In Boy Scout Farm, Alvin Villaruel goes to the outdoors and explores the rich landscapes before him. Such scenes remind him of past summer vacations and being able to move out of confined spaces like homes or dwellings. The exhibit is on view at Gallery 3 of West Gallery from September 14 to October 9, 2010.
Villaruel notes that Boy Scout Farm still utilizes the elements of motion, atmosphere, and perspective as he has done in previous exhibits. Only now he focuses more on the details of the images as well as in carefully selecting his subjects. The title of the exhibit was inspired from a vintage photo, in which an old wooden signboard posted in front of a cornfield, that he saw online. “It inspired me to do a series as it reminded me of my childhood days in the province.”
These memories, as recalled in two large works in oil on canvas, both measuring 5 x 6 ft, include seeing a group of young soldiers or cadets in a grassy field hoisting a comrade in the air and three people trying to fly a large, circular kite, also in an open field. Villaruel renders these soft, moving figures amid dramatic atmospheres. He says that oil is the most suitable medium in achieving these effects.
He adds that, while the process in attending to details was more tedious, he enjoyed workings on these paintings, and hopes that viewers will similarly enjoy this series, “maybe remind them of their youth.” In the future, he’d like to immerse himself more with the potential images for future studies, whether these subjects are found on the Internet or photographs he took himself.
Documentation
