Edwin Coscolluela Tile Works MAR 17 - APR 28, 2018
A RT D I R E C T O R
Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz
EXHIBITION TEAM
Johanna Labitoria Vicente Amancio, Jr. Jose Jeoffrey Baba Gabriel Abalos Dianne Ong
Thess Ponce Bing Francisco Roy Abrenica Edgar Bautista
EXHIBITION NOTES
Arianna Mercado
C ATA L O G U E D E S I G N
Anna Rafanan
Copyright Š 2018 Edwin Coscolluela and Galleria Duemila, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the abovementioned copyright holders, with the exception of reasonably brief excerpts and quotations used in articles, critical essays or research.
Night Stars 2016 glass tiles TRIPTYCH 195 × 180 CM / 76.83 × 70.92 IN (195 × 60 CM EACH PANEL)
Parting II
2017
glass tiles
DIPTYCH 120 × 240 CM / 47.28 × 94.56 IN (120 × 120 CM EACH PANEL)
(b. 1953, Manila) is Ewithknown for his career as an abstractionist, works that take an ambiguous form with DWIN COSCOLLUELA
simple colors. His latest show at Galleria Duemila, entitled Tileworks is a testament to his process and simple style that evokes a multitude of narratives.
Tileworks acts sort of as a highly calculated and precise mosaic, as if it were something a computer had generated. Coscolluela carefully assembles each tile in his work as in a puzzle. Through his arrangements, he is able to illustrate a certain movement without having to bombard the image with many elements. Coscolluela’s pieces are unlike that of a typical abstractionist. He opts not to use painting as a medium for his works, nor does he choose to create typical studies of works—it is his process and choice of medium that sets him apart from the rest. Coscolluela’s process integrates the novel and the classic, making use of new technologies to be able to construct timeless pieces. Coscolluela utilizes modern-day computer programs to be able to design his pieces and afterwards, translates it onto his medium. He embraces new technologies while also staying true to his roots, ideas, and disposition as an abstractionist. For Tileworks, he had constructed grids on Adobe Illustrator, which one by one, he filled in, slowly constructing his composition. Once he was content, he translated this composition with small tiles, ensuring that each line was straight and neat.
Dawning
2016
glass tiles
60 × 240 CM / 23.64 × 94.56 IN
Written in the Stars
2017
glass tiles
240 Ă— 60 CM / 94.56 Ă— 23.64 IN
Splash
2017
glass tiles
150 × 120 CM / 59.10 × 47.28 IN
Parting I
2017
glass tiles
180 × 120 CM / 70.92 × 47.28 IN
In some ways, Coscolluela’s Tileworks is reminiscent of a photograph printed on a newspaper. From afar, the works appear to take a definite form, but upon further inspection, the images that he creates are merely dots and strung together without clear distinction on what it might form. Coscolluela embraces this ambiguity. What interests him the most about abstraction is the fact that anyone could come and have their own engagements with a piece, appropriating it into what their own understandings of their world may be. For these works, Coscolluela wanted to explore movement. He creates compositions of a crashing wave and stars skittering down to the ground. While there is a very static element to his works, by virtue of having tiles stuck onto the piece and the mere weight to the pieces, Coscolluela is still able to successfully depict the lightness and fleetingness of movement. In a way, there is a certain meditative quality to Coscolluela’s works. While he declares that has departed from his previous practice of having concerned himself with meditative or introspective works, Coscolluela’s meditation shines through more once we consider the process it takes him to create these compositions. There is something poetic and relaxing about the act of constant repetition to create order in works. Tile by tile, Coscolluela both drafts his work and sticks each piece meticulously onto the grout. Coscolluela’s works are equal parts digital and analog. His use of present technologies in his works is integral to his process. By engaging with these programs, he is able to integrate the new and the old, breathing life into codes and numbers by translating it into his pieces. Looking up close, one might see a combination of squares, of zeroes and ones, incomprehensible, overwhelming, and complex. Only when we step back we are greeted by elegant free flowing movement that appears to engulf the work, allowing us to sway back with it. —ARIANNA MERCADO Arianna Mercado is a recipient of the 2017 Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Award for Art Criticism. She is an independent curator who aims to contribute to arts education. Last year, her undergraduate thesis which tackled the theme of emptiness in Philippine abstraction entitled “You Are Here” was exhibited in the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She is currently residing in Metro Manila.
Touch
2016
glass tiles
DIPTYCH 120 × 240 CM / 47.28 × 94.56 IN
(PANEL A: 120 × 150 CM / PANEL B: 120 × 90 CM)
Light
2017
glass tiles
TRIPTYCH 120 × 360 CM / 47.28 × 141.84 IN (120 × 120 CM EACH PANEL)
Dan’s Grove
2017 glass tiles QUADRIPTYCH 240 × 240 CM / 94.56 × 94.56 IN (240 × 60 CM EACH PANEL)
Space In-Between
2017
glass tiles
180 × 120 CM / 70.92 × 47.28 IN
Curling
2017
glass tiles
163 × 120 CM / 64.22 × 47.28 IN
Imagery
2017
glass tiles
QUADRIPTYCH 180 × 240 CM / 70.92 × 23.64 IN (180 × 60 CM EACH PANEL)
EDWIN COSCOLLUELA
I M P O RTA N T E X H I B I T I O N S
2015 Images, 7Th One-man Show, Gallery Duemilla, Pasay City, Philippines 1998 Quiet Space, Group Exhibit, Gallery Duemilla, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines 1991 6th One-man Show, The Luz Gallery 1986 Black against Black, 5th One-man Show, The Luz Gallery 1984 Robles and Coscolluela, Two-man Show, City Gallery 1982 4th One-man Show, The Luz Gallery 3rd One-man Show, The Luz Gallery 1979 Dapit Hapon Hanggang Gabi, Rene Castillo and Edwin Coscolluela, Two-man Exhibition Regent of Manila 2nd One-man Show, Gallery One 1978 Nudes, 1st One-man show, Rear Room Gallery 1976 Habulan and Coscolluela, Two-man Show, Gallerie Bleue Participated in more than 100 group shows, from 1973 up to present WORK EXPERIENCE
Retired since 2014 1985-2014 Instructor, Department of Fine Arts, College of the Holy Spirit, Mendiola, Manila, Philippines 1978-1983 Instructor, School of Fine Arts, University of the East, Caloocan Campus, Caloocan City, Philippines 1976-1978 Photographer/Artist, Sunset Studio, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila 1975-1976 Photographer/Artist, Radio Press, Pandacan, Manila, Philippines E D U C AT I O N A L B A C K G R O U N D
1983-1985 Master of Fine Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines (24 Units earned) 1971-1975 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Painting, School of Music and Fine Arts, University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Blvd., Quezon City, Philippines Attended more than 50 Lectures and Seminars for personal and Educational development.
g al leria duem ila was established in 1975 by Italian born Silvana AncellottiDiaz. Duemila means “twentieth century”, and it was this vision that inspired Duemila’s advocacy in promoting and preserving Philippine contemporary art. To date, it is the longest running commercial art gallery in the Philippines maintaining a strong international profile. With the vision to expose its artists locally and within the ASEAN region, Duemila complements its exhibits with performances, readings and musical events in its custom-built gallery in Pasay City, Manila. Galleria Duemila takes pride in being the only local gallery to publish and mount retrospectives of artists as part of its advocacy in pursuing art historical research and scholarship. With the collaboration of institutions, Duemila has mounted the retrospectives of
Roberto M.A. Robles (Ateneo Art Gallery, 2011), Duddley Diaz (Vargas Museum, 2009), Julie Lluch Dalena (Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2008). It has also published a book on Diosdado Magno Lorenzo (National Library of the Philippines, 2009) and produced a major Pacita Abad exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2004. The gallery maintains close ties with museums throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States. Its futurist vision keeps it at the cuttingedge of Philippine art, making and archiving history as it happens.
s e rv i ce s : conservation an d r e s t or ation of p a i n t i n g s , consu ltancy s e rv i ce s , c om m issions and i n s t a llat i on