“Las Tres Marias” Familial Art

CEBU, Philippines - As the politics and politicking between the traditional and avant garde in the creative arts space rages on, a number of artists have found a niche in being "on the fence" between debating factions - merging what is old-school with what is new in crafting novel creative benchmarks and vistas.

Three artists of such caliber are represented in Qube Gallery's featured art exhibition this month - celebrating the works of sculptor and accessories designer Michelline Syjuco, painter and performance artist Beatrix Syjuco, and poet and mixed-media artist Maxine Syjuco.

 Daughters of Metro Manila-based artist/poet/art critic Cesare Syjuco and painter/performance artist Jean Marie Syjuco, the show - titled "Las Tres Marias" - earmarks the variegated ways art can be rendered by an artist's discerning eye.

Mainlined by Beatrix's take on the process-oriented inclinations of abstract expressionism and suprematism, Maxine's contextualization of the thematic nuances of Dadaist and Impressionist styles, and Michelline's understanding of how objects can be molded as more than eye candy, the show reveals the many ways an artist can infuse personal observations, critiques and, in certain cases, lamentations, into a work - allowing it to transcend from its standing as "material object" to "work of art."

Though the show's main focus is that of showcasing the creative opuses of three of Metro Manila's lauded talents (sisters, at that), its presentation also serves as a social commentary on the signs of the times - particularly on how the "generation gap" concept is no longer only applicable to a parent-and-child relationship, but to an among-siblings relationship as well.

Akin to how an older brother would view a mobile phone as a communications device while his younger sibling sees the same gadget as a portable gaming console, "Las Tres Marias," which runs until June 7 at the main exhibition space of Qube Gallery at The Crossroads, Banilad, exemplifies how individual members of a family of artists have their own interpretations of what is art - that, ultimately, there is really no such thing as art, only artists. (FREEMAN)