They are pretty, and R.M. de Leon wants them to stay just that. No explanations or narratives attached or required. Known for his playful images, de Leon does it again in Pretty Strange, on view at the West Gallery, Glorietta 4, from August 1 to 13.
What does de Leon have up in his sleeves this time? Are there puzzles to solve or pieces to put together somewhere? He says that he doesn’t need to define “pretty” further. It is what visually appeals to you, just letting your eye be the judge on the graphics at hand. The appeal is instant and it’s almost redundant for de Leon to point it out in a big scale. The “strange” part may be the fun aspect that continues to draw de Leon to do what he does. He lifts these images from popular children’s books but he exercises his creative license in reconstructing them into his own. De Leon discovers that he can put together or remove familiar elements and still come up with a good picture. In good hands, the image will always have that visual quality that draws viewers to look more closely, as if challenging them to see what is different or new about the image.
De Leon says that the secret is in knowing what you are doing. That is why he spends more time thinking about his work than doing it. His works in acrylic on paper take months or even years of conceptualization. Yet he does not burden himself with the pressure of deadlines or topping his last show. He does not even paint everyday because he feels he will be doing the same thing over and over again if he did. De Leon believes that creativity works best when he is most relaxed. He does not even worry if he is still painting while his show draws near. He is confident that he knows what he is doing well enough that time is not going to be a serious problem. He just hopes people will have enough time on their hands to see his work and the inner workings of his mind.
A product of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, de Leon has been conducting children’s art workshops for nearly 20 years now. He also has the distinction of being the first Filipino participant at the Vermont Studio Center’s studio arts program for painting.
Documentation
