Norberto Carating’s “Twilight”

The works of abstract expressionist painter Norberto Carating were recently brought to Cebu in an exhibit entitled ‘Twilight’. The exhibit ran from March 8 until April 17 at Radisson Blu’s Dilmah t-Bar at the lobby lounge with the artist himself gracing the opening cocktail. The exhibit was made possible through the collaboration of Cebu’s Qube Gallery and Manila’s Hiraya Gellery, in cooperation with Radisson Blu Cebu.

Norberto “Lito” Carating is a multi-awarded painter who studied at the UP College of Fine Arts under the tutelage of the country’s foremost abstract expressionist, Jose Joya, in the ‘60s. His earliest renowned work was entitled “Laman-Lupa,” which intrigued art critics for its “native sensibility that acknowledges local color and folk beliefs and narratives and a deeply felt and meditative nature.”

In pondering over the works of Carating, art critic Cid Reyes recalls what Hilton Kramer has written about Piet Mondrian: “In shutting out the whole realm of representational imagery as it was traditionally conceived, Mondrian transformed painting into a form of dialectic… It was an amazing creative feat, and the passage of time has served only to increase our sense of both its audacity and its fertility.”

The 69-year old Carating is well celebrated in over 40 years of painting, having been a recipient of prestigious awards including the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ 13 Artists Award. He has exhibited in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Cuba, Canada and the US.