I can’t remember the last time Kiko Escora mounted a solo exhibit. We’ve kept up to date with his work largely through The Drawing Room’s participation in art fairs and his own intermittent appearances in group shows around Manila.  This one, then, is long overdue.

In Circa Circus, he exhibits six large drawings, five of them works on paper and one striking piece on canvas.  I’ve always thought Kiko’s drawings trump his paintings.  With the scale of his work magnified to fit 5 ft. x 4 ft. sheets (154 cm. x 122 cm.), I see no reason to think otherwise.  He has stuck to what he does best— portray the blasé urbanite.  Kiko’s current pieces may have toned down from the racy party scenes he documented a decade ago, but his subjects display the same stylish aloofness.  He has rendered his city dwellers in negative images, a direction he first attempted for his works in Art Stage Singapore in January.  Or perhaps, that’s where I first noticed the shift.

Kiko has made a concession to his signature look with the sole work he drew on canvas. His use of charcoal on the rough material gives the piece an agreeable texture, especially palpable in the ripples on the shaggy dude’s shirt, in the portion where it says “Eat Shit And Die”.  Now that sass is vintage Kiko.

Circa Cirus runs from 12 November to 7 December 2011 at The Drawing Room, Ground Floor, Metrostar Building, 1007 Metropolitan Avenue, Makati City.  Phone (632) 897-6990 or visit http://www.drawingroomgallery.com