ABSTRACTION: LOST AND FOUND A GROUP EXHIBITION BY SEVEN ARTISTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES
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ABSTRACTION: LOST AND FOUND A GROUP EXHIBITION BY SEVEN ARTISTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES JIGGER CRUZ ZEAN CABANGIS RONALD ACHACOSO NOLET SOLIVEN JOJO SERRANO JUNI SALVADOR RAUL RODRIGUEZ
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top left to right; JIGGER CRUZ Modern Man’s Horizon oil on framed canvas / 122 x 92 cm / 2013
Taksu presents Abstraction: Lost and Found, a group exhibition featuring 7 artists who straddle the tenuous boundary between abstraction and figuration. The participating artists, both seasoned veterans and emerging luminaries in the Philippine art scene, adhere to the practice of manipulating the earthly medium of paint wherein the elements, pigments and essences become alchemical substances that transmogrify these objects into vessels of contemplative resonance. The artists strive to breathe new life into the ‘obsolete’ medium of paint but loosely incorporate elements from photography, sculpture, film, and literature as mode to navigate through the labyrinthine self-entrapment of contemporary culture:
JIGGER CRUZ confronts conventional notions about painting, assuming the role of creator and destroyer, he deliberately paints landscapes, portraits and other genre scenes only to obliterate or deface the imagery. Squeezing out paint straight from the tube or from improvised basters and dripping on canvas like primordial, candycolored blobs of paint. The silky liquid paint coagulates and envelops his canvas like a cocoon. His canvas is bound by hefty ornate wooden frames ravaged and exposed to the elements and betraying signs of stress and fatigue. They do not serve to enhance nor containing the painting but is consumed and subsumed by it. it is encroached upon and colonized by the organic protoplasmic ooze like a defenseless host and the result is some grotesque hybrid object that has mutated into this exquisite corpse.
top left to right; ZEAN CABANGIS Build acrylic & emulsion transfer on wood 178 x 191 cm / 2013 RONALD ACHACOSO Fragmentation I (Red) oil on paper / 91 x 71 cm (unframed) / 2013
ZEAN CABANGIS utilizes old photographs, disintegrating relics from the past, and paints rudimentary planar forms, archetypal building blocks over this imagery that negate or alter memory and perception. For this show, the artist abandons the use of paint and literally overlays a photographic image on a layout brick pattern. The Fragmented imagery consists of the rubble of a demolished shack in the process of decomposition and breakdown. The abandoned remains of urban detritus is a metaphor for the ephemerality of human interrelationships.
RONALD ACHACOSO’s paintings and works on paper are analogous to evolutionary and geological reckoning of time , the stratified skins of paint and pigment form accretions and clotted surfaces that produce a cratered topographical site encrusted with ghostly relics of cellular forms like encrusted fossils trapped from some dimly recollected era. His works on paper are virtual tabula rasas that traces archetypal signs and symbols, the subconscious in search of a form.
NOLET SOLIVEN’s fascination for the concept of Chaos Theory, both as an idea and as a harsh reality of his immediate urban environment, where the thin line between order and dystopia is undefined, is manifested in his attempts to translate the idea and the frenetic energy on canvas. Reigning in this obsessive creative impulse, his meditative application of paint he is attuned to his own rhythmic pulse. The process is analogous to a synesthetic composition where music is translated into color. Soliven is unencumbered by objective, design or subject matter and dismisses the formal elements of line, space and form. His process of building up the surface is spontaneous rather than methodical and intuitive rather than predetermined. Belying this tactile approach to painting, what remains are residual traces of abstract longing and desire.
JOJO SERRANO’s mosaic of imagery is derived from an eclectic assortment of sources from science and nature journals to images of industrial or architectural interiors. His rich, densely baroque surface comprises of a montage of disjunctive clutter of images vying for visual ascendancy that ultimately cancel out each other to create a leveled yet smoldering textured canvas. His imagery appears to stream from the elusive subconscious randomly meandering and freely associating or attaching itself to variable meanings and interpretations.
top left to right; NOLET SOLIVEN Opus Viridis oil on canvas / 183 x 183 cm / 2013 JOJO SERRANO Bubble Landscape oil on canvas / 102 x 76 cm / 2013 JUNI SALVADOR How Many Blues Does It Take mixed media on paper 35.6 x 43.2 cm / 2013 RAUL RODRIGUEZ The Body Of Fatality Eco Saving Device oil pastel on paper / 23 x 30 cm / 2013
JUNI SALVADOR’s collages, entitled The True Blue Series is both a literal description of the thematic unifying color of the works and an idiomatic reference to Australia his adopted land and his predicament of having to readjust to this new landscape. ‘True blue’ in the Australian context is used to describe a person or something that is unique or typical of Australian values; It can also be used to describe things or method of doing something that is uniquely Australian; in his predicament, it could be simply having the blues- a light hearted poke at a heavy quandary. The preponderance of maps and guiding land marks are not arbitrary imagery but are precisely serve as symbols of navigation. His artistic approach employs deceptive minimalist façade to address a personal agenda and his monochromatic color fields are reticent semi-autobiographical are articles of reticence and self-restraint.
Carving a niche and grappling with old wounds in an alien landscape, they are covertly evocative of that constant distant longing of the artist in exile. RAUL RODRIGUEZ has accumulated a compendium of drawings throughout the years that represent his fanciful ruminations on art. This virtual diary comprising of doodles and drawings of eccentric dreamlike narratives draw on art and art theory for subject matter and inspiration and serve as a repository of ideas and pseudo-theories. Rendered in cray-pas oil pastel, commonly regarded as a lowly medium that lacks the gravitas of oil paint, his compositional exercises nonetheless ask sophisticated questions and raise serious issues in art, Rehashing or revising images immortalized by masters to reconsider lost styles, the cacophony of images exhumed from art history reveals a
recurring compulsion to level the playing field and flattening the hierarchies and canon of modern art. The inherently organic process by which the surfaces are built up or simulated on canvas reflect the artists’ intuitive interest in exploring and mapping order and chaos, the passage of time and gravity through color, line and surface. The dividing line between process and objective in painting becomes indistinguishable, an uncharted labyrinth that ultimately turns back on itself. The canvas is both a puzzle and a solution, both the arena and the conflict. The works collectively create multilayered hybrid imagery that is equivocally timeless and contemporary
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ABSTRACTION: LOST AND FOUND A GROUP EXHIBITION BY SEVEN ARTISTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES
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Curator Nilo Ilarde Essay Ronald Achacoso Graphic Design Jeffrey Lim / Studio 25 Printer Unico Services Artworks & Images © 2013 Participating Artists This publication may be reproduced in any form for academic, editorial and/or non-commercial purposes without special permission from the artist(s) and gallery, with acknowledgement of the source. For other purposes, prior consent is needed.
JIGGER CRUZ (b. 1984) completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Far Eastern University, Philippines in 2007. He had mounted 8 solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in different cities: “Swing”, Blanc Art Space, Makati City, Philippines (2008). “Constructing Deconstruction”, Tala Gallery,Quezon City, Philippines (2009). “Anti-Depressants On Paper”, Crucible Gallery, Mandaluyong City (2011). “Dead End”, West Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines (2011).“Birth of the Party Bantam Paintings”, Secret Fresh, San Juan City (2012). “Spatial Soother”,West Gallery, Quezon City (2012). “Glitch Habitation”, Primae Noctis, Lugano, Switzerland (2012). “Surface Default”, Light And Space Contemporary, Manila, Philippines (2013). ZEAN CABANGIS (b. 1985) graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Major in Painting, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman in 2007 and he was awarded the ‘Most Outstanding Thesis (2006). Zean has exhibited his works in numerous group shows and mounted his solo shows in various venues in Philippines: “whowhatwherewhenhowwhy” Silverlens, 20sq Gallery, Pasong Tamo ext. Makati (2010), “Walking on Thin Ice” Art Informal, Connecticut St. San Juan (2011), “Gathering” Now Gallery, Pasong Tamo ext. Makati (2011), “Would That It Were” West Gallery, West Ave. Q.C. (2012), “Goat Paths” Art Informal, Connecticut St. San Juan (2012). He was also the recipient of the College Scholar, U.P. College of Fine Arts (2004), Finalist, Shell National Student’s Art Competition (2004), and Honorable Mention, Robinson’s, Artstrokes Painting Competition (2004 and 2005), Gawad Chancellor Awardee for Academic Achievement (2005).
RONALD ARANA ACHACOSO (b. 1966) graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts (Major in Painting) in 1989, he started his career as an visual artist and a writer. He because an art teacher at Maria Montessori Cooperative School between 1990-1991 and lecturer U.P. College of Fine Arts between 1993-1994. He was also the recipient of the CCP Mural Grantee, Project I (1988), AAP Grand Prize Leo Benesa Award for Art Criticism (1993 and 1994) and CCP Thirteen Artist Awardee (2000). He had mounted 10 solo exhibitions between 1988 to 2005: “On the Origin of Species”, CCP Little theater Lobby (1988), “Cycles and decay”, WestGallery (1990), “Descent of man”, CCP Small Gallery (1991), “Monkey Trial”, Alliance Francaise (1992), “Terrain”, West Gallery (1993), “Aboriginal Sin”, West Gallery (1995), “Memento Morii”, Ayala Museum (1998), “Bestiary”, West Gallery (1999), “Flight Lessons”, Surrounded by Water” (2000), “Crisis In Geometry”, “Magnet Abs Cbn” (2005). MANUEL VEGA SOLIVEN II (b. 1965) graduated with Bachelor of Arts, Major in Economics (1986) and Bachelor Of Fine Arts, Major in Painting (1998) from University of the Philippines. In 2003 – 2005, Nolet was awarded a grant from Italian Foreign Ministry Government, Firenze, Roma and he did painting at L’ Academia di Belle Arti. He participated in various group exhibitions in the Philippines, Singapore and Italy and had 7 solo shows between 1992 to 2013: “Riddle”, Madrigal Foundation Gallery, Manila, Philippines (1992), “Gray Matter”, Philippine General Hospital, Manila, Philippines (1997), “Ode”, Avellana Gallery, Pasay City, Philippines (2003), “Disegno”, Alliance Francaise Gallery, Makati, Philippines (2005), “NoletSoliven@ Magnet Columns”, Magnet Gallery, Makati, Philippines (2011), “Figuratively Speaking”, Art Forum, Singapore (2011), “NoletSoliven @Jules et Jim”, Singapore (2012), “Metamorphosis”, Volvo Art Loft, Singapore (2012), “The Sum Of All”, Finale Art File, Makati, Philippines (2013).
JOJO SERRANO (b. 1968) graduated from University Of The Philippines, Painting Major in 1986-1990, he was actively participated in various group exhibitions and mounted his solo exhibitions numerous venues in the Philippines. From 1995 to 2012, he had 13 solo shows: “Oils” Finale Art File Gallery, SM Megamall, Philippines (1995), “Burden Of Proof” Finale Art Gallery, SM Megamall Philippines (1996), “Fossils” Finale Art File Gallery, SM Megamall Philippines (1997), “Uncommon Ground” West Gallery West Avenue Philippines (1999), “Shell, Hive,Barnacles” West Gallery SM Megamall Philippines (2000), “Hive” West Gallery, SM Megamall, Philippines (2001), “ Luminous&Landscapes” WestGallery SM Megamall (2002), “Zone” WestGallery, Philippines (2003), “Objects & Horizon “ Magnet Gallery. Philippines (2005), “ Recipient half grant Vermont Studio Center month of September (2007), “ Abound “ Finale Artfile Warehouse 17 Mkti (2009), “ Measure” Silverlens { Slab }, Gallery Makati City (2012) and “ Fossil Black Electric Objects”, West Gallery Quezon City (2012).
JUNI SALVADOR (b. 1962) went to the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in 1981 and has been a practicing artist since the late 80`s.He was a grantee of the Cultural Center of the Philippines where he had his first solo exhibition in 1990.Most recently, he was part of Unbound: an Australian Philippine Exchange survey show at the Yuchengco Museum(2013).Relocating to Sydney,Australia in 2007,Juni Salvador has had 2 solo shows at SLOT Gallery in Sydney ,the most recent Boomerang(2011)and has been active in group shows in Manila and was part of the group Complete and Unabridged Part 1(2011) at the Institute of Contemporary Art,La Salle Singapore. Best known for his conceptual installations and mixed media works that deals with his “domesticity”(mid 90`s-2007) ,Salvador since his move to Sydney has dwelt on the recurring theme of “Living a cliche`,being here nor there...living like a refugee”(2007present). Juni Salvador lives and works in Sydney and Manila. RAUL G. RODRIGUEZ (b. 1960) graduated from University of the Philippines, Diliman College of Fine Arts Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting major from 1979-1984. Since 1980s to date, Raul has participated in various group exhibitions. His first 2 solo shows started in 1980s at Pinaglabanan Galleries, Raul then mounted his other solo shows in numerous venues in the Philippines: Vargas Museum UP Diliman CFA BFA thesis show (1984). Alliance Biblical Seminary Proj.7, QC, Master of Christian Studies (1995-2002). Mag:Net Paseo Center, Makati, “Revisions” (pastel on paper & oil on wood panel) (2006). West Gallery “Drawing To & Fro” (pastel on paper) (2010).
cover artwork, cropped, right; Ronald Achacoso / Fragmentation III (Yellow) oil on paper / 91 x 71 cm (unframed) / 2013 cover artwork, cropped, left; Jojo Serrano / Bubble Landscape oil on canvas / 102 x 76 cm / 2013
TAKSU is a leading contemporary art gallery and specialist in Southeast Asia. Representing selections of fine art with distinctive urban edge, we are at the forefront of contemporary art in this region. TAKSU works to forge a platform for established and emerging artists to share their pool of creativity and knowledge through its residency programs and exhibitions. Encapsulating the true meaning of the word TAKSU; divine inspiration, energy, and spirit. Suherwan Abu Director, TAKSU Galleries
ABSTRACTION: LOST AND FOUND
JIGGER CRUZ ZEAN CABANGIS RONALD ACHACOSO NOLET SOLIVEN JOJO SERRANO JUNI SALVADOR RAUL RODRIGUEZ
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