Latitudes. Encounters with the Philippines - Part II by Primo Marella Gallery

“Latitudes. Encounters with the Philippines” Part II

Cruz Jigger Jaime II Pacena Janet Balbarona Arturo Sanchez

Jigger Cruz (1984, Manila) “My works are basically formed out of my personal spontaneity. These are expressions and playful schematic doodles imposed over the knocked-off paintings from the centuries. The main idea is to depict the conception of forms that are bound to gesture, combining the primitive process of juxtaposition over the unrestrained manner of traditional approach. The layers manage to involve natural errors treated as genius via its aesthetic content to course the context of each work that delineates the process of deconstructions and contradictions as a theoretical dialogue to disperse the new meaning of one image to another. Each painting reveals, yet conceals, the thoughts of mixing layers, both evident and hidden, by ways of combining things independently”. Thoughts of Dying Rainbow in the Landscape of Contradictions, 2011, Oil on canvas, 140 x 110 cm

Come Like Spoiled Bells In Sudden Wind And High, 2011, Oil on canvas, 203 x 265 cm

Plains of Declination, 2011 Oil on canvas, 140 x 110 cm

“Le mie opere fondamentalmente mettono in luce la mia personale spontaneità. Si tratta di espressioni e scarabocchi schematizzati che nascono dall’osservazione delle opere prodotte nei secoli. L’idea principale è quella di rappresentare la concezione o le forme legate al gesto, combinando i primitivi processi di giustapposizione che non seguono le regole, ad un approccio tradizionale. Gli strati riescono ad integrare errori naturali che vengono trattati come geniali attraverso il loro contenuto estetico che viene delineato in ciacuna opera attraverso un processo di decostruzione e contraddizione come fosse un dialogo teorico per disperdere il nuovo significato acquisito da un’immagine nei confronti di un’altra.Ogni dipinto rivela, ed al contempo nasconte, i pensieri di strati mescolati tra loro, in modo più o meno evidente, attraverso la combinazione degli elementi che avviene in modo indipendente”.

From Coast to Coast, 2011 Oil on canvas, 140 x 110 cm

Jaime II Pacena (1980, Quezon City) Transitions, realizations and choosing directions… themes translated using acrylic, pastel and archival ink on paper and canvas. Through the images of conflicts of man, the irregularities of life represented by floating geometrical shapes and deconstructed images of photographs of landscapes, abandoned houses and other spaces in Japan as a product of reflections of 30 years of existence. There are dialogues and conversations within the frames of artwork, showing conflicting views and feelings of the subjects and the influences of people through a man’s life stages.

Transizioni, realizzazioni e scelte di direzioni… temi tradotti utilizzando acrilico, pastello e inchiostro su carta e tela. Attraverso le immagini dei conflitti umani, le irregolarità della vita rappresentati da ombre fluttuanti e attraverso la decostruzione delle immagini fotografiche di paesaggi e case abbandonate in Giappone sono il prodotto per riflettere sugli ultimi 30 anni di esistenza. Ci sono dialoghi e dibattiti tra la cornice e l’opera stessa che mostrano visioni e sentimenti contrastanti tra il soggetto e l’influenza che le persone hanno nelle varie fasi della propria vita.

Deconstructed Memory 2, 2012, Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 183 x 154 cm

Deconstructed Memory 1, 2012, Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 183 x 154 cm

Fragments of Previous Dialogues 1, 2012 Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 33 x 37 cm

Fragments of Previous Dialogues 2, 2012 Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 33 x 37 cm

Fragments of Previous Dialogues 3, 2012 Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 33 x 37 cm

Janet Balbarona (1982, Manila)

Unsounded Curse, 2011 Oil on canvas, 122 x 152,5 cm (Oval)

“My pieces look like pages of a scrapbook, unfinished, ungrounded, raw.”

“Le mie opere sembrano pagine di un album incompiuto, senza una base, crudo.”

For Janet Balbarona, painting has always been a way of sifting through the emotional debris of personal experiences. Her practice is part spiritual exploration, part confessional autobiography. One of the many roles of the artist is to capture universal truths in the particular and specific.

Per Janet Balbarona la pittura è sempre stata un modo per passare al setaccio le sue emozioni ed esperienze personali. Il suo lavoro è parte di un’esplorazione spirituale, di un’autobiografia confessionale. Uno dei molti ruoli che l’artista assume è quello di catturare le verità universali nel particolare e nello specifico.

the imagery references very personal symbolism, all the same there is a playful sense of accessibility to each painting which encourages the viewer to surrender to their own fantasy and the impossible logic that the compositions afford.

Immaginari riferimenti ad un simbolismo estremamente personale, dove in ogni quadro, attraverso un giocoso senso di accessibilità, l’osservatore viene incoraggiato a cedere alla propria fantasia e ad una logica impossibile.

Confusion in the Herd, 2011 Oil on canvas, diameter 122 cm

Wandering Thoughts, 2011 Oil on canvas, diameter 122 cm

Arturo Sanchez (1980, Caloocan City)

resemblance (James), 2011 Acrylic and collage on sandblasted mirror, 106,5 x 91,5 cm

In Mirror, American writer Sylvia Plath compares the titular object to “the eye of a little god.” The poem begins: “I am silver and exact./ I have no preconceptions./ Whatever I see I swallow immediately/ Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful— The eye of a little god, …” Arturo Sanchez, forever enamored of “the eye of a little god,” continues his exploration of mirrors as the fevourite medium. Sanzhez traps random images behind the reflective surface of bubble mirrors and seals them in with a layer of lacquer. The result is similar to a double exposure: we see distorted versions of ourselves superimposed with Sanchez’s compositions. We look at his mirrors, which, in turn, look back at us. We become both subject and object. Jay Bautista write: “Viewing his works, metaphorically speaking, one gets the idea that art is itself a mirror – a reflection of society with all its customs, beliefs, folklores, superstitions, religions, and more importantly, of the artist himself”.

Nel libro Specchi la scrittrice americana Sylvia Plath comparava l’oggetto del titolo con “l’occhio di un piccolo dio”. Il poema inizia così: “Io sono d’argento e preciso / Non ho preconcetti / Qualsiasi cosa vedo la inghiottisco immediatamente / Così come sono, indipendentemente da se la amo o no. Non sono crudele, solamente veritiero – L’occhio di un piccolo dio…” Arturo Sanchez, da sempre innamorato dell’ “occhio del piccolo dio”, continua la sua esplorazione attraverso lo specchio come supporto privilegiato. Sanchez intrappola immagini dietro la superficie riflettente degli specchi e li sigilla con uno strato di lacca. Il risultato è simile ad una doppia esposizione: vediamo delle visioni distorte di noi stessi sovrapposte alle composizioni di Sanchez. Osserviamo i suoi specchi che a loro volta ci osservano. In questo modo diventiamo soggetto ed oggetto. Jay Bautista scrive: “ Metaforicamente parlando, guardando le sue opere si ha l’idea che l’arte è di per sé uno specchio – un riflesso della società con tutte le sue credenze, usanze, superstizioni, religioni e soprattutto dell’artista stesso”.

Twisted Logic, 2011 Oil on canvas and collage on sandblasted mirror, 203 x 265 cm

Invitation to Curiosity, 2011 Oil on canvas, collage on sandblasted mirror, 122 x 122 cm

Full Bloom, 2011 Collage on sand mirror, 33 x 39 cm

Animal Instinct, 2011 Collage on sand mirror, 33 x 39 cm

Biographies

JIGGER CRUZ

JAIME II PACENA

JANET BALBARONA

ARTURO SANCHEZ

1984, Manila

1980, Quezon City

1982, Manila

1980, Caloocan City

Education

2007, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Far Eastern University, Philippines

1997 – 2001 University of the Philippines, Diliman College of Fine Arts Master Program

University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts and Design - Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Advertising

2000 - 2004 Far Eastern University Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Advertising

2007 Technological institute of the Philippines Aurora Blvd. Quezon City Bachelor of Science in Architecture 2004 Microcadd Technologies, Cubao Quezon City

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

2011 Dead End – West Gallery, Quezon City Anti Depressants on paper, Crucible Gallery, Mandaluyong City 2009 Constructing deconstruction, Tala Gallery, Tomas Morato, Quezon City 2008 Swing – Blanc Art Space, Makati City 2011 Manuel Ocampo’s boycotter of beauty and the theoretical steroid defiled modernist chicken, West Gallery Thunderkiss, Metro Gallery, San Juan Anti-Hero, Altro-mondo Gallery, Greenbelt A Soundtrack to Nothing, Crucible Gallery, Megamall, Mandaluyong 2010 Painting With A Hammer To Nail The Crotch Of Civilization, Curated by Manuel Ocampo, Manila Contemporary Tabi Tabi Po, 1AM Gallery, San Francisco, California Enemy, Art Center, Megamall, Mandaluyong City You Are Not Here, Pablo Fort 2009 A Book About Death: An unbound book on the subject of death, Emily Harvey Space, New York City, USA If You Only Walk Long Enough, Studio 83, Singapore Looking for Juan , Cultural Center of the Philippines 2008 BOXED, Cubicle Art Space, Pasig City 2004 Philippine Art Awards, Philippine National Museum, Manila

2011 Hom(e/age), Blanc Compound, Mandaluyong City 2010 After Mall Hours, Blanc Peninsula, The Peninsula Manila,Makati 2007 Parallel Wounds, The Cultural Center of the Philippines-Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino, Manila 2011 Kulo, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila Looking For Juan:Relevant Rizal, UP Vargas Museum, Manila 2010 Tutok Ano Bayan!?, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila Latitudes: Encounters with the Philippines, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan Philippine Art Awards Exhibition, National Museum, Manila 2009 TutoK SOeNA (State of Education and the Nation), Manila Contemporary, Manila Looking for Juan, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila 2008 Shotgun, Ateneo House of Brothers, Quezon City SOSABEOL INTERNATIONAL ART EXPO Pyeongtaek Lake Art Museum, Pyeongtaek, Korea THE 6TH UIWANG INTERNATIONAL PLACARD ART FESTIVAL Baekun Lake Plaza, Kyunggido, Korea 2005 58th AAP Annual Art Competition and Exhibition, GSIS Museo ng Sining, Pasay City

Dog God,Museo Iloilo, Iloilo City and UST Museum of Arts and Sciences Main Gallery, Manila

2011 Rollercoaster Relationshift Ride, Blanc Gallery, Manila 2010 Peeling peaches for the sharpest tongue.., Blanc Gallery, Manila 2009 She kept it bleeding till the second round, Blanc Gallery, Manila 2011 The Elephant Parade 2011, SAM Singapore Art Museum, Singapore 2009 If you only walk long enough, Studio 83, Singapore Boxed, Blanc Gallery, Manila 2007 Jammin, Metropolitan Museum of Art Philippines, Manila Coffee with an Artist, Glorietta, Makati 2006 Everything Under the Sun, Arias, Makati City 2004 Grupong Morayta Circa 2004, Ad Infinitum Galerie, San Juan 2003 Quatro Quantos, Arte Pintura Gallery

UST Painting Competition, University of Sto. Tomas Hall, Sto. Tomas FEU 2nd Painting Competition, Far Eastern University Gallery

2011 Momentary Pause, Blanc Compound, Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City 2010 Abysmal Introspection, Blanc Art Space, Makati Fragile Silhouettes, Nineveh Art space Villa Silangan, Sta.Cruz, Laguna 2009 Afetthoughts, Blanc Art Space, Makati 2011 Departure Area, Republikha Art Space. Eastwood City. Libis, Quezon City 2010 Signos: Signs Streams and Signals, The Art Center SM Megamall Mandaluyong City 2009 CommonPlace, Whitebox Studio, Cubao Expo, Araneta Center Tutok SOeNa, Manila Contemporary, WhiteSpace Pasong Tamo 2008 Tutok Krisis, Kalunasan, Anong K mo?, Blanc Compound, Mandaluyong,/Blanc Art Space Makati 100 Katao, 100 Taka, Romulo Hall, Asian Center, U.P. Diliman Tru-Colors Vargas Museum U.P. Diliman, Q.C. INSIGHTS, Technological Institute of the Phil. Q.C 2007 Tutok-”Kasaysayang”, Glorieta Art space and IPO Bldg, Makati City ENCHANTED KINGDOM, Whitebox Studio Cubao Expo, Araneta Center PERCEPTION, Seminar Hall, Technological Institute of the Philippines Q.C. 2006 PAGGAOD NG SINING ANGONO 1, Pasig Museum, Pasig City

Collective Memory, 2011, Acrylic paint, pastel and digital archival ink on canvas, 90 x 122 cm

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Latitudes. Encounters with the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;? Part II

15th February - 16 March 2012 A special thanks to Miguel Rosales. Without his help and contribution this show would not been possible.