Exhibit:
Ladies First
"Ladies First" showcases the Philippines' leading contemporary women artists in one art exhibit in Singapore. The exhibit is a tribute to the talent and artistry of the Filipina artist.
View expressive and surreal oil on canvas works by Joy Mallari, Pamela Yan, Marika Constantino, Sandra Fabie-Gfeller, Cez Nunez, Tina Fernandez and Reggie Baxter at the Art Space, Royal Plaza on Scotts.
Joy Mallari's works are about people's histories – both personal and communal – intertwine with that of other peoples'. So when nations are born out of these engagements and encounters, their collective narratives are all unexpectedly layered and complex. We share histories, hold on to heritage of other races as our own, acknowledge ourselves as proud descendants of hybrid cultures that are susceptible to change and intervention, even as we are also products of the unlikely union of a dominating force and a subjugated one.
Mallari's paintings are all formally composed, symmetrical in more instances and frontally presented. These indicate illustrative, descriptive and even comparative efforts in the presentation of visual/ thematic ideas.
Sandra Fabie-Gfeller's works are based on the premise that from the moment we're born to the second before we die, we are in between the where-from and where-to. Time does not wait. While portraits and paintings attempt to summarize a time period into a stillness, the images are an attempt to follow time. This is a visual diary of a moving form-- gestures by a lone figure captured by the one-second shutter speed of a camera. The images thus reinterpreted in a painting.
Fabie-Gfeller explores the visual dimensions of the passage of time through oil paintings of blurred motion, captured initially in a series of photographs of dancers. She expounds her theme on canvas, articulating the image of movement and restlessness through an interplay of clear and turbid representations of the body extending in space. The result is a series of interesting visual play infused with a tension of unresolved motion, of the unpredictable passage of the kinetic.
Fabie-Gfeller has had six solo shows since 2003 and her works has been featured in a show in New York in 2003 and in the Larasati Auction late last year.
The central theme of Marika Constantino's works are about people and their maze of experiences. Each part, though unstructured and unidentifiable by itself, is a perfect fit to the other pieces of instances that shape one's life. At any given moment, the conglomeration of the puzzle is the sum of who we are.
These figurations — depicted through distortion or reconfiguration — are composed of organic shapes that represent memories, encounters, aspirations and imaginings. Taken as a whole, it captures the essence of a given moment, warts and all.
This is the general concept of the biomorphic mosaic. It is drawn from the repository of occurrences and circumstances, actions and non-actions, dreams and challenges. The highly textured build-ups of contemplation, lamentation and jubilation find its way from the recesses of the soul to the canvas.
Pamela Yan Santos' work deals with the layering of processes and meaning. Oftentimes, it is a visual diary of personal experiences, relationships, emotions and thoughts. The layers are composed of words / phrases / sentences– utterances and anecdotes from family, friends…people in general rendered and recorded through a collage and sometimes interlaced with serigraph prints and painted images.
LADIES FIRST is from May 25 to June 8. 2008. Exhibition Hours: 10 am to 9pm. The exhibit is organized by ArtSentralAsia.com. For Inquiries: artsentralasia@yahoo.com or call (65) 9734-4839.
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