Artists Mario V. Fernandez, Ava Lugtu, Popo San Pascual, and Christina Quisumbing Ramilo pay creative tributes to nature in their group exhibit, titled Ara Pacis, at West Gallery (West Avenue, Quezon City). Featuring diverse artistic approaches, Ara Pacis, which will be on view from April 11 to May 11, brings to light the myriad ways viewers can look at the environment.
The phrase literally means “altars of peace,” and its through this perspective that
all four artists begin their current creative journeys. Mario V. Fernandez says he is currently trying to stay attuned with different animals, from domesticated ones to the wild, which now fill his canvases. This curiosity is one of the reasons he is here now in the Philippines after being based in New York for many years. “I needed to understand these animals,” says Fernandez, in his expeditions to see the animals at close range. “I spend time with them to feel their energy and their intelligence.” He also likes the challenge of painting in large-scale, even if it’s more work-intensive. “It’s like clearing my consciousness,” adds Fernandez, often looking and observing animals while also painting on the spot. “I travel a lot, doing artworks makes me feel at home and keeps me grounded.”
Photographer Ava Lugtu makes use of a light box where slide photographs of wavy images simulate a continuous, illuminated strip of whites and blues. It is very subdued and monochromatic, a stark contrast to Fernandez’s more colorful body of work.
Popo San Pascual uses candle soot in his art making, just like how medieval
Italian artists did it before they start painting. “I try to simulate the process,” says San Pascual, who has tried this approach 10 years ago on paper. Now, the works are on canvases and on a much bigger scale, and details are more visible, especially the softness of the lines and the various hues of black and gray that give the pieces a dreamy effect. San Pascual says the process is quick, allowing him to finish three works over one weekend. Yet he is also careful about handling such a delicate medium, using latex paint to control the composition and finishing it with fixatives to preserve the final outcome.
Christina Quisumbing Ramilo draws inspiration from restoring her grandmother’s
house by recycling old wood as totem pole assemblages. Ramilo was always interested in studying old-style architecture, and these found objects gave her the chance to explore
different compositional possibilities . Wooden stairs, banister, and even wood shutters
have served as the jump-off points for ideas . Like the madre, an architectural detail
holding the step together, is used literally and symbolically. Ramilo likes mixing styles
from different architectural periods to create her pieces, working with a group
of carpenters from Marinduque and Batangas. Her aim is to make the works look fluid
and natural after assemblage. “I want to expose how they pieces are constructed
and highlight the natural pieces of the wood, its age and its grain. There are no imperfections.”
Documentation
