Sanso's 'Breton Houses' at the Power Plant

MANILA, Philippines - Juvenal Sanso latest exhibit titled “Breton Houses” — which ill have its VIP and opening reception tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., at the Archaeology Wing, second floor of Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall — is a logical emotional progression in the artist’s creative journey, which started from the darkness of his Black Period paintings, his strong expressionist paintings that arose from the trauma he experienced during the horrors of World War II.

It was only starting in the 1960s, and not after spending 24 of the most meaningful summers in his life (from 1960-1984) at the home of Yves le Dantec and Agnes Roualt in the Brittany seacoast, that Sanso, tortured as he had been from the pain of war, learned to calm his soul. From that tranquil period, Sanso moved on to paint another phase in his artistic career, or the period that art historians refer to as the artist’s joyous period.

Just when the art community thought that Sanso had exhausted his inspiration, a little less than a decade ago, he presented a new series of works and introduced to the world his Moderno series.  Moderno meant a return to his strong modernist roots, In these works, most of them revisiting vistas and landscapes he had seen in the past or places he had traveled to, Sanso gives a refreshing and much vitalized visual interpretation using highly exaggerated colors and compositions.  Always succeeding in being several steps ahead even of himself, Sanso never fails to surprise everyone.

The landscapes on display show just how far the artist has come in his practice. While elements of his earlier works are certainly there — Breton architecture, the affinity towards the coast, the rocks, the famous Sanso moon — the calm his newer paintings in this series invokes is reminiscent of his experiments in color that stems from the Moderno series. This makes the new entries of the “Breton” houses series more nuanced and complex than Sanso’s earlier works. The search for the idyllic is ever present, but Sanso has injected his experiences into this series. Paradoxically, the series that initiated his rebirth as an artist was itself reawakened.

“Breton Houses” are Sanso’s metaphors for the peace and tranquility he experienced during his stay on the northwestern coast of France. The landscapes he paints today are part of his search for the idyllic, a soothing balm for the restless and tired spirit not only of artists but of the human psyche. In his latest exhibition, Sanso paints the essence of calmness, painting what every man’s dream of the perfect place should be.                    

After the eight day run until Aug. 3 at the Power Plant Mall, the works will be transferred to Galerie Joaquin Main at 371 P. Guevarra Street corner Montessori Lane Addition Hills San Juan from Aug. 4 to 15.

“Breton Houses” is presented by Galerie Joaquin. For information, visit www.galeriejoaquin.com, or call 723-9418 or 723-9253.