Exhibitions
La Lanta Fine Art
Aug 05 - Sep 19, 2020
Jason Montinola, Prophet, oil on canvas, 41 x 51.5 cm
All images by Courtesy of La Lanta Fine Art
A group exhibition by contemporary Philippine artists who are currently making their marks on the Southeast Asian art scene. The exhibition titled “Displacement” draws on the artists’ studio work created during the time of the pandemic lockdown when their status quo was acutely challenged.
With more than 100 days of lockdown in Manila, it is undeniable to observe the unconscious transfer of intense emotion from the uncontrollable event of the pandemic onto the canvas. The immediate suspension of social interaction leads each artist to evaluate their own identity and their relationship with the world. In the “Displacement” exhibition, it is apparent to view the displacement of each artist’s emotional response in varying degrees of intensity.
The exhibition “Displacement” offers viewers a glimpse of art practices by contemporary Philippine artists from abstract expressionism by Ana Victoria Montinola to Pop Art inspired by Ronald Caringal; from twisted classical European artwork by Jason Montinola and Valerie Chua to Filipino iconography by Wesley Valenzuela and intricate line drawing by Kadin Tiu.
Participating Artists:
Ana Victoria Montinola
Jason Montinola
Kadin Tiu
Ronald Caringal
Valerie Chua
Wesley Valenzuela
Not A Lichtenstein 1 | Oil on canvas | 91.5 x 122 cm
Not A Lichtenstein 2 | Oil on canvas | 91.5 x 122 cm
SOLD! | Oil on canvas | 244 x 122 cm (diptych)
Artist Statement: 'Not A Lichtenstein'
This series is based off Roy Lichtenstein’s “Drowning Girl”. In the original, the drowning girl says, “I don’t care! I’d rather sink – than call Brad for help!” Even in the face of danger and doom, the girl chooses to preserve her pride and dignity rather than call for “Brad”. There is a dark humor in that stubbornness. It may seem foolish but at the moment makes sense and becomes a determined decision for the girl.
My version says, “I don’t care! This is not a Lichtenstein –”. The sentiment carries the same sense self-worth (or lack thereof) and foolish pride as the original drowning girl. However, with this work I also want to show a true sense of determination. I want the viewer to see that the work wants to exist, but exist on its own merit. It would rather die than become a Lichtenstein.
Artist Statement: 'SOLD!'
The work is a re-imagining of Roy Lichtenstein’s “Whaam!” painting. The original depicted a fighter plane destroying another one in the midst of combat. It also showed what thoughts occurred to the surviving fighter pilot at that instant. A moment of glorious victory.
In this version, I used the same analogy for how an artist feels within the art market and his pursuit of an art “career”. It is always about survival. A fear and anticipation of whether or not you live to paint another day or you would have to rebuild or be lost in obscurity. Whether it’s a show or an auction, the artist’s future is in the hands of another – a gallery, a curator, an auction house and so on. The artist can only do so much, can only put out his best, but the true battle begins when the work leaves the studio.
Am I good enough? Will this sell? How do I keep my integrity? What will I paint next? What does this mean? Who will like this? These questions and a million others plague the artist with every canvas and that in itself is another war.
Same with the thoughts and sighs of momentary relief in Lichtenstein’s “Whaam!”, the word Sold has the same effect to an artist. A temporary alleviation of the fear and dread that comes every single time we put ourselves out there.
Ronald Caringal
Born in 1980. Lives in Manila, Philippines
Ronald Caringal is like the Pop Art antithesis of a Pop artist. His works are expressed in vivid colors, meticulously laid down lines with familiar imagery and yet, they carry a deeper undertone that defies the surface. Pop art, mostly known for the celebration of contemporary influences narrowly escapes the artist’s grasp. The artist prefers to consistently ask the whys of everything in his works. Witty, funny, dark, crude and sometimes downright sarcastic, he plays his subjects children’s book characters, pop culture icons, comic book images, portraits, erotica and even typography, like a psychiatrist wanting to state the obvious to someone oblivious to the point. A true reflection of modern day life in its aesthetic sensibilities and creative approach, the polish and finish of his pieces remind us of images we see on our smartphones, television screens, tablet and billboards. His works are like eye-candies for someone with a toothache. The fun is there but the tragedy is unavoidable. He shows us something familiar because he wants us to ask why it is familiar. [more information]
Prophet | Oil on canvas | 41 x 51.5 cm
Catatonic | Oil on canvas | 41 x 51.5 cm
Artist Statement
“I paint what I see in visions. Not all of it, but whatever equivalent we have within our level of experience” says Jason Montinola whose oeuvre is built around love, death, sin, and salvation. For him, painting is not just a creative expression, but a means of opening up consciousness, sharing hidden realities, and revealing surprising connections; without the use of cumbersome and confining words, to aid us in elevating our humanity. Art has always served a spiritual purpose. From the first cave paintings, to the adornment of places of worship, art has aided us in imagining the spiritual, and to help us live lives in congruence with the greater order. Montinola’s paintings appear to be from this vein as well.
An excerpt from Ricky Francisco’s curatorial statement
Jason Montinola
Born in 1979, Manila, Philippines
[more information]
Institutional, Generational | Oil on linen | 60 x 80 cm
Being And Time | Oil on linen | 60 x 80 cm
Artist Statement
The idea for this series of work is derived from my coming across the philosopher, Heidegger, and his concept of being and time. Our absence in normal societal functions during an unfortunate event such as a pandemic leads us to question our own identity and our relation to the larger world. There is a sense of displacement and a feeling of being immobilized in the confines of our own space. The works are an attempt to claim freedom within our own constraints. The very act of creating, whether it is derived from life or imagination, is an active strife to overcome nothingness, and an assertion of our imprint in this temporal time and space.
Valerie Chua
Born in 1987. Lives and works in Manila, Philippines
As an artist, foreign objects play a pivotal role in the construction and retention of my personal identity. My work attempts to visually articulate the romanticization of identity by using archaic objects and museum images as a primary subject matter. Objects of memory are either exalted, preserved, or led to obsolesce according to how the present perceives its value. Using my background in decorative illustration, I use ornamentation and design in order to romanticize subjects of my choosing. By manipulating museum displays objects held in high regard by scholars or the people who own them, I acknowledge man’s fallible nature of keeping and translating memory into object. As objects move through time, its location is transferred, it is replicated, and it loses its original purpose and meaning. Its viewer changes and its physical material degrades. Some objects become purely antiquarian or decorative, just like how it is used in my own home, yet it still remains relevant as it is capable of elevating or changing identity. [more information]
Horizontal Punchline | Oil on canvas | 82 x 51 cm
Thunder Defuser | Oil on canvas | 51.5 x 58.5 cm
Artist Statement
My art is an attempt to use colour, texture, and form to create a visually stimulating image. It is also a way for me to experiment with spontaneity and chance. I am vehemently opposed using art as a means to give a critique or comment on a past style or movement. For inspiration, I look at movements like analytical cubism, and abstract expressionism.
Ana Victoria Montinola
Born 1991 in Las Piñas, Philippines
[more information]
The Great Dosquiet | Acrylic and serigraph on canvas| 91.5 x 122 cm
Prevalence | Acrylic and serigraph on canvas | 91.5 x 122 cm
Aritist Statement
This series of artwork tackles the uncertainties and visions under the Pandemic. In a society (Philippines) under a lockdown for more than a hundred days, the societal dangers unleashed by the powers that be, is spreading faster than the virus it supposed to suppress.
Wesley Valenzuela
Wesley Torres Valenzuela graduated from the College of Architecture and Fine Arts of the University of Santo Tomas, and currently lives and works in Manila, Philippines. He creates paintings and mixed-media works that reflect on the Filipino iconography and popular culture using his perspectives to address contemporary realities and history. His works have been shown in various exhibitions in, Manila, U.S., Belgium, Korea and Singapore. [more information]
Perpetual | Oil on canvas | 91.5 x 122 cm
Transitory | Oil on canvas | 91.5 x 122 cm
Artist Statement
The works are a part of a recurring series that I have been working on throughout my career. I am fascinated with lines and how they can shape and mold anything into existence. My works start out as photographs – in this instance a piece of cloth. But I never see what I paint as a piece of cloth.
It is a series of paths; of beginnings and ends that are connected, intertwined and overlap. The lines create their own space and exist in their own plane. They wish neither to be 2D nor 3D. They have no intention of forming the piece of cloth that inspired their existence. They are just moving and carrying on their paths together. It is about discovery and journey.
Through this I wish to achieve a sense of atmosphere and reality in my works that begin behind a lens as one thing, passes through me and finds its way onto the canvas as something else. As an artist, I wish to share the way I view my subjects and hopefully this is a journey that the audience can take with me.
Kadin Tiu
Born in 1987. Lives in Manila, Philippines
Kadin Tiu has always been fascinated with perception and the endless boundaries that come with it. Taking cues from photographs she takes, the artist creates atmosphere and dimensions not obvious to the naked eye. She tries to challenge the fine line between looking, seeing and perceiving. Images of flowers become swirls of interspersed lines, unaware of what they were prior to the artist’s handling. From photos of fabrics, flowers and her pieces of clothing she creates landscapes that stretch miles into the depths of her canvas. She makes us see and experience her discoveries within her subjects and allows us to accept that what once was will become another thing entirely. Lines, folds, creases, cuts, layers, wraps and connections cohabit her canvases for us to endlessly retrace their origins and their destination. Her works are done in oil on canvas. [more information]
