Jaime Pacena II shows the technological determinism of the visual arts in his solo exhibit, “inBetween,” which ran at the Cubicle Art Gallery in Pasig on Sept. 23 to Oct. 23. The show was a necessary follow-through to his contributions to the group show by the Thomasian Young Artists Circle, “dog|god,” which is now on tour nationwide.
Pacena in his solo explored further the potentials of digital manipulation. The result was heightened expressionism, a marriage of expressivism and technology.
Drawing from his personal experiences and his desire to “perfect” his relationships, Pacena employed bright colors and enigmatic symbols like the Edenic apple. The warm colors suggested strong emotions, which according to him, was the core of the whole show.
Most of his works had hazy faces, as if they refused to be identified. In “Quiet Sanctuary,” for example, a woman’s face was manipulated to have sunken eyes, and the heavy brushstrokes exuded a ghostlike quality.
Pacena’s pieces underwent a long process. First, he shot his models. Then he digitally manipulated the pictures. Afterward, with the use of a large printer, he printed the manipulated pictures on canvas, where he added certain solutions to the ink of the digital print. This last procedure was where the free-flowing brushstrokes happened: a “reconstruction” of a “destroyed” artwork, he said.
Pacena encouraged viewers to “read between the lines” so as to notice subtle implications of love, sex, and relationships.
“In between of all these things are thoughts and past lives, experiences and emotions, moments, and images,” Pacena said.
Pacena, a 2001 Advertising graduate from the University, teaches at the College of Fine Arts and Design. He has also directed music videos for the band Cueshé and acoustic singer Jimmy Bondoc.
Mean faces
Andres Barrioquinto’s seventh solo exhibit, Your face is as mean as your life has been, at the West Gallery last Aug. 18 to 31, featured works in oil and canvas, exploring his emerging strongest suit, expressionist portraiture.
Fresh from his successful show in Singapore, Barrioquinto again explored life and faith in portraits set in plain backgrounds in muted blues and violets, which enhanced the forms. The wild greens, reds, oranges, and yellows, combined with the almost-violent brushstrokes, were the most eye-catching. The eyes were soulless, contrasting with the bright colors of the faces. Though the lines and colors suggested urgent movements, the people in the portrait remained visibly still.
Barrioquinto’s vintage distortion was present: eyes near the edge of the face, mouths too wide, teeth too gapped, and noses big enough to accommodate two or three fingers. The grotesque imagery gave off an eerie, almost otherworldly quality.
Violent lines reduced to flowing shapes characterized “The Witch is Alive and Well and Living in My Aura.” While the violent and rough lines suggested masculinity, the shapes implied femininity. The grotesque proportions in “Scaramanga,” however, proved less familiar. A man wearing a Barong-like shirt and dark glasses over three eyes, reminded some of lewd-looking stereotypical politicians.
Barrioquinto graduated from CFAD in 2001, majoring in Painting. He has won several national and international awards.
Visions
Dreams may not be stunning and easy to grasp, but artist Rene Robles gives the form and felt life in Visions, which runs at the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences until Nov 15.
Using mostly white streaks, appearing to be smudges at first glance, Robles emphasizes motion in his paintings through simple household items such as light bulbs and chairs.
In the title piece, “Visions,” Robles uses white streaks to embody a woman, looking somewhat caught in a transcendental state, with two chairs opposite each other presented in different hues.
Robles, also a graduate from the College of Fine Arts, founded the philosophy of “Assertionism,” which, he explains, focuses in the power of art to assert, transform, and transcend. He has gained a following in the American art scene.
All the pieces of Vision are for sale. The proceeds would go to the UST Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics for scholarship grants and research funds. F. C. Garcia and Brian P. Sales
