A DAUGHTER of visual arts has finally come home.
After almost four decades of studying in Italy and Europe and becoming a wife and mother in the United States, Lolita Valderrama-Savage came back to the Philippines and displayed her paintings in her first one-woman exhibit dubbed The Art of Lolita Valderrama-Savage, which was held last February 9 to 21 at the Ayala Museum Artist Space.
Valderrama-Savage, a graduate of UST’s Fine Arts program, reintroduced herself to her homeland after being away since earning her degree and accepting a scholarship to the Academia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy.
“It’s about my coming home and about me presenting myself again to my country because I have been away for so long,” said Valderrama-Savage. “So, instead of putting different titles, I used my name for the exhibit title so that they know I’m coming home.”
The works on showcase exhibited her range and versatility.
“I selected different artworks that I did through different times,” Valderrama-Savage said. “There were drawings that I did at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, then I selected some from the ‘80s, some from the ‘90s and some paintings from the year 2000, so that people can have a picture of how my work has developed.”
Her oldest works are paintings which dated from 1975 to 1976. They are mostly charcoal-like sketches of scenes from Sweden such as “Hallström’s Old Kitchen” that depicts a small, simple, cottage style kitchen.
The landscape paintings of Valderrama-Savage serve as her artistic diary and a storybook for the public.
“I love to watch the changes of the season, I love to paint the winter, the autumn, the spring, all the changes of the climate, because it’s almost like watching life itself,” she said.
“Fall Ablaze,” which was inspired by parks in Connecticut, United States, shows the aggressive shedding of leaves in autumn.
On the other hand, the calm and meditative mood of “Call of the Winds” is inspired by the landscapes of China.
Though she had been successful and living comfortably in other countries, Valderrama-Savage has never forgotten about the Philippines. This is evident in “Sagingan,” a landscape of banana trees common in the Philippine countryside, which she said she painted while in the United States, basing it solely on her memory of the country.
“I was bound to come back,” said Valderrama-Savage. “This is my home even if I have lived in so many other countries. The more I travelled, the more I realized that I am very attached in my home land.” Maria Joanna Angela D. Cruz
