Spencer Ozo would pass through Conrad Manila’s Gallery C every day feeling inspired by the artworks. When no one was around to appreciate the pieces, and when he was not attending to his duties as the hotel’s assistant front office manager, he would take his time to gaze upon the paintings, studying colors, techniques, stories.
After honing his skills as a self-taught painter, Ozo now finds himself as the lone featured artist in the 18th installment of Gallery C’s “Of Art and Wine” series. The homegrown talent’s first solo exhibition, titled positive|negative, opened on April 5 and runs until June 11.
“It’s still surreal for me,” Ozo said, referring to how he made the jump from audience to exhibiting artist in a fairly short time.
While he began drawing as a kid, it was only recently that Ozo decided to start painting seriously. His cousin gifted him last year with a set of paint and he started to practice his craft after work.
Ozo always had a penchant to create art. Born and raised poor in Baguio City, he was unable to afford art materials but persisted in sketching on scrap paper and on walls. That gift of a paint set reignited his creative passion.
Ozo painted in his attic and created murals. He also completed one in the back office of Conrad Manila for a special event. A colleague who was moving to a new condo heard about Ozo’s art hobby and commissioned him a painting. Before long, he was doing up to three paintings at a time every weekend. He would paint whatever he felt like painting, from the cartoony to the colorful.
“Eventually, after doing one after the other, I realized I am good at doing nature,” the artist said. “Most of the people who ask me to do a painting want a bird or an animal or something. I realized I am good at creating eyes.”
Thus, presented in his ongoing exhibition featuring 24 artworks is a healthy collection of animal and human subjects with evocative looks. In Tiger’s Fortune, a big cat stares with piercing a gaze. In Winter’s Solstice, the eyes of deers project innocence.
There are geometric abstractions as well, such as Italian’s Choice and Boxed Up Emotions. But whether figurative or otherwise, each piece carries Ozo’s signature use of texture and white bars protruding into the frame.
The artist explains that he learned the wonders of “beautiful mistakes,” wherein he would just paint over elements not to his liking, creating textured effects. His works are also marked by the presence of gold, representing balance, control and opulence.
Aside from the presentation showcasing his wide-ranging works and serving as his debut solo exhibition, it also tackles his ups and downs these past few years. Ozo lost his mother during the pandemic, and positive|negative speaks about how he continues to power through and carry on despite the challenges.
“[The exhibition] is very special because we’re also celebrating my mom’s birthday [on the day of the show’s opening],” he said. “I think she’s very, very proud of what I’ve attained, especially in the arts, and I’m looking forward to sharing my talent with everyone.”
Conrad Manila General Manager Linda Pecoraro lauded Ozo’s talents and courage.
“I am in awe of him,” she said. “What this man has gone through in the last two years will break a lot of people and he didn’t break. He actually resurrected like the phoenix. And as our team member, I am so proud that we’ve been able to give him an opportunity to showcase his works.”
Pecoraro added that they remain committed to giving Filipino artists opportunities to shine, as is the original intention of the “Of Art and Wine” series.
“We are always looking at promoting and celebrating Filipino artists, whether they’re team members, whether they’re from Manila or wherever,” she said. “We want to showcase the wonderful work that Filipino artists do.”