Castillan Landscapes

CEBU, Philippines - To officially launch the 90th Founding Anniversary celebration of the Casino Español de Cebu, one of the metropolis’ oldest, most sought-after membership clubs, 21 talented Cebuano artists collectively presented an awesome exhibit of 90 paintings that showcase the distinctly Spanish architecture such as centuries old churches, often visited landmarks and urban Castillan landscapes that dot the city.

Members of the Board of Directors such as Manuel Sainz, Jose Luis Alba, Antonio Veloso, Renato Kintanar, Gabriel Leyson, Jaime Escaño and John Pages were guests of honor. They were joined by art enthusiasts Mariter Klepp and Devin Go.

Notable artists include Pronnie de la Cerna whose works show influences of two great American realist painters, Andrew Wyeth and Winslow Homer. Celso Duazo Pepito has always been consistent with his personal vision of family and brotherhood, as well as the value of labor and hard work. Joining in is his wife Fe Madrid Pepito, an optometrist by profession. She favors pastels and oil as medium and is happiest doing flowers.

Jose Mari Picornell, a lover of the impressionists, focuses on the ancient structures in Cebu before these disappear forever. The production of Luther Galicano ll are done mostly in masterful brush strokes in somber colors, emboldened by splashes of warm tones done with spontaneity.

Jose Kimsoy Yap Jr., a graduate at the National Academy of Design School of Fine Arts in New York, makes conscious use of line and space, lending a deeper drama to each painting. Sonia Yrastorza works mostly in oil and watercolor and her pieces are a celebration of life, from the nostalgia in ancestral houses to the quiet reverie in old ceramic and porcelain.

Antonio Alcoseba and Darby Alcoseba are both comfortable in watercolor landscapes while Ritchie Quijano’s canvasses tend toward the abstract.

Antonio Vidal is best known for his angels and Madonna and Child compositions, while Mar Vidal is considered one of Cebu’s best known portrait artists.

Completing the list are Gabriel Abellana, Raul Agas, Cesar Castillo, Felix Catarata, John Dinglasa, Jaime Francisco, Guido Lubanga, Maxcel Migallos and Chikoy Romualdez whose works in oil, pen and ink, pastel and watercolor show painstaking attention to detail and beauty.

The essence of the well-attended opening of the exhibit proves once again that the local art scene is very much alive and doing extremely well.