Celebrating his 79th birthday, Malang mounts a one-man exhibit, simply titled Works on Paper, at the SM Megamall Art Center. On view from January 20 through February 4, the exhibit features more than 40 new works in gouache.
Malang has been celebrating his birthday with a major one-man exhibit in recent years, as if signaling the start of another creatively productive year. He simply refuses to slow down and begins each day with a brush and other painting materials nearby. To him, it is a gift that he generously shares with everyone who appreciates art. He has mounted so many exhibits since the early 1960s, yet his enthusiasm to discover new lines and new colors has never waned. Each subject, whether it is a woman figure or a cityscape, appears new to him every time. And he lets his viewers also see them in a different light no matter how familiar they have been with the subjects.
He uses gouache in his latest set of works, notably the medium he admits is the one he is most comfortable using. Such mastery is revealed when he says that he can paint using gouache with his eyes closed, or even very early in the morning when he just woke up. The reason Malang has produced so many works over the years is that he always tries to paint every single day, sketching a few lines even before he eats breakfast or touching up a few details before he goes to bed. Practice is the key, though he also keeps it interesting by being open to new ideas and new painting techniques. That’s why he makes sure he keeps his eyes open not only when he is traveling but also when he is
simply interacting with people.
Malang’s images seem to be taken from a different era, and his positive outlook shines through all of them, his deft use of color stemming from his background as a layout artist and cartoonist before he went to take up painting full-time. Similarly, it’s an era we fondly love to be a part of again, and that makes viewing Malang’s works such a refreshing sight.
A self-taught painter, Malang began as a designer for the Manila Chronicle and its supplement, This Week magazine.
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