A THOMASIAN painter drew inspiration from board and card games in his first solo exhibition on Jan. 7 at the Secret Fresh gallery in San Juan.
David Requilme, who studied painting at the University, showcased a series of surrealist paintings incorporating elements from playing cards and chess in his exhibit titled “Equilibrium.”
At the show’s centerpiece was the titular “Equilibrium,” a series of three paintings depicting chess pieces, warriors, heavenly figures, and animals.
The middle frame was a 48×36-in. piece featuring two elderly kings competing in a game of chess while surrounded by a winged angel and a horse, as a man with a clock as his head looms over them.
The other two 36×24-in. oil on canvas paintings portray a lion and an eagle, each donning a crown while also surrounded by figures of warriors and chess pieces.
According to Requilme, the series was inspired by his artistic and life journey.
“Basically, it’s [about] finding that balance,” he told the Varsitarian. “I came across the word ‘equilibrium,’ which is two opposing forces influencing one another to their balanced state. So, each painting represents a different status of human, whether conscience, physical, social nature, et cetera.”
Also on exhibit was the 36×48-in. piece “Collision,” which depicts a black and a white horse–resembling the knight piece in chess–charging one another.
The painting graduate also exhibited a 48×36-in. work featuring a woman wearing a bishop’s miter while surrounded by other chess pieces, titled “Discernment.”
“Arbiter,” a 24×18-in. piece, and “Watcher,” a 20×16-in. work, resemble the king and queen chess pieces as they feature a man and woman dressed in royal clothing, with clocks as heads.
“Conscience” shows a head and a torso on top of a column, surrounded by diamond and spade symbols.
Requilme graduated from the College of Fine Arts and Design in 2015.
According to the Thomasian artist, he gravitated toward surrealism because of the freedom for “endless creativity” that the genre allows.
“I don’t feel contented when I’m stuck with doing one thing…I want to do everything,” he said.
“Even I do not know the end result, I just do it. I just live in the moment while creating the art piece,” he added.
Requilme’s “Equilibrium” exhibit will run until Jan. 19.
