Ronald Achacoso’s On Growth and Form presents a set of oil paintings inspired by biologist and mathematician D’Arcy Thompson’s studies. “My works are interpretive gestures that retain a strong sense of ambiguity rather than actual schemes or diagrams. I also want to invoke the singularity of [Thompson's] work that, to date, is in a class by itself, and defies any categorical designation,” says Achacoso. Thompson advocated structuralism as an alternative to survival of the fittest in governing the form of species.
Achacoso is especially interested in Philippine forest flora. “I find myself wanting to paint when I am exploring in the field, and wanting to go outdoors when I paint. I always attempt to synthesize the two contrasting disciplines in my work. Both activities are fueled by externally distinct but essentially same passion or desire, which is to capture the sublime and suspend the elusive sense of wonderment and awe.”
Achacoso, who studied painting at the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, is a two-time grand prize winner of the Art Association of the Philippines’ Leo Benesa Award for Art Criticism, and a CCP Thirteen Artists Award recipient in 2000.
Documentation
