I came to see what the buzz was about.  There’s so much interest in Ronald Caringal and Kadin Tiu these days, I came to see

Ronald Caringal, "In the face of facing oneself"

why.

Ronald Caringal, "The Dissolution of Illusion"

Ronald’s paintings, I’m familiar with.  I’ve seen them before in Art In Park, at his gallery, Cubicle’s, booth.  He also made his auction debut at Sotheby’s fall sales last month.  Ronald’s portraits have a very pop, with-it, somewhat retro appeal.  You can make the mistake of thinking he composes them digitally.   He doesn’t use many colors in each piece, but his choice of bright, fun, candy colors that do not blend into each other reminds us of Lichtenstein or even Chinese superstar Feng Zhenjie.  I get his appeal. We can all relate to Ronald’s work.

Ronald Caringal, "The introduction of destruction to the concept of natural selection" triptych and "When rest becomes restlessness"

I had only seen one other work of Kadin before, at ManilART 09 in July.  From what I understand, she’s a photographer who recently shifted to paintings to express herself.  You sense this background in her pieces.  What she makes of this positive response by the art market to her new medium would be interesting to watch.

Kadin Tiu, "Moving Into Perspective" and "Everything, Everywhere, Silence"

This show, The Silence of Meaning, doesn’t pretend to be more than easy and light.  Sometimes, that’s all we’re in the mood for.

Kadin Tiu, "It feels like a moment I've lived a thousand times before" and "When you can't tell the difference"

The Silence of Meaning runs from 20 November to 4 December 2009 at The Metro Gallery, 455 P. Guevarra St., San Juan, Metro Manila.  Phone (632)726-6543 or visit http://www.artesfiguras.com or http://ronaldcaringal.multiply.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwCYyvrpo3o