Artist Dennis Mallares Gonzales paints what he thinks are snippets of everyday reality. Trapped by Fate, his fifth one-man exhibit that will be on view at West Gallery, SM Megamall from May 24 to June 5, take viewers into different scenes in contemporary society, as seen and observed by Gonzales himself.
Trapped by Fate are not only highlighted by Gonzales’ large-scale paintings, but also his courageous attempt to push his ideas further by making sculptures out of found objects. The subjects are all trapped, physically, emotionally, or socially. “Why” literally shows an animal struggling and seemingly helpless from its predator. “Tony” is a portrait of a man/woman whose looks can be deceiving. Gonzales says science has been so advanced that people can undergo medical procedure to go on with their alternative lifestyle. “Stain” features another man, this time in deep thought as temptation stares him in the face. In “Beyond,” inspired by a master’s painting, there are juxtaposed images of commercial fare, including a burger meal from a popular culture. Gonzales then expands the idea with a basketball ring on top and a birdcage filled with eggs.
Some paintings are titled, and others are not, leaving it to the viewers to see what they want to see in the artworks. Though he believes a much better understanding and appreciation can also be achieved if one gives the works thorough attention, and even spending time to talk to the artist. One untitled work features two men facing each other, with one of them revealing a fierce, perhaps deceptive, persona. To Gonzales, he sees it as hypocrisy in our society today. Then there’s another work featuring a woman with her worldly yet restrictive possessions, as if keeping her in a box. And a former dog breeder,
Gonzales, too, finds inspiration in a Rottweiler, whose features can alternatively be seen
as fearless and likeable. The use of the words “Falling” and “Rebirth” signifies one’s resiliency. Gonzales adds that “F/B,” one of the smaller works, stands for flesh and blood, another situation in which temptation again plays a significant role with a fluorescent bulb serving as a guiding light.
Gonzales says these ideas come from his own observations as well as ideas inspired by his friends and current trends in the international art scene. “These ideas just come, ideas you absorb from your friends, ideas you see on television, and you just continue to develop them,” says Gonzales, finding more ways to express such thoughts dynamically, from two-dimensional paintings to three-dimensional sculptural extensions and found object installations. Also, he’d like his ideas simpler, more focused, and more thought provoking. “I am challenged by my own works.”
Gonzales, a Thirteen Artist Award recipient from the CCP, took up visual communication at the UP College of Fine Arts. He was also a recipient of an artist in residence grant from the Vermont Studio Center in the US in 2003.
Documentation
