At the precipice of form and beyond
That his women are robust and rotund, yes. If they were alive, they would have the same appetite as Botero’s babes or those Renaissance muses. If your mind works like a surrealist’s you would imagine Daniel dela Cruz’s metal sculptures of women to be wrought iron on the outside but made of chewy marshmallow inside. Because, one, they take on florid, fluid forms and, two, Dela Cruz’s latest sculptures are teetering on some brink, doing a balancing act, or taking some blind leap of faith. “Hefty,” the sculptor describes them, “yet still very graceful.”
Daniel dela Cruz mounts his seventh solo exhibition titled “Precipice,” which opens on Aug. 27, 6 p.m., at ArtistSpace, second floor, Glass Wing of the Ayala Museum.
The latest pieces are the sculptor’s meditations on man’s struggles as he reaches a point in life when he comes face-to-face with a yawning chasm. May it be weakness, limitation or one’s own mortality. But even if the theme “Precipice” flirts with the concept of utter despair, Dela Cruz gives a positive twist to the entire proceeding. We already have too much hardships in our everyday lives, he says, “So I want art to be more uplifting.”
Thus viewers will encounter the sculptural equivalent of Norman Vincent Peale’s philosophy in most of the artworks with titles such as “Zenith,” “Apex” and “Summit.”
It’s all about overcoming and such. About a person reaching the top with the support of the people below.
“Gaining Ground” shows three women jumping into the precipice itself. “(In reality) that difficult situation is just a step into another level.” “Finding Faith” is Dela Cruz’s way of presenting that concept of surrendering oneself to the divine. That time shouldn’t be a hindrance to accomplishing the things we set out to do is the point of “Beyond Time,” which shows a female figure ripping through clock-like metal object.
The title piece depicts one person seemingly torn in two. “(Most of the time we find ourselves in a situation where we ask) should we stay, should we go, should move forward, should we move backward?” But the key element here is that the figure is still poised for action. Dela Cruz explains, “Whenever I do a show, the pieces (reflect the) way that I view things in life. They’re very personal.” For ‘Precipice,” I try to look on the more positive side of things.”
For the latest exhibition, the scales of the sculptures are grander (a piece measures three meters tall, four months in the making). Also, Dela Cruz tried pushing the limits of metal — its strength, its malleability and its, well, mettle. “Some of the pieces are balanced precariously, but they’re holding (up). Which is the beauty of the material on its form. Part of the reward is being able to find new ways of using it.”
It meaning brass combined with “softer” metals such as copper and lead, and with inner supports made of solid, stainless steel that provides the desired strength. “So it’s really a variety of metals, which is actually quite uncommon, since most (sculptors) aren’t able to combine these metals into a cohesive whole.” To provide colors to the sculptures, the metal goes through an electro-plating process. “There is no limit to how I could treat the plated metal to give it different effects — polished copper, treated with acid to make them look aged.”
Dela Cruz has done some heavy metal wielding through the years. In 2007’s “Kandungan” exhibition, he hand-carved and hand-formed metal into well-proportioned female forms. He followed that up with “Parangal,” which featured various images of Christ. In “Himig,” he fashioned female figures to represent different musical instruments, his own “evocation of woman’s innate harmony.” Then there was “Breath and Balance” in Singapore (about the spirit of the woman and her flair for balance), last year’s “Passage” (about our journey from one state into another), and early 2010’s “Counterpoise” (a prelude of sorts to “Precipice”).
Some of the 24 pieces in the latest exhibition are kinetic, the sculptor’s way of exploring the capabilities of the material further. “It has to do with the theme (of the show) as well. The pendulum represents the passage of time. The turning of the acrobats shows the turning of our own lives. The (kinetic element) adds more to the message.”
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Daniel dela Cruz’s “Precipice” is on view until Sept. 7 at ArtistSpace, second floor, Glass Wing, Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. corner De la Rosa St. Makati City.
For information, call 899-2435 or e-mail dacsculptures@pldtdsl.net, or rysmael@ymv-inc.com.
