CEBUANO painters in solo showcases come in threes in Art Elaan’s latest exhibition line-up. The shows opened yesterday, September 26, and will be on view until October 15.
Darby Alcoseba of Cebu City, Jun Impas of Danao City and Orley Ypon of the City of Toledo present their latest works, featuring their respective brands of realism. Alcoseba captures the essence of the perfect day, Impas challenges our perception of motion, while Ypon offers a striking balance.
In Alcoseba’s Of Light Shining, the artist presents stunning landscapes bathed in glorious light. The waters glow in glistening blues, while the plants shine in captivating greens, as the flowers come alive in a range of vibrant hues.
The idea, however, deals not so much with depicting beauty as it is about inspiring hope. Alcoseba advocates for the responsible use of one’s talents and platform in advancing optimism, especially in today’s most challenging times. Thus, the artist creates artworks wherein the subjects not only bask in light but shine it upon their viewers as well.
This is seen in Cold Water Spring (Coron), where Alcoseba portrays the magnificence of Palawan’s natural beauty. The same goes in Watershelter, as the artist makes great use of impasto in carving out multidimensionality in depth, color and texture of a scenic landscape. Both works leave no room for darkness and negativity. In these images of hope, there is only beauty and perfection in every corner.
Also part of the new exhibitions is Through the Looking Glass by Jun Impas. The show’s title, of course, is inspired by Lewis Caroll’s 1871 novel, which serves as the sequel to his 1865 piece Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The phrase evolved into its own metaphor that means peering into something familiar that somehow feels different all of a sudden. By all accounts, it encapsulates Impas’s latest works that challenge the viewer to rethink perceptions. With stale subjects that suggest movement and kinetic forms that signify stagnation, nothing in this exhibition is what it seems.
Lady in Red, for instance, shows a maiden draped in red clothing, sitting idly on a rock as the river’s waves surge past her. But somehow, every implied motion comes to a screeching halt. The opposite proves true in The Red Lamp, where several inanimate objects occupy a table. From the nothingness, action forms building a perceived busy routine of how the subjects contribute to the life of its owner.
Perhaps, Impas manages to incite the contrasting ideas by framing the subjects with faint white borders. Do these elements perform as filters? Does the artist suggest that his artworks are to be viewed, indeed, through the looking glass?
The last featured solo exhibition that completes the trio is Orley Ypon’s For the Love of Life and Nature. Ypon offers a broad range of images in terms of feel and meaning, from displaying the struggles of a poor Filipino in all its grimy detail to presenting a fine day outdoors.
In Couple, a naked man and woman hold each other as their home crumbles, as does their skin. In Hanky-Panky, a pack of street dogs engage in an orgy, emotions raw and beastly. From these pieces, Ypon offers a change of pace, with works, such as Lush Green Meadows and Ephemeral Stream providing an escape to a mix of green and blues that nourishes the eyes.
Ypon may be hinting that these extremes make up life and nature as we know it. We’re just too occupied in the in-betweens to notice them.
More information about the shows is available on www.artelaan.com.