Paintings in Relief
July 16, 2001 | 12:00am
The biggest, if not the signature, piece in the collection, entitled Man Cross, is a powerful image of the human form and can very well be taken as a contemporary representation of the Crucifixion. There is a perceptible suggestion of a human upper torso with one arm in a seemingly extended position, a drooping head projecting from it, but without the iconic crown of thorns. But no matter. The image remains arresting, as is always true of the crucifixion from its earliest inclusion in the repertoire of world art from the Renaissance onwards, from Carlo Crivelli to Salvador Dali.
The allusion becomes even more pronounced and ramified when one considers the title of the exhibit itself–Struggles. For isn’t it the Crucifixion a poignant lesson on Christ’s pains to liberate mankind from sin?
Another piece, entitled Forbidden Kiss, equally carries some scriptural illation. It can very well be about the infamous kiss of betrayal. Yet, when seen from modern perspectives, the piece may yet be the confluence of the art of Auguste Rodin and Gustav Klimt who, in their own lifetime, bequeathed to the world, two landmark interpretations of kiss as a subject of art.
Biblical references abound in the collection that Jasper de Leon is presenting in his first solo exhibition at the West Gallery at SM Megamall. The rest of the 13 pieces tackle issues that not only pertain to man’s quest to recognize himself; but in quite an ample way intimate theological or doctrinal musings.
Struggles as a collection does not only constitute De Leon’s debut solo show. The artist presents the same collection to the UP College of Fine Arts as his graduate thesis for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. It being his first one-man show, Struggles takes the form of a coming out.
The works in exhibition depict human figures in a variety of movements seemingly underneath canvas giving them an effect of struggling masses wanting to protrude from the surface. The use of human figures in De Leon’s art is suggestive of man’s foray to free himself from the oftentimes stifling norms set by society and culture. De Leon believes that man is plagued with the nagging issue to be recognized in the society, to try to fit in, and in so doing, conform to the dictates of a given social milieu. This struggle contributes to man’s drifting away from becoming and being his real person. Thus, instead of emerging as an individual identity, he is identified or classified according to pre-set standards of the society.
As subject matter, what can be more effective than the human form to depict the concept of struggle? In all its attenuated, distorted, and contorted form, the human figure best expresses a gamut of gestures, flexible and pliant, reflecting pathos, if not excitement and energy, pain and fear.
For now, the forms are captured in their tormenting efforts to emancipate themselves in an intensity that can even equal Baroque passion. They are all wrapped up in canvas, following what probably is a Christo-esque proclivity, and allowed to jut out of the pictorial field dramatically with actual depth that can go as deep as eight inches. It is wished that De Leon can fast reconcile himself with the social norms and standards he finds confining so that his forms would cease to be anonymous and unknown, but indeed show their faces and individuality to the world. After all, when struggles are overcome, one emerges from the experience victorious–in one whole piece–ready to reap his rewards as a complete person.
In a more formalist vein, the significant idea that informs the works is to liberate the conventionality of the canvas as a passive ground for painting and turn it into an active tactile ground, something that can have a form to itself, with actual volumes and textures showing, and not simply captured in illusion through the adept application of pigment.
More than blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture, De Leon actually merges the two by combining canvas and oil, traditional materials for painting, with resin, a molding medium usually associated with sculpture.
Explorations have already been put forth by various artists to bridge the two art forms in contemporary times. And the resulting works are oftentimes ambiguous, as they are diverse.
In De Leon’s case, the works do not lose the independent qualities of both painting and sculpture. In fact, they are unveiled in a conversational manner such that the painterly and sculptural attitudes complement one another without losing their inherent points of view.
Resin when poured over the canvas on top of a clay mould and allowed to dry then painted over with the oil medium presents rich possibilities. The molding property of resin, a highly sculptural medium, serves him well.
Canvas has ceased to be simply pulled taut to conform to the chosen shape of a painting ground. The chief painting material is allowed to crease, overlap, billow, balloon and coagulate, to cite a few. As such, it convincingly articulates forms, which De Leon derives from clay molds he himself manipulates to capture dynamic movements.
The result is a painting in relief, and sculptural in form. The contrapuntal interaction between the ponderous subject and stretched canvas primed with pastel paints to act as matting fortunately does not abate the zeal of De Leon’s artistic intentions.
De Leon obtained his bachelor of fine arts from the UP College of Fine Arts in 1993. He is presently teaching art at the Ateneo de Manila High School where he is also the school’s arts chairperson.
A scholar and a student leader at the UP during his college days, De Leon was a 1991 prize winner in the Shell National Art Competition. De Leon is presently an active member of the Ikalawang Hakbang, a group of artists who were batchmates at the UPCFA, and now highly visible in mainstream art exhibition circuit.
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