Trek Valdizno, "Mutatis Mutandis"

Even to an art fiend like myself, things can sometimes get a bit ho-hum.  Shows just blend into each other, pieces feel and look the same.  So when I receive an evite that promises to deliver something different, I sit up and take notice.  Which is how I found myself checking out two shows that opened two days apart.  In the end, I admit, I am an art uzi.  I just can’t resist a peek.  Here,  the first of the two:

View of Ringo Bunoan's "After Chabet 1"

COLORATURA, RINGO BUNOAN, SANDRA PALOMAR, YASON BANAL, TREK VALDIZNO, and a special piece from PAUL-ARMAND GETTE

When I heard that Ringo Bunoan would recreate one of her pieces from Archiving Roberto Chabet, that pretty much sealed the deal for me.  That got Ringo into the short list for this year’s Ateneo Art Awards and  I did not catch its run at the Vargas Museum.  For that show, she recreated Chabet’s undocumented installations, or realized his work that never came into fruition.  Here, she mounts Work After Chabet #1.  Using

Robert Chabet, "Sudden School" above Ringo Bunoan, "Sudden School"

wooden planks plopped atop empty cans of paint, the piece dominates the gallery’s entire floor space.  Typically used to traverse puddles of water or flooded streets, the gallery setting brings a difference to the experience of walking the planks.   Try to do so and keep your balance.  It’s supposed to hold you up!

On one of the wall’s Ringo mounts her version of Sudden School underneath Chabet’s original.  In her interpretation, she attempted to copy her daughter’s drawings on pad paper, and shows both her version and her daughter’s original side by side.  Chabet’s  has his drawings interspersed with his nephew’s. Hard to tell who made what, which is the point.

Sandra Palomar, "Hunyano" both 1992 and 2009 versions

The show’s two paintings are pretty stunning.  Sandra Palomar, as always, surprises.  She mounts an old piece on plywood, her bold, brash strokes painted using ketchup and gold powder.  She painted this,  Hunyano, in 1992.  The gold powder has since oxidized the ketchup and turned it green.  She places this piece at the center of the gallery’s long wall, and paints around it.  Keeping to the same style, she extends her work to cover the entire space.  The newly-painted portion still retains the ketchup’s reddish orange color, thus contrasting with the original’s green, the only way to discern where the old piece ends, and the new one begins.

Detail of Trek Valdizno's "Mutatis Mutandis"

Trek Valdizno’s piece, Mutatis Mutandis, has to be seen and examined up close for his workmanship to be appreciated.  From afar, the colors of the snail-like shapes morphing into other colored shapes catch the eye.  Up close, you can’t help but be amazed at his fastidious technique.  He uses paint like mosaic, dabbing it into little balls to form his images.  I can just imagine how much paint he uses!  And the amount of time he spent doing this.

Curator Yeyey Cruz told me not to miss viewing Yason Banal’s video.  A tip for those who want to catch it:  unless you speak French, take time to read the text mounted by the viewing room’s entrance to already get a feel of the video’s context.  The subtitles can be distracting, so better to come in prepared.

Ringo and Sandra recreated Paul-Armand Gette’s The Menstruation of the Goddess in a performance done amidst exquisite, plaintive singing by three girls from

Sandra Palomar and Ringo Bunoan executing Paul-Armand Gette's "The Goddess Menstruating"

UP’s School of Music.  They squeezed strawberries, red sauce, and rose petals onto volcanic rock.  I am curious to see how this piece holds up days after this ceremony.  I did ask for something different, and this you don’t see everyday.

Coloratura runs form 4 July to 9 August 2009 at Mo’s Art Space, 3F, Mo’s Design, Bonifacio High St., Taguig.  For more info call (632) 856-2745 or visit http://www.mo-space.net
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