What peace there may be in silence

CEBU, Philippines — The last stanza of Max Ehrmann’s “Desiderata” may arguably be the most inspiring part of the poem, but it’s the opening line that allures a reader to read on: “Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.”

A recent art exhibit dwelt on the lucid intervals that often come with silence – not as the paramour of loneliness, but as clarity’s inspiring and motivating companion.

Titled “Silent Series” and featured in the 856 G Gallery along A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue from the last week of April through the first half of May, the show presented artworks by visual artist, jewelry designer, book author and gallerist Annie Chen.

It was a 14-piece exhibit that featured Chen’s interpretations of the Stations of the Cross. The works were made between 2005 and 2006, a period which the artist considers to have been a tumultuous time in her life.

Composed of artworks that were scored by various styles, the show’s featured works were a seamless mix of suprematist, cubist and abstract expressionist motifs – modernist styles which were strewn together by contemporary aesthetics and sensibilities.

The artist made her works as a form of prayer; and these were equal parts process- and content-oriented – as the artist had a rough idea on what she wanted to make before painting, constantly conceptualizing during the process of painting.

Though not exactly an iconography-themed show, “Silent Series” succeeded in exemplifying how an artist appreciates the intricacies entailed in art-making – enthusing that in as much as an artist’s primary aim may be to capture beauty as it comes, the process of doing so is beauty in itself.