ALREADY a familiar persona in art galleries here and abroad, Thomasian Prudencio Villamor Lamarroza have indeed gone a long way before his homecoming. Only now at age 64 did he mount his first exhibit in his alma mater which ran from Sept. 1 to 15 at the Beato Angelico Main Gallery with the title The Colors of Amor Lamarroza.
“Having an exhibit here [in UST] was just a dream to me before,” Lamarroza said.
The exhibit is a part of Artistang Tomasino Ako, a series of art exhibitions throughout the year in preparation for the Quadricentennial celebration.
Lamarroza’s artworks are evident innovations with his unlikely use of colors. Inspired by his mentors “13 Moderns” National Artist Victorio Edades and Diosdado Lorenzo, and modernist Angelito Antonio, Lamarroza sees art to be free from rules. In an anecdote from his official website, www.lamarrozapaintings.com, Lamarroza was said to have been scolded by Diosdado Lorenzo for painting a nude in blue instead of flesh tones.
In the exhibit, Lamarroza’s featured artworks depict the Amburayan River, the biggest river in Ilocos Sur. These paintings shown rocks and trees set on a background of either the sky or a mountain range, which perhaps resemble the scenic environment in his birthplace, the town of Tagudin. However, the rocks are vivid with the tones and hues of the rainbow, which make the rocks look like candies. The brush strokes and gradients are patterned to appear like gems.
“The river has died because of mining in the Cordillera, and the stones have turned white, so I gave them (the rocks) life through my colors,” Lamarroza said.
Aside from the colorful rocks, Lamarroza deviates his artworks from the usual brown trunks of trees and lush green mountains. Lamarroza paints the trunks in gray, black, white and red with patterns to give texture, and his mountains are playful with hues of blue and pink.
“I have many different styles, but abstract is my forte,” said Lamarroza. “I like abstract painting because I can express myself freely.”
Although they solely are depictions of the Amburayan River landscape, the paintings hold a deeper meaning figured in their titles.
One of the paintings titled “Cold War” shows a lone tree in the foreground and a mass of rocks in the distance, which reminds of a battle between a soldier against an entire army. On the other hand, “Old Man Moves a Mountain (Wide Branch)” depicts a huge gray tree with two thick branches on each side.
Elder’s Critique
Many young local artists of today are practitioners of contemporary art and Lamarroza finds many of them to be good. However, the continued influence of the west has caused in the disappearance of the Philippine’s artistic signature
“What I have been seeing is all the same, there is no more sign of the Filipino. Maybe this is due to the advancement of communication,” said Lamarroza.
