
34.5” x 19.5” x 19.25”
Polished Aluminum
2023
Prelude to Dance 48” x 36”
Mixed Media on Canvas 2022
High Tide
60” x 30”
Mixed Media on Canvas
2022
2022
“Aleatoric Space”
June 07 to 16, 2022 | Galerie Joaquin Rockwell R3 Level, Power Plant Mall, Makati City
“Formal Parallels”
October 26 to November 08, 2022 | Art Lounge Manila Molito, Molito Lifestyle Center, Muntinlupa City
2020
“Reverie”
January 21 to February 02, 2020 | Art Lounge
Manila Podium, GF ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City
“Mindful Solitude”
May 09 to June 09, 2020 | Galerie Francesca
Megamall - Bldg A SM Megamall Ortigas
Mandaluyong City
2019
“Exquisite Reverie”
February 11 to 19, 2019 | R1, New Wing Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Makati City.
2018
“Passage, Haiku, and A Song”
October 17 to 21, 2018 | B3, ManilArt 2018, SMX
SM Aura, 3rd Floor Convention Center, Taguig City
2017
“Scent of Time”
October 12, 2018 | ManilArt 2017, SMX SM
Aura, 3rd Floor Convention Center, Taguig City
2016
“Daydreams”
July 11 to 16, 2016 | 4th Level, SM Art Center, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
“Unlocking the Red Door”
November 29 to December 11, 2016 | 4th Level, SM Art Center, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
2015
“A Piece of Mind”
July 17 to July 23, 2015 | Atrium, 2nd Level, The Podium, Mandaluyong City
2014
“Time Passages”
July 11 to 30, 2014 |SM Art Center, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
2012
“Forest Allure”
July 27 to August 8, 2012 | SM Art Center, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
2011
“Relive”
July 27 to August 7, 2011 | SM Art Center, SM
Megamall, Mandaluyong City
2010
“Opulence”
March 18-31, 2009 | Atrium, 2nd Level, The Podium, Mandaluyong City
2009
“Transformation 2”
March 18-31, 2009 | Art Center, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
2008
“Through the Ages”
Dec 15, 2008-March 16, 2009 |Fortis Bank, Singapore
“Through the Ages”
June 4, 2008 Lukisan Gallery, Singapore
“Countless”
June 2, 2008 | Serendra Pavillion, Bonifacio
Global City
2007
“Continuum”
October 17-31, 2007 | Galerie Raphael, Piazza
Mall, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City
“Symphony in Red”
September 28 - October 7, 2007 | Galerie
Joaquin Singapore | Regent Hotel Cuscaden Rd., Singapore
“Theory of Mind”
Mar. 30 –Apr. 14, 2007 | Galerie Joaquin
Singapore, Regent Hotel Cuscaden Rd., Singapore
2006
“Carlo Magno at Budji”
Nov. 16, 2006 | Budji Living, N. Garcia Ave., Bel Air II, Makati City
“Rock of Ages”
Sept. 15 – 24, 2006 | Art Space, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
2005
“Firm Foundation”
Nov. 9 – 20, 2005 | Galerie Joaquin, Addition Hills, San Juan, MM
“Abounding Prosperity”
Feb 24 – Mar. 10,2005 | Prestige Cars BMW, Makati City
2004
“Leap of Faith”
October 2004 | Bellevue Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
“Transcendence”
September 11–24, 2004 | The Podium, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
“On Higher Ground”
April 27 – May 16, 2004 | Galerie Joaquin, Addition Hills, San Juan, MM
“On Higher Ground”
May 7 – May 31, 2004 | Diretso Gallery, LRI
Business Plaza, N. Garcia Ave., Bel-Air II, Makati City
2003
“Transformation”
June 24 – July 5, 2003 | Galerie Joaquin, Addition Hills, San Juan, MM
2001
“Looking Back”
Dec. 1 – 10, 2001 | Art Gallery Philippines, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
2000
“Bricks and Flowers”
Oct. 1 – 14, 2000 | Artspace Glorietta, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
Sept. 18 – 27, 2000 | International Exchange Bank, Ayala-Alabang Branch, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
1999
“Images of Light”
Oct. 1-14, 1999 | Artspace Glorietta, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
1998
“Colors of Light”
Dec. 4- 14, 1998| Art Gallery Philippines, Promenade, Alabang Town Center
“Images of the Glorious Past”
November 1, 1998 | Marriot Hotel Grand Ballroom, Orlando, Florida
August 29 – 30, 1998 |. Feather Sound Country Club, Clearwater, Florida
August 21 – 23, 1998 | Arlene Beach Condominium, Miami Beach, Florida
June 12, 1998 | Miami Shores Baptist Church, Miami Shores, Florida
June 6, 1998 | Broward Convention Center, Miami, Florida
1997
“Para Kay Nena”
The Manila Hotel Gallery, Manila, Philippines
“Past and Beyond”
March 6 – 16, 1997
Gallery Nouveau, Shangrila Plaza, Manila, Philippines
1996
“Images of Medicine”
Manila Hotel Gallery
1995
“Morning Light”
March 26 – April 9, 1995 | Art Gallery Philippines, Promenade, Alabang Town Center
1993
“Recent Works”
August 29 – September 29, 1993 | Madrigal Art Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
1992
“Recent Works”
August 16 – September 16, 1992 | Madrigal Art Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
1990
“Intimations… Remembrances”
January 9 – 19, 1990 | Ayala Museum, Makati City
1981
“Moving on by Looking Back”
December 4 – 20, 1981 | Greenhills Art Center, Manila, Philippines
Artist of the Centennial Award Philippine
American Federation of South Florida
Outstanding Malatean Award Malate Catholic School
Grand Prize “Las Pinas Church” Hispanidad Painting
Contest
Leadership Award
Philippine Women’s University
First Prize “Ruins Along Roxas Blvd.”
On-the-spot Painting Contest
First Prize “Bayanihan” 26th YMCA Student Art
Competition
