Visions of the Past, Sights from the Future

CEBU, Philippines — Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines Inc. (PASPI) capped the month of July with a multi-style art exhibit – a follow-through of the organization’s well-received “Unang Mugna” show which ran in June.

Titled “Figura” and presented at the Cebu City Museum in the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum Building, the exhibit expounded PASPI’s newfound inclination to present various modernist styles next to those that are underscored by classic representational themes, a creative leaning in line with the local arts scene’s adherence to tradition and affection for contemporary art conventions.

Like June’s “Unang Mugna,” landscapes, life-in-the-countryside tableaus and dais-style portraits rendered in various styles comprised “Figura’s” curatorial scope. Unlike “Unang Mugna” though, “Figura” featured artworks were made by PASPI’s established member-artists, framing it as a step-up over “Unang Mugna,” which was mainly the debut exhibit of PASPI’s associate and newly inducted members.

With artworks that exemplify how Cebuano talents have been playing with the Italian chiaroscuro style (which is identified as a play of light and dark shades), “Figura” also presented works in expressionism, neo-expressionism and impressionism.

Steered to capture beauty through diverse translations of figures, the show, outside of its multi-style theme, doubled as a commentary on the value of structure and perspective in the arts – illustrating that there’s more to representational art that playing with light and the effect it has on colors; that an understanding of structure and perspective is the baseline that forms all artworks that fall in the figurative vein.

In having its roster of established talents top-bill the multi-style-themed “Figura”, PASPI reframes visions of the past by drawing on creative sights that are hinged towards the future.