Bluewater Gallery: Showcasing the best in the region

What do Napoleon Abueva, Romulo Galicano, Nelfa Querubin and Manuel Rodriguez, Sr. have in common?

Aside from their love for the arts and their Visayan roots, these four masters, together with five legendary Visayan visual artists, converged in a simple yet expensive collection at The Bluewater Gallery in Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort late November.

Entitled “Garbo sa Bisaya,” the exhibit was the highlight of the 10th Visayan Islands Visual Arts Exhibition Conference which gathered artists from all over the Visayas.

The other artists showcased were Nunelucio Alvarado, Charlie Co, Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi, Raul Isidro, and Raul Lebajo.

These artists represent different timelines of Philippine modern art. Their works show subtle hints of the influences that dominated during the time of their awakening as artists.

The journey would begin with Rodriguez who elevated print making as a form of art in the country. His works, as seen in “Boy on Carabao,” usually have a rural theme and embraced Modernism through the elongated form of his subjects and his use of bright colors.

In the 1950s, abstraction became the “in” thing. Different visual art forms of this time was duly represented by Abueva’s signature smooth curvilinear sculpture embodied by his work “Computer Muse,” Querubin’s functional black-ware pottery collection, and Lebajo’s statement-filled surrealist painting’s “Greenscape” and “Ocean Park.”

The names Galicano, Querubin, Gelvezon and Isidro made waves in the art scene of the 60s and 70s. They embody a breed of artists seeking to define the modern Filipino artist. Abstract work was at its peak and artists became braver, trying out different techniques, schools, and medium to discover ways of channeling their creativity. This is evident in Isidro’s fluid action painting “Afternoon Trip” and “Dancing Light.”

Galicano’s portrait, “Ang Dalagang Pilipina,” have all the elements of a classical painting: a beautiful lady clad in a formal terno delicately placed in a rural landscape. But Galicano is Galicano, and his modernistic twist to an apollonian style comes with simple lines that cut through an otherwise perfect work. I could just imagine the reaction of purists the first time they scrutinized his works.

Nunelucio Alvarado and Charlie Co represent a generation of artists deeply rooted with the issues of their time. Their works are commentaries of the ills that plague the Philippine society.

In Cover Up, Co used a well-dressed carnival character in a somewhat modernistic approach to the iconic “see no evil, speak no evil” symbolism. Alvarado’s cubist portrayal of the grueling life of farmers evokes emotions of pity and strongly suggests a need to take action.

On that 15-day exhibit, Bluewater Gallery indulged the Cebuanos to the best that the region has to offer in terms of artistic inspirations. In the coming months Bluewater will be showcasing other artists, and from what I gathered the list is even more indulgent. Should you wish to view the exhibit at the Bluewater Gallery, you may arrange for a private viewing with Mr. Ruben Licera, the resort’s most indulgent PR and marketing officer, at phone number (032) 232-5411.