The 7 Chronicles of Madness

Lunacy and lunar cycles

The Maya Calendar predicted that the world would end in 2012. In The 7 Chronicles of Madness, artists Froilan Calayag and Ramona Dela Cruz-Gaston have taken this prophetic circle of doom and turned it into a labyrinthine carnival overflowing with naïf creatures, esoteric symbols, inside jokes, personal memories, snatches of everyday conversations, and meditations on the future.

Calayag, a well-established artist with five solo exhibitions, is a dark prince of fairy tales. His three-dimensional paintings, sinister and beguiling at once, are populated by deceivingly charming beasts with predatory eyes and rictus grins. His brush is capricious, guided solely by the whims of his imagination.

Dela Cruz-Gaston, on the other hand, is an art-scene ingénue who favors the mandala—technical, geometric, and deliberate—as her medium. Her flat-perspective symmetrical designs require methodical planning that is almost the antithesis of Calayag’s impulsive nature.

Chaos and calculation meet in The 7 Chronicles of Madness, a transcendent display of artistry. The show’s 7’x7’centerpiece, titled Mad Calendar, is collaboration in the truest sense of the word. Calayag and Dela Cruz-Gaston painted together, pushing each other to new creative heights. Looking at the finished oil-on-canvas work, it

is impossible to tell where one artist ends and the other begins.

Composition-wise, the concentric circles that make up Mad Calendar echo the piece’s Mayan foundation. At its center, a hybrid creature, white-furred and open-mouthed, replaces the Tonatiuh, the Mexican sun god. Around this blue-eyed beast are four layers, teeming with images.

In the innermost wheel, the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire—alternate with human basic needs. Beyond, the four cardinal directions punctuate 12 petals, one for every month of the year; and in the outermost wheel, 31 divisions representing the number of days in a month. The 12 signs of the Zodiac are likewise present, scattered throughout the circles.

Avatars of Calayag and Dela Cruz-Gaston—a prickly pumpkin and a young girl with lucky clovers in her hair, respectively—watch the colorful abundance unspool before them.  In place of the Maya Calendar’s glyphs, the artists have painted brief but luminous visual metaphors, which, taken together, form a radial constellation so full and so generous that the eye is overwhelmed.

This visual bounty is separated from a black void by a wall assaulted on all fronts by a noxious green morass of negativity: a knife through a heart, broken crayons and broken dreams, general decay. The wall holds firm. Battered as it is, it is not breached.

Mad Calendar is complemented by six works (hence The 7 Chronicles of Madness), three oil-on-paper paintings, also circular in composition, from each artist. Completed after the show’s collaborative centerpiece, these smaller, individual works bear witness to how the mimetic process affected both Calayag and Dela Cruz-Gaston.

Dela Cruz-Gaston had an epiphany while looking at her most recent work: “I’ve to realize that the purpose of collaboration is not to paint or draw side by side with your partner,” she said. “It is to learn.”

The impact on her rendering style is visible, and she is not loath to admit it. “I’ve seen great changes, which I cannot undo. These changes don’t just happen because many artists—myself included—can be

egotistical.”

Calayag, with a few pointed words, explained that the exercise was a success because he and Dela Cruz-Gaston were kindred spirits: “We’re probably old souls that met before.”

The 7 Chronicles of Madness is a prime example of how true collaboration can stoke the fires of creation. It is a show born out of mutual respect and admiration. It is an unconscious, unselfish embrace of another’s divine inspiration. — ll

The exhibit opens on June 30, 8pm onwards at Vinyl on Vinyl gallery at The Collective, 7274 Malugay St, Makati.


To see the rest of the artworks, click HERE.  


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Iconopop

Art has always been an ever-changing, infinitely morphing animal. But such change has not seen anything as drastic as it has in the last decade. As the liberating light of social media and the internet blankets our shared consciousness, so does it cast dark shadows on the fringes and empty byways. Today’s Pop Culture, and the Art mirrored by it, has forever transformed.

Yesterday’s art feels distant, as if eons have passed.  Yesteryears Pop Culture almost seems laborious; inspirations coming only from one’s local culture and what the Masters  Of Mass Media choose to hold sway over—to disseminate over to you or I. Imagination is supposed to be limitless, but only now does it feel this way.

Today’s Art is freedom. It is now a collective hive-mind of a shared culture, a worldly make up of ideals and wishes and purity. But most of all, today’s Pop Culture is unpretentious;  a shared experience that the same joke can be delivered to 2 distinct individuals oceans apart, yet laugh at the same time. Technology and social media has afforded our Pop Culture Art to be something it has never been:

Art is now Unity.

Art is the crashing rubble, where old walls stood wide and silent.

Art is our tangled web, and all the wondrous confusion that entails.

But mostly, Art is our mirror.

This exhibition is that reflection. It is the lipid pool where we all catch our reflections together; our waking dreams staring back at us, delivering the punch line. This time, unlike times past, we get it, and laugh and smile in unison.

Adrian Evangelista

Anjo Bolarda

Carmie Cucueco

Ciron Seneres

Dino Gabito

Dominic Alfonso

Iggy Rodriguez

Iyan de Jesus

JR Urao

Jepoy Almario

Kris Abrigo

Luis Hernandez

Soleil Ignacio

Tokwa Penaflorida

Michael Vincent Zacarias

Iconopop runs until June 27, 2012 at Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, at The Collective 7274 Malugay St Makati. 


For exhibit more exhibit photos, click HERE.

SEE SAW, Various Visions of Balance

20 Somethings Seek ‘A Balanced Life’ Through Art

“Work-life balance” is the catchphrase of the 21st century workforce. They are ambitious and driven and ready to face their demanding careers, but many now recognize the importance of a holistic lifestyle. 

A diverse group of young professionals is staging an exhibit entitled "See, Saw: Various Visions of Balance" showcasing different works of art that aim to portray their own unique but very relatable struggles in their journey to lead happier and more fulfilled lives

"See, Saw" will feature paintings, photographs, installations, and digital and mixed media works by 11 different artists and individuals who are woven together by the common thread of passion in pursuing art, regardless of their day jobs and chosen fields. It will include contributions by Agnes Abesamis, Cess Abrahan, Trixie Banting, Christopher Esguerra, Kristel Ko, Gigi Lapid, Kristina Mendoza, Mikhail Quijano, Camille Quintos, Christine Salazar, and Margarita Tabag.

This undertaking is particularly relevant because of the modern Pinoy’s increasing inclination to engage in other life-enriching activities centered on general well-being. The exhibit’s focal point – life balance or sometimes the lack thereof – will prove to be an eye opener for anyone who has been challenged to achieve their own version of success, without compromising other valuable pursuits. 

The exhibit will be held at the Vinyl on Vinyl gallery at The Collective in 7274 Malugay Street, Makati City. The exhibit opens on May 5, 2012, Saturday, at 7pm and will run until May 24.  Visit the events page of  “See, Saw: Various Visions of Balance” on Facebook for more information about the event. 

PRETA INUX: Rommel Pastrana Celespara's one man show

“PRETA INUX – my fictitious jargon  of ETERNAL SUFFERING.”

featuring works of Rommel Pastrana Celespara

Influenced not just by painters but writers like Dante Allegeri and his interpretations of hell through the monumental epic "Divine Comedy," Irish novelist Bram Stoker and his undying tale about "Dracula," and English novelist Mary Shelley's renowned gothic novel "Frankenstein." Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary and her prolific serial killing throughout history have some contribution in his passion for art. Using surrealism and pop art as a medium, Rommel Pastrana Celespara's work is full of disturbing and highly depicting visual negativity. His artworks were a bit similar as those gothic/baroque Western-style paintings from the Dark Age period, horror movie posters, comics and Pop advertisement from the 50’s up to the early 90’s.

He was fascinated by the Church’s grotesque old paintings and religious relics, and finds it as a symbol of monstrosity and conspiracy in that certain era. At a young age, Rommel was raised as a Roman Catholic run by Dominican congregation but later turned skeptical when he became an acolyte and was exposed to the lies nd hoax created by the church, thus addressing those issues in his body of work. He is currently employed as an art director/marketing manager that fuels  his passion for art and allows him to explore other possibilities beyond his forte.

Catch Preta Inux, at Vinyl on Vinyl at The Collective, 7274 Malugay St. Makati.  

RECENTLY CONCLUDED:  ACID ASYLUM

When a nightmare catches you in its claws, you're thrown into a world where the bizarre feels chillingly real, where possibilities are ripped out from the very depths of your mind. Nightmares are the host of many things that shouldn't exist, you try to rationalize in your head, yet you remain entranced, haunted, and defenseless. Nightmares teach you that there's always something sinister beneath the floorboards, something monstrous lying in wait behind the closet, something vile confined within your soul.

It's not always a dark and stormy night.

The bright colors concocted by Mother Nature inspire both beauty and danger. Gaudy colors imprinted on territorial predators warn us of the lethal venom they possess. The blinding lights of the city bring to mind modern fears and thrills. Nightmares are not all visions of the macabre shrouded by gloom and doom. As mankind evolves and devolves, the room of the night terrors dutifully refurnishes itself for its unwitting guests. Here to take you on a tour around this sinister yet enchanting chamber are the young artists of SPIDERSILK PRODUCTIONS.

Dione D'Souza is a designer-in- training, caffeine junkie, Imp breeder and chaos-enthusiast born and raised in Manila. Thriving on a steady diet of Books, B-movies, Goth rock and South Indian prawn curry, she has recently developed an affinity towards watercolour, gouache, sculpting and pop surrealism.

Maku Felix is a freelance artist who loves doodling, painting, chugging down coffee, and playing console games more than socializing. Yet she captures everyone's attention when she takes the stage, with her powerful voice and her arresting stage presence. In truth she is much saner than everyone gives her credit for.

Isobel Francisco just recently got into the swing of illustrating for an audience and looking relatively presentable at art galleries. When she's not working as Copywriter and Creative Specialist for GMA Marketing & Productions, Inc., she spends her time painting, wearing torn clothes and dog collars, and drowning in music. 

Alex Lara is a photo editor by day and neurotic weirdo-artist by night, whilst obsessing over Milton, World War II, and paintings by great Renaissance artists. She is the most idiosyncratic among the Lady Arachnids, of which all blame should be put towards the little mice that take over her brain in the worst of situations and leave their host to derisions of the artistic kind.

Come in, and leave all pleasant dreams at the door. 

Tentaculum Deluge by Alex Lara

 Mute by Dione D' Souza

Grow Up by Isobel Francisco

Breathe by Maku Felix

Acid Asylum also features guest artists Marius Black and Gabriel Tiongson.   


To view the rest of the ACID ASYLUM artworks, click HERE .   Opening night photos can be viewed at the Spidersilk Productions page.