Shiny, happy people
In a scene from the musical You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Charlie sings about the things that make him happy: learning to whistle, two kinds of ice cream, pizza with sausage, climbing a tree. He ends the song by declaring that happiness is “anyone and anything at all.”
While it may take a lot more to make some people happy, like Charlie, there are still others whose happiness comes from simple things. Among them is Dante Hipolito, a former advertising executive who left the complexities and pressures of the corporate world 12 years ago for a more peaceful and simple life as an artist. This, he says, is perhaps the smartest thing he’s ever done. “I’ve never been happier and more content,” he shares. And this shows in his art pieces, which radiate light, color, and harmony.
Through his paintings, Hipolito creates a world that is simple and beautiful, one that is filled with lush forests and breathtaking landscapes, a world where problems don’t exist. He catches one happy moment after another of Filipinos enjoying life’s simple joys, and invites us to celebrate with them. This is feel-good art in its purest form showing you that despite our daily challenges and little battles, we still have so much to smile about.
Inspired by activities as mundane as men farming, or women picking flowers, or children eating mangoes, or a market vendor selling her produce for the day, Hipolito paints them in painstaking detail. Although he has no formal training, he paints with the ease and skill of a seasoned artist.
His works, which have been likened to Jose Blanco and Nestor Leines, are mostly large-scaled, “simply because I want people to notice them right away,” enthuses the Cavite-based artist who favors nature and scenes from the countryside as his subjects.
“There’s always a sense of togetherness in Dante’s pieces,” relates Carlos “Chuckie” Arellano, former SSS head and an avid supporter of Filipino artists. Arellano has invested in several of Hipolito’s works, which, he says, never fail to make him smile. “Dante uses his art to communicate his optimism and joy of life,” he says.
French author and writer Francoise Sagan once said, “Art must take reality by surprise.” In Hipolito’s case, his art allows people to see reality as it should be, and politely insists on offering its viewers a thoroughly pleasing perspective of life: one that is wrapped in smiles, drenched in fresh air, and alive with children’s voices.
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The works of Dante Hipolito are on view at the Purple Arts Gallery, fourth floor, SM Megamall A,
