EVERYTHING has a beginning, so believes multimedia and abstract artist Hoche Briones. For him, it’s merely a question of where, what and how. In his latest exhibition, the concept of an uncertain destination ties meaning to where his work finds their form.
Titled Start at Some Point, the Singapore-based artist’s second solo show in the country runs until November 30 at the GSIS Museum of Art in Pasay City. “It’s one of the first things any painter does when creating their art. We start at some point and go on from there, let [our] hand move to where it likes to go. Pretty soon there’s a complete picture. Then we do it all over again,” said Hoche in an interview with BusinessMirror via e-mail.
Continuing, he related that the name of the exhibit derives from a video commentary, called “The Way I Think” by American visual artist George Condo, which was published by the Louisiana Channel: “[There], he described his drawing process as like walking through the forest where you never really know where you’re going. The words ‘start at some point’ instantly struck a chord within me. It helped connect my disjointed ideas into one overarching theme.”
The same principle of introspection as a means to a beginning of an idea or concept echoes in his creative journey as an artist. “When I paint in oil or watercolor, I never know exactly how it will look like in its finished stage because I often change directions. I like the fact that I’m often surprised at what I come up with. It’s like embarking on an uncertain adventure were the destination is not always what I was expecting or even hoping for.”
True enough, free from boundary-enforcing limitations, the GSIS’s gallery space is filled with his collection of cosmic and pictorial landscapes, as well as the abstraction of cultural symbols and ambiguous subjects.
Sarimanok, the legendary mythical bird of the Maranao people, bears itself with auspicious power as it looks upward, seemingly ready to reclaim its celestial place in the seven heavens. The 122 x 91” Revolution Symphony features the Philippine flag looking regal in royal blue and scarlet. Meanwhile, the Adarna takes on a powerful reinterpretation through masterful strokes and intricate patterns.
“I typically sketch something or put a brush to paper or canvas with just a vague destination in mind. The first stroke would decide if the image will be a bird wing, a sea creature or dots you see floating around when you close your eyes. In one work, for example, I decided I’ll paint a nice quiet seascape. However, I was watching an animated film at the same time and so I ended up with a turbulent vortex in the center of a red sea of clouds just raging under calm blue skies. It’s all so spontaneous” said Hoche.
The paintings displayed at the GSIS museum have been gathered from the personal collection of Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, Rep. Roy Loyola and Integrated Financial Services Philippines Inc. President Francisco Sebastian, among others.
Hoche also shared that if not for a family friend who bought his art, he wouldn’t have pursued a career in the field. “It’s called Crimson Wind and it’s one of my thesis works during my college years. It’s a 3 x 7” oil-on-wood painting and the theme was man’s insignificance against the wonder and vastness of nature. It’s a dreamlike landscape of huge billowing clouds under a vast, fiery field of grass. It was kept by my mother and it followed her wherever she held office, as if waiting for the right time. When an old friend of hers finally saw and insisted on buying it, it was one of the things that rekindled my passion for painting again.”
Hoche finished his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. After graduating in 1995, he joined GFX Creative Imaging Inc., one of the pioneers in digital imaging. In 2003 he returned to painting for a one-man exhibit, titled Briones at the West, which was held simultaneously with the shows of fellow artists Denes Dasco and Byron Valenzuela. He also joined Selyo in 2009, a group exhibition held to commemorate the 114th anniversary of Philippine Independence. He now works as a digital imaging artist at EG+ Worldwide.
Since he was a child, Hoche knew that he’ll always be a painter. “I was always drawing something when I was a kid, from cowboys to superheroes and giant robots. I began painting in high school and eventually took painting and drawing lessons from Fernando Sena.”
He added that he finds inspiration from works that “were done with skill and passion—from the likes of Kim Jung Gi, who draws like a magician conjuring entire complex scenes like a photograph in his mind, to Michelangelo’s divine Biblical scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Chinese and Japanese landscapes [fascinate me]. Their calming simplicity is what drives me to find that effect in my landscapes.”
When asked what he thinks is an artist’s role in society, he said that it depends on how one follows his or her own path. “There are artists that illustrate or bring to life whatever their clients commission them to do. There are artists that market their creations like commercial products. The one that stands out to me are those who inspire people to look at things in a different light. For instance, when Van Gogh first unveiled The Starry Night, no one painted anything like that before. It showed a dark starry sky full of life, light and movement. It was like he’s showing me that even if the night sky appeared to be still, it is actually alive with mysterious energy too slow for the eye to see, but captured in all its glory in a painting done by the artist from his asylum window.”