Where All Roads Lead

CEBU, Philippines — Singer-songwriter Don Mclean’s song “Crossroads,” released in1971, quips the line “all roads lead to where I stand,” which hints of predestination.

A recent art exhibit in Cebu hitched on the legendary singer’s take on the serendipity of fate. Titled “Solo” and presented by Cebu Artists Inc. and Ayala Center Cebu, the exhibit was basically the first solo show of self-taught painter Rhodeza Cruzet – a medical physicist who, in the course of molding her creative identity, didn’t let the grueling demands of her profession fetter her creative pursuits.

Top-billed by still-lifes, landscapes and lifescapes rendered in either acrylic, oil or a combination of both, the exhibit showcased the many art-making styles which Cruzet has come by in her journey as a “weekend artist” – setting it as a compilation of the many techniques she has come to embrace.

Mainly composed of pieces that combine the minimalist pretexts of traditional oriental painting styles with the detail-rich undertones of popular European techniques, the show edified Cruzet’s predilection for impressionist-themed works – artworks that convey elements of substance and structure by impressing on the passing markers of light.

Shorn of the show’s masterfully made works, the exhibit served as a metaphoric marker for where Cruzet is at this point as an artist – a symbolic road sign that tells of how she found herself as an artist amidst the day-by-day collisions of her profession in the healthcare field.

It’s been said that there is no such thing as art, only artists. With “Solo,” Cruzet has edified how true this view on art and artists is, apart from enthusing that in as much as the politics in finding one’s identity can be daunting, a silver lining can be had in understanding how all roads lead to where one stands.