Louie Cordero and Jacob Lindo: Collages at West Gallery

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 11"

Over at West Gallery, Louie Cordero and Jacob Lindo bring us the exciting possibilities of collages. As part of the gallery’s monthly quartet of exhibits, both artists have coincidentally mounted solo shows that make use of this art making technique. We witness how a similar approach yields to two distinct aesthetics.

Louie Cordero, Welcome Spiritualist Camp

Close inspection of the twelve framed pieces in Gallery 1 reveals that Louie built up his images by piling on and arranging layers of paper—evenly cut strips or asymmetrical globs, sorted according to color and tone—to create patterns against which he set shaped painted images. Quite an amazing amount of finicky work; he has compared it to doing sculpture on paper. Note that Louie paints using the pointillist’s method, just to underscore the meticulousness that this exhibit demanded from him. He readily admits he underestimated the difficulty required to pull off the work, a confession that makes one appreciate these results even more.

The show does not deliver anything groundbreaking from Louie. We’ve seen these futurist-inspired, acid-hued images from him these past two years, a blend of his signature comic book illustrator style with a 1930s sensibility. But I for one never tire of their various permutations and his use of varied media to bring them on.

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 1"

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 7"

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 2"

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 6"

Louie Cordero, "No Future, No Title No. 3"

Louie Cordero, "No Future No Title No. 4"

Exhibit installation view

Jacob Lindo, Partial Proof

I first saw Jacob’s work at SLab, at their Manilart 2011 booth. He exhibited minutely- detailed graphite drawings, small contemplative pieces that attracted attention through their quiet sophistication. This current group of works possess that same quality.

Jacob reveals his admiration for Arturo Herrera, and shares the Venezuelan artist’s fascination with fragments. His pieces fuse disparate figurative elements to create entirely new abstract patterns.

Echoing his previous drawings, Jacob adopts a black and white palette for his collages, occasionally infusing them with a dash of muted color. He culled images for his Pillager’s Fetish series from a book on castles, juxtaposing photos of fortresses with those of classical statuary, and finishing off each piece with a diamond shaped frame. Also notable, another set, Lost In The Woods, features logs and tree stumps seemingly trapped in enchanted gray swirls.

The more time I spent with Jacob’s work, the more I enjoyed them. Whenever I entered the gallery that his exhibit occupied, I perceived something new. High hopes are pinned on this talented newcomer.

Louie Cordero: Welcome Spiritualist Camp and Jacob Lindo: Partial Proof run from 8 to 26 March 2012 with Henry Royales: Lexicon of Sin and Ross Jaylo: The Reality of Dreams at West Gallery, 48 West Avenue, Quezon City. Phone (632) 411-0336 or visit www.westgallery.org