COP-17294
Source, 2014 Acrylic on canvas, 120 × 175 cm / 47.28 × 68.95 in
COP-17295
There, not there and on the way, 2014 Oil on canvas, 120 × 175 cm / 47.28 × 68.95 in
One construction, six collages and six paintings that consider abrupt conclusion and arbitrary transfer as compositional devices within narrative abstraction.
CO P-176 6 5
5 sticks in 3 places, there, not there and on the way, 2015 Enamel paint on timber construction, 89 Ă— 210 cm / 35.07 Ă— 82.74 in
COP-17676
15 sticks connected, 2016 Acrylic on canvas, 47 × 109.5 cm / 18.52 × 43.14 in
COP-17658
A contraction of sticks 1, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 61 × 117 cm / 24.03 × 46.10 in
COP-17662
A contraction of sticks 2, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 60 × 120 cm / 23.64 × 47.28 in
COP-17661
A contraction of sticks 3, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 47 × 109.5 cm / 18.52 × 43.14 in
COP-17659
A contraction of sticks 4, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 56.5 × 118 cm / 22.26 × 46.49 in
COP-17666
A contraction of sticks 5, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 57 × 118.5 cm / 22.46 × 46.69 in
The motility of things LISA I TO
A
as immobile forms: they are hung and secured onto walls, set atop pedestals and plinths, and continuously encircled by the traffic of eyes, gazes, lenses. Separated and stilled by space, any semblance or possibility of movement remains invisible and forgotten. RT OBJ ECT S ARE TOO OF TEN EN COU N TERED
Yet objects move within certain parameters and instances, and within the so-called social life of things. Tony Twigg explores this idea of performative objects in this solo exhibition of new paintings and timber constructions, taking off from the process of reconfiguring compositions to capture impressions of movement and nuances in form. The works featured in the exhibition offer iterations of his timber constructions in painting and video-animation. Twigg frames these compositions of abstract shapes as “puppets in a performance”, having been previously reconfigured through time and space before settling into their current state. The painted works, though fixed in place, interestingly still exude a performed quality and a sense of motion through the way their lines and palettes oscillate and entwine. Twigg’s conceptual exploration of performative objects is rooted in his practice and grounding in performance and theater as well as his recent exhibitions, where the artist worked with forms such as mime and photography in addition to his three-dimensional pieces. The artist extends the process of moving objects to the arena of painting, capturing what is akin to a single moment in a performance, or moments in a performance, in several frames. This is demonstrated when Twigg juxtaposes his work in timber construction with a digital work produced using animated GIFs: a dialectical demonstration of movement and stillness that threads through the rest of the works, while at the same time conveying the “joyousness of motion” across various media.
COP-17660
A contraction of sticks 6, 2015 Acrylic on timber construction, 61 × 122 cm / 24.03 × 48.07 in
This sense of mobile harmony is also seen in the series titled “A Contraction of Sticks”, comprised of six works in acrylic on timber made in between Australia and the Philippines. Like totems and actors, the individual elements of the works move in and out of each other: creating an implied dance between forms, so to speak. Twigg’s constructions furthermore treat positive and negative space as interchangeable, playing with composition, rhythm, and tonal differences to convey a sense of dynamic, spontaneous movement. Spaces in between planes seem to be simultaneously occupied and vacated, their identities as the void in between forms are negated by their very own absent presence. The sense of simultaneous occupation conveyed in the exhibition’s title, “There, Not There And On The Way”, also underscores how Twigg engages with motility: producing objects images, and impressions of spontaneous activity in the stillest of gestures. In several ways, the exhibition can be framed as an abstraction of puppet performance. The black void connotes the confines of the theater while the shapes and spaces surrounding the works denote individual presences and figures within this field. Performing this narrative of flux, the works offer viewers a compelling encounter with space, rather than place, and with the motility of all things within the realm of the in-between. •
LISA ITO IS A WRITER, ARTIST AND ACTIVIST. SHE GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS IN DILIMAN WITH A MAJOR IN ART HISTORY AND HAS PURSUED THE PRACTICE OF ART WRITING SINCE 2001.
opposite page COP-17701
15 sticks observing the theory and practice of Filipino painting, 2016 Acrylic on canvas, 170.50 × 51 cm / 67.18 × 20.09 in
COP-17675
15 sticks discontinued, 2016 Acrylic on canvas, 68.5 × 174.5 cm / 26.99 × 68.75 in
COP-17700
15 sticks displaced, 2016 Acrylic on canvas, 115 × 60 cm / 45.31 × 23.64 in
TONY TWIGG 1 953 1 985
Born, Brisb an e , Aus tral i a Master of Art s ( V i s ual A r t), U N SW, Syd n ey, Au s t ra l ia
S ELECTE D S O LO E XH I BITIONS SINC E 2000
2 01 6 Man i festo, Taks u Gal l e r y, S i n g apo re Moon bath i n g, A n n an d al e Gal l e r i e s , Syd n ey 2 01 2 Moon bath i n g, Gal l e r i a D ue mi l a, Man i l a 2 01 1 Elegy to th e Sp a nis h C o lo ny, D am i e n M i nto n G a l l er y, Syd n ey 2 01 0 Th e entropy s hu f f le a nd othe r com p os itions d ra wn fro m t h e vi brafon, G all e r i a D ue m i l a, Man i l a Ri och et, Dam i e n M i nto n Gal l e r y, Syd n ey 2 009 Vi brafon , Taks u Gal l e r y, S i n g apo re 2 008 Stan di n g sti c ks, Gal l e re i a D ue mi l a, Man i l a 2 007 Expan ded di s c s, Taks u Gal l e r y, S i n g apo re 2 006 Perforati on s , Gal l e r i a D ue mi l a, Man i l a Th e aesth eti c s of a d d ic tio n, Ri m bun D ah an , Ku a l a Lu m p u r 2 005 No border , G al l e r i a D ue m i l a, Man i l a 2 004 I n ci dental pla ce m e nt , Ray H ug h e s Gal l e r y, Syd n ey 2 003 House un der co ns tr u c tion, Gal l e r i a D ue mi l a , Ma n il a Sugar bal lads in b a m b o o s tic ks, P i nto Gal l er y, A nt ip o l o 2 001 Spontan eous a rc hite c tu re, Gal l e r i a D ue mi l a , Ma n il a Spontan eous a rc hite c tu re, Ray H ug h e s Gal l er y, Syd n ey S ELECTE D G R O U P E XH I B ITIONS SINC E 2000
2 01 1 2 009 2 004 2 003 2 002
Dua, Sabri Idr u s d +To ny Tw ig g , Taks u Gal l e r y, Ku a l a Lu m p u r West vi a East ; A ho m a g e to Ia n Fa ir we a ther, Da m ien Minto n G allery, Sydn ey Domai n Publ i c A r t P roj e c t, C an be r ra Nagon i an m, Le g as pi A r t Fe s ti val , Le g as pi C it y I ntern ati on al Eco A r ts Fe s tiva l, D aet Si lent Tal k, Gal l e r i a D ue mi l a, Man i l a
COLLECT I O N S
Alle ns, Sydney Ar t Ga llery of New S o uth Wal e s , Syd n ey Ar t Space, Makay Ate ne o Art G allery, Man i l a Ayala Land Collec tion , Man i l a Be nC ab Mu seu m, Bag ui o Car lo s Cojuangco Co l l e c ti o n , Baco l o d Griffit h University, Bri s ban e Go ld Coast City Art Gal l e r y, S ur fe r s Parad i s e Jami Ayala Collec tion , Man i l a Nat io nal G allery of Aus tral i a, C an be r ra Nat io nal G allery of Vi c to r i a, Me l bo ur n e Newcastle University, Newc as tl e Q ue e n sland Art G alle r y, B r i s ban e Sydney University Un i o n C o l l e c ti o n , Syd n ey Wo llo n gong City G all e r y, Wo l l o n g o n g
GALLERIA DUEMILA presents THERE, NOT THERE AND ON THE WAY Tony Twigg September 3 to 30, 2016 Art Director Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz Exhibition Team Mark Arvin Patiag Anna Rafanan Thess Ponce Bing Francisco Mayet Taluban Roy Abrenica Ulysis Francisco Edgar Bautista Jose Jeoffrey Baba Gabriel Abalos Text Lisa Ito Graphic Design Anna Rafanan Copyright 2016 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.
ga lle ria du e m i l a was established in 1975 by Italian born Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz. 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 cutting-edge of Philippine art, making and archiving history as it happens.
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