Rod S

RODOLFO SAMONTE: Master Digital Artist Comes Home 

by Filipina Lippi

Digital art is the apex of modern art. The computer-aided technology does not only help artists attain possibilities never imagined before; it also fast tracks (at dazzling speed) older printmaking techniques – making art more accessible and less elitist.

One Filipino artist who has made his mark in this contemporary medium abroad is Rodolfo “Rod” Samonte, who is based in Burbank, Los Angeles (LA), southern California. Away from the Philippines for 33 years, he is putting on an “energized” exhibit of 30 digital art works Gallery One in LRI Design Plaza, on Nicanor Garcia Street, in Bel-Air, Makati City starting December 7.

Samonte’s computer-aided geometric abstractions are, to say the least, startling and overwhelming. They are 45” x 60” and 80” x 80” in size; printed on cotton duck canvas, mounted with plywood backing; there are only 10 limited editions per work.

What is digital art when shaped by a seasoned wizard like Samonte? His geometric abstraction in the late '60s to the late '70s made him one of the most important abstract Filipino painters in Manila when he was still young.

For Samonte, digital art is like holding on to the horns of modern technology -- not to tame but to match his imagination’s obsession for unlimited forms and possibilities. Craftsmanship, depth and soul must be there while working on photoshop; photoshop is an aid and not the only key to the artist’s creative process in a fast changing world.

“Digital art is the future,” is how Samonte would describe it. “I have been doing it since 2003 in LA. Even there, very few are taking up the challenge of digital art. It should be learned, absolutely,” he declares.

Hiatus and rebirth

Samonte reached Cleveland as an immigrant in 1979 and learned computer graphics when he started working for various advertising agencies in the US. After 19 years, he quit work to become a full-time artist in 1998. Five years after, in 2003, he started feeding colors and geometrical shapes into his computer to experiment on digital art making.

“I started slowly. Then I realized I could really work (fast) on shapes and colours at pwede akong magwala sa kulay,” he recalls. In the next eight years, Samonte’s computer-aided geometric abstraction wowed hundreds of thousands of viewers in the US.

“I am the only one doing digital art in our group called Lanterns of the East,” says Samonte. The LA-based art group owns a gallery in downtown LA where members can hold shows. They also hold yearly exhibits in two other galleries: Barnsdall Art Park on Hollywood Boulevard and Vermont; and at Brand Library’s gallery in Glendale.

US-based Filipino social realist painters Rey Zipagan and Papo de Asis (who died of heart attack in 2007) became members of Samonte’s multi-diversified group.

Digital art’s bigger impact, apart from its dazzling form, says Samonte, comes from the artist’s decision to make his art reach more people at less cost.

Would he ever go back to traditional art-making?

Samonte says, “I am thinking of doing collage, but, again, I want to use it in my digital art.”

True-blooded abstract artist

From his first exhibit in 1968, Samonte was already being branded as a true-blooded modernist. He was never tempted to use oil on canvas. Impatient with traditional art making, he says, “I always liked something that dried faster, something that could reveal faster what I have imagined.”

From 1968 to 1977, he was using ink on woodcut, ink for printmaking, acrylic colors for silkscreen printing, and sprayed automotive lacquer. Ironically, he was fond of thickening his works (and make bas-relief) with these thin-bodied art media.

Samonte finished his art studies at the University of Santos Tomas in 1964, then worked as graphic artist for Advertising and Marketing Associates (AMA) and Ace Campton, among other advertising firms, slowly developing a liking for more contemporary techniques in art-making.

Before embarking on serious art shows, Samonte had been winning first, third, and fourth prizes in the print category of the Art Association of the Philippines’ (AAP’s) yearly competition. One of his award winning pieces suggested a figurative form, but this was the first and last time this abstract painter ever came close to it.

A different woodcut artist

In a show on woodcuts at Joy Dayrit Gallery in 1968, Samonte used round and rectangular wooden chopping boards that were pockmarked with knives, screws, hard objects, including carving tools, the images of which were transferred on paper in black and white. “I used my palm to impress the chopping board on paper,” he says.

Silkscreen guru

Samonte created a niche for himself when he started silkscreen printing. To create geometric abstraction, he would layer up colors up to 1/8 of an inch thick. “With silkscreen, I could make colorful abstract images; I could achieve depth and sculptural qualities. The process allowed me to achieve the effects I wanted in my art. It was closest to my sensibility at the time,” he explains. His passion for the technique lasted until 1977.

American artist Andy Warhol used silkscreen to create pop art (Campbell soup, portraits of Hollywood stars); the content of Warhol’s art, however, never attracted Samonte, who used the same method but created geometric abstraction, which was popular among his colleagues then. Worried to innovate on more contemporary content while elevating a newer method as a valid medium for high art, critics eventually dubbed Samonte a pioneer of silkscreen art in the Philippines.

Not really for printmaking

Although he was active at the Philippine Association of Printmakers which was spearheaded by Adiel Arevalo in the '70s, and despite a good number of excellent prints he made (using stencil and lithograph), Samonte says printmaking was a mere “passing fancy”. “I didn’t want to become dependent on a big machine (press) to create art. I liked doing woodcut and silk screen printing at home,” he says. When he said good-bye to printmaking, he sold his etching press to bosom friend Romulo Olazo, an artist he often collaborated with.

Master of sprayed automotive lacquer paint

When he discovered the technique of sprayed automotive lacquer paint, his geometric abstractions became even more colorful, glossy, and its bas relief, stronger. His next canvas was his second hand Vauxhall, which he spray-painted with khaki green, red, and yellow. “I changed its colors every year. Maraming kulay ang pinagdaanan ang kotse ko. It was yellow when I sold it,” he chuckles.

Samonte would use the glossy lacquer paint in creating minimalist pieces that “avoided (as humanly possible) gradations”. Soon he used one color per canvas; he used to assemble an array of even-toned canvases to create gradations of colors.

Gallery owners who were mesmerized by his works (especially those where he innovated with automotive lacquer paint) at Luz Gallery invited him for exhibits in Bogota, Colombia; Holland; and Japan.

Before he went abroad in 1977, he was teaching advertising at the Philippine Women’s University and printmaking/silkscreen style at the University of the Philippines between 1975 and 1976.

In 1977, after his art shows abroad, he also went to Cleveland where his sister worked with an insurance company and his brother, with a printing firm.

After a gallery scheduled him for a show in Cleveland, Samonte used brush (for the first time) on acrylic to create geometric abstractions “manually” (as opposed to his gestural silkscreen printing). “My works became smaller, 15” x 20”. Mahilig ako sa blue nuon. Then my colors became increasingly minimalist also because of the space constraint where I worked….walang masyadong magalawan.”

Abroad, Samonte reunited with many Filipino printmakers who were self-exiles in the US and in Europe: Aro Soriano in Paris; Restituto Embuscado, Lamberto Hechanova, Lucio Martinez, Marcelino Rodriguez, Manuel Rodriguez (father of printmaking in the Philippines), and Joel Soliven in the US. Soon, he would be an exiled artist like them.

Paper sculpture, interim art

In Japan, he learned how to make paper. In Paris, he purchased rag-paper (made of linen and cotton), which became useful in making his own cast paper sculpture for an interim show when he came back to Manila. In his workshop in his house in Sampaloc district, he osteorized the rag-paper, poured it on 1/8-- inch giant rubber sheets he sculpted with several layers of geometric shapes (that served as reverse image of a mold). ”I used sponge to dry it up. I could not lift the mold until the molded paper sculpture was totally dry, otherwise it would crumble,” he explains his early experiments on this medium.

When he came back to the Philippines in 1978, he also married Michaela, an artist he met at the Design Center of the Philippines. Their son, Rodolfo Jr., was born when he had returned to the US as an immigrant in 1979; his family joined him in the US only in 1984. A second son, Samuel, was born there in 1992. While his artist wife became an accountant, his eldest son, a graduate of animation art, has shown interest in digital art; his youngest, still a student, is aiming early to be an artist.

“I am happy with my life,” confesses this self-exiled multi-faceted artist, his face mirroring the dazzling joy of his digital art in his homecoming show.

Samonte : New Work opens on December 7, 2011, 6:30pm at GalerieOne Workshop LRI Design Plaza Nicanor Garcia St Bel Air II Makati City. The show will run until December 31, 2011. For more details call 8368799 or email one_workshop@yahoo.com

MARCH 19, 2012

Iya C

THE EYES HAVE IT
Artist Iya Consorio mounts a 10-painting exhibit that stares at you with a hundred different eyes.

By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

If the eyes were the windows to the soul, contemporary artist Iya Consorio would be soulful—because her paintings often feature repetitive images of the eyes. “I love putting eyes into my paintings because if I were the subject, I’d want to have more than one pair of eyes because if you had many eyes, you wouldn’t know where, whom, or what to look for. And I like that. You see a lot of images that make you dizzy and confused and it will get you thinking, ‘Where should I look? Is the image I am looking at the image I should be looking for?’”

Iya likes dark, sad, punk, and emotional subjects. And so, in her latest contemporary exhibit called “Weird Machines,” surrealism, eyes, and monochrome palette ruled. Her paintings were inspired by the dark versions of fairytales Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, stories she used to read as a kid. “My latest exhibit is about misery, and despair, and darkness.

“Fate’s a bitter lady/ Beat us to a pulp/ I am sure she means well/ She’s just a little dull/ To have stayed alive intertwined between punch and dream.” So goes the band Small Black’s “Weird Machines,” from which the title of the exhibition was drawn. The song, according to Iya, represented her works in the show.
“I love being sad. It comforts me. And my art is my way of releasing my emotions, even when I am swimming in misery. I am more inspired when I am sad. I don’t like perky, upbeat paintings. I find them corny,” she says, smiling.

But Iya isn’t depressed. Perhaps, she prefers her world dark and soulful. “I want to hold on to the people and things that matter to me. When you already have your ideal life—pursuing a career that you love and having a happy family—fear starts to creep in. You start to ask, when will the darkness start? You start to be anxious and you become paranoid,” she says. It isn’t surprising that among her 10-painting exhibit, her favorite is The Agoraphobia, a painting of an anxious woman with 15 eyes. What is she looking for and looking at? What makes her uneasy?

If inspiration and influences are what Iya is looking for, she says she gets them from pop and surrealist artists like Keichi Tanaami, Louie Cordero, and Jojo Legaspi. But her favorite is her husband artist Andres Barrioquinto, who’s also into surrealism and Japanese prints. “I find it overwhelming that I get to marry my idol. I have the tendency to be submissive because he is my mentor. Yes, he influences me but he allows me to also grow as an artist, independent of him,” she says.

With all the eyes in her paintings, what exactly is Iya looking for? She doesn’t know. To find out, we can just look straight into her eyes. The eyes, after all, always have it.

Lydia V

EVE-OLUTION: 

The Women of Lydia Velasco

Text by Hannah Jo Uy

On Dec. 22, 2017, Lydia Velasco celebrated two births: her own, and the many women she brought to life through her skilful manipulation of line and color. Her exhibit “25 years of Velasco: Eve-olution” is more than a retrospective and a 75th birthday celebration—it is a commemoration of the creative life. Beyond paying homage to the instant the artist’s flesh and consciousness came into being, the collection revels in the stories of nameless faces on the canvas. Aptly titled, the collection does indeed follow the evolution of Eve and generations of her daughters, molded by toil and triumph.

“I paint what I know best—a woman of substance,” said Velasco. To this day, the women of Velasco continue to enthrall. Timeless, their allure is not solely drawn from their appearance, but also from the mystery behind their gaze. They are unabashed and at home with their natural surroundings. With expressive eyes, captivating facial features, and limbs that emphasize both the strength and beauty of the female form, Velasco’s brand of femininity is primal, raw, and almost ethereal. The underlying depth in the casual scenes Velasco brings to life reveals her unassuming commentary on women born from a deep understanding of her own experiences.

This comes as no surprise as throughout her own long and illustrious career, Velasco was no stranger to difficulty, which added fuel to her fire. “There are so many challenges,” she recalled. “As a woman. As an artist. As a woman artist. It’s my love of art that pushed me to pursue painting. Breaking through the art world is in itself a difficult task.”

Early on in her career, Velasco was one of the first female art directors. She worked in a number of notable agencies. “Imagine a 4’11 woman in the midst of a male-dominated company,” she said. “I needed to assert myself to be heard by these people. I needed to prove my worth to these talented people. Advertising was a venue in which I learned competitiveness and discipline.” This greatly led to her decision to focus on women as a subject matter in her creative endeavors. “I am very lucky to have learned from our greats, Cesar Legaspi , Nanding Ocampo, and the like. It is through these experiences that I molded my thoughts.”

These thoughts imbibed the women on her canvas with further depth represented in their unique aesthetic features that continuously evolved in an organic manner under Velasco’s skillful technique. This is evident in the body of work in her upcoming retrospective: “If there’s a common denominator, they have always been strong and vulnerable at the same time,” she said.

In view of her many accomplishments, Velasco’s humility and gratitude in being able to simply indulge her creativity is admirable. “Many people can paint but only a few were given a chance to showcase their work,” she said. “Thousands of hours in painting. Maybe hundreds of artworks. Only a few would be recognized. It is my love for my family, giving honor to my parents, and with hope, leaving a good legacy to my children that made me persist in spite of the difficultly.”

When asked about her creative philosophy, Velasco shared the approach she had always cultivated throughout her artistic life: “Pray for guidance. Do what you know best. Research. Paint. Pray to give thanks.”

To this day, Velasco still maintains a thirst for knowledge, driving her organic development both aesthetically, in terms of technique, and conceptually, in terms of subject matter. “I still learn every day,” she said, “I look at other people’s work and I make a mental note of those things I like about the painting.”

She is also not above paying homage to the many influences that fed into her own approach: “I may have my own style but it’s always a mixture of my own thoughts and other people’s work,” she said. “So when you see my artwork. You cannot say that it’s solely a Velasco. It’s a Velasco and those people who influenced her.”

Aside from sharing her gratitude, Velasco is not shackling herself to her past as she is already looking towards future projects and subject matters that she would like to tackle. Though her artworks have always exemplified the strength and sensuality of women amid a colorful background, she is inspired to further challenge herself to create intelligent works of art that could portray a darker side to the women she has introduced, inviting people to look beyond the choice of color and instead penetrate the gaze of the woman to ask: ‘What is she thinking?’

“25 years of Velasco: Eve-olution” will run until Jan. 1, 2018 at Art Center Megamall

Published December 25, 2017

Mervy P

THE SELF AND SEMIOTICS
Mervy Pueblo defines her Art

by Jacky Lynne Oiga

When she was starting out as a sculptor, artist Mervy Pueblo was obsessed with the pure form. She shut herself off from the world and toiled over shapes, symmetry, balance, and beauty to create something out of nothing. To play God. Until life happened, decentralizing everything she knew about art, herself, and her purpose, knocking her off her proverbial pedestal. She made sense of everything she repelled as a tortured soul. That everything that she—we—knows, understands, and imagines came from her relationship with the world. And just like that, a semionaut was born.

THROUGH THE EYES OF A SEMIONAUT

French art critic and curator Nicholas Bourriaud coined the word semionaut or an artist who visually or politically absorbs things in the world and uses signs and symbols to create new things or narratives. “That’s how I see myself as an artist now,” Mervy says. “I’m no longer focused on just discussing forms, principles, or tastes but rather meanings in life. I want to open discussions through art, not stir discussions for it.”

Coming out and calling oneself a seminout was a very big, and brave, statement. She knew very well that she was in no place to put a tag on her name. But she was done glorifying labels. She has, after all, freed herself from preconceived notions of art and artists. Mervy’s deeper foray to art education and life in general led her to this new exploration. Under the flagship of Fulbright, she received her MFA in Visual Studies major in Public Art and Sculpture at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design under the mentorship of sculptor Kinji Akagawa.

“I didn’t really call myself a semionaut until Mr. Akagawa picked my brain and told me that my illumination of art is ‘really experiencing the real’ and I have to look into it because I can easily ‘translate [it] into my artworks,’’’ she says. “Then he started me on reading G.W.F Hegel, Nicholas Bourriaud, Claire Bishop, Immanuel Kant, Martin Heidegger, and Mikhail Bakhtin. That’s how I began to understand myself and my practice more as a semionaut. He didn’t put words into my mouth and instead tried to make me think about things in my own life and my practice. He was not only a graduate adviser but a philosophical father.”

COMIC RELIEF

When she came back to Manila in 2013, Mervy’s studio practice went from stonemasonry and marble sculptures to human relationships and the everyday life through installations and readymades (art created from undisguised but often modified ordinarily manufactured products that are normally not considered art) using the platform of the artist joke.

In her “Expectation Kits” project, which was initially exhibited in Minneapolis and can now be viewed online (http://mpueblo.wix.com/expectationkits), she collected samples from commercially available products that speak of how capitalism is shaping people’s identities. She made Expectation Kits for Asian Men and Women. Inside the Asian Woman Kit: 36-24-26 measure-you-tape, inflatable breast enhancer, black eyeliner to mimic large Western eyes, adhesive eye-folder set, lip shimmer, nose clip trainer, perfect white skin chart, an engagement ring box, and a pacifier. The Asian Man Kit: a comb, eye glasses, expandable wallet, keychain, wedding band set, and a 15-centimeter ruler. She also made Expectation Kits for Caucasian-American and African-American men and women.

This was Mervy’s attempt to sift out the dark side of capitalism, a critique of the sublime corruption of human values that are clandestinely constrained by the commercialism.

Meanwhile, for the Cultural Center of the Philippines “Thirteen Artist Awards: Triennal Exhibition,” she showed World Class, an art installation clasped on the idea that while the Philippines, its government rather, claims and prides over the Philippine economic boom and world class sensibilities, its system is still rotten, upon close inspection, to the core.

“What I did was install a pristine white façade with clean cut letters WORLD CLASS, behind it are five flat screens that play video clips of the everyday rottenness of Filipinos, from simply not minding other people’s space to cars speeding along pedestrian lanes and almost running over pedestrians just to get ahead,” she says.

SOCIAL RELEVANCE

These were just some of her examinations of the Filipino everyday life, hers included. She likes to confront socially difficult issues that people tend to brush aside like materialism and commercialism and how they are shaping the society or how money is shaping or warping social values. “What I do is magnify these issues through art and invite people to talk about them. And I’m not doing this to judge people. I’m simply triangulating the issues through signs and symbols. I employ the artist joke to put across the difficult subjects, to make them more palatable or digestible,” she says.

This inexorable need to tackle socially relevant issues and spark change stems from her philosophy that people have to be involved and not just respond to things happening around them. Because with everything that’s happening in the world today—climate change, discrimination, war—it’s simply foolish and cruel to not care anymore.

“A few years back, all I could care about was my art. When I look at my earlier works, I want to burn them,” she laughs. “They’re lifeless, I can’t feel my soul in them, I can’t even feel the presence of time in them. My perspective about myself and my art changed when I learned how to be receptive to people and my surroundings, when I finally let go. This is how I am and it just seeps through my art making. I’m not doing this because I read it from Hegel or Kant. This is what’s real to me and now I believe I can have purpose through art.”

But art, when presented as comical albeit purposeful, could easily come off as eccentric or, worse, lazy. Not everybody, especially in the art circles, could ride on Mervy’s jokes and contexts after all. “I do sculptures, I paint, I do graphic design but installation is where I’m more geared to. It gets me really thinking how my audience, the general public can easily understand my work without being too didactic. But then again, some people with preconceived notions of art immediately shut themselves out. And that’s fine, it’s up to them. What’s important is I put the message across. If it would get them talking in any way, then it has served its purpose.”

Right now, Mervy is working on her next, probably biggest piece, Project Embrace. It’s a study for landslide prone areas where she seeks to create an ecological art project that will put sculptural braces around mountains. The plan is to make mountain braces made out of solar panels so it will not only protect communities from landslide but light their homes and streets, too. It’s not just an art object that you can see from afar, it has an ecological and disaster reduction purpose as well. A project only a semionaut could dream up.

February 13, 2016 

Rico L

CAPTURING FORMLESSNESS: Rico Lascano’s Visual Sanctuary

By Hannah Jo Uy

“As early as I could remember, I have found it more satisfying to express :inner feelings through visual art rather than through words,” says Rico Lascano. “Abstract painting for me is more useful in expressing one’s emotion.”

The abstraction that Lascano offers is particularly poignant, as the artist not only records his visual meditations through organic, spontaneous, and minimalist compositions; he also delves deeper into a serious, yet subtle commentary on life and existence as the works take on an esoteric and mysterious quality, as though each canvas holds the secrets of the universe.

His body of work perfectly captures the very essence of Zen Buddhism and the Daoist principle, which is formlessness. This formlessness is a challenge to the material world and our attachment toward objects and ideas, particularly with regard to how we have hinged our identities on it. Lascano tackles the idea of formlessness through his own brand of abstraction, which serves as a still and peaceful sanctuary.

Significantly inspired by nature, Lascano’s work is not only aesthetically pleasing it is also deeply moving in such a way that it encourages silence and contemplation among viewers. His works are the visual representation of space, and because it is so, each painting takes on the meaning assigned by each viewer from their own personal reflections. This dynamic quality is grounded on the artist’s love for water, which finds its power in fluidity and adaptability.

“For me the stillness of water initiates deep reflection and meditation,” he said. “Thus, these concepts/philosophies have manifested itself in my bodies of work like Pondering, Liquid Prose, Stream of Consciousness, and the Water Dance series.”

Indeed, the power of each work is most palpable in its ability to transform itself according to each viewer, invoking upon them this visual haven that serves as a welcome pause from the bombardment of superficial images that otherwise assault our senses.

Thus, it might seem as a surprise for those that are not aware of his distinguished background, that this proponent of stillness has established a notable career in the fast paced world of advertising. An alumni of University of the Philippines with a degree in Visual Cmmunications, he was recognized for his work in advertising through multiple awards, all as he took on the responsibilities as the president of the Art Director’s Club of Manila and co-founded an all-Filipino ad agency.

Throughout this time, he was cultivating his artistic direction, noting the influence of a number of prominent abstractionists throughout his journey. In college, he professed a deep love for the works of Joya, who was one of his teachers. “When I was working as an art director I was blessed that Edwin Wilwayco persuaded and mentored me toward pursuing abstract art,” he also recalls. “Later on, I leaned heavily on the minimalist side, which explains why most of my early works are influenced by Gus Albor and Lao Lianben.”

In addition, he also shares his admiration for Gao Xingjian and Zao Wou-Ki, for both their creative portfolio and their artistic approach: “As Gao Xingjian once said ‘Painting begins when words fail.’ That is the essence of my creative philosophy.”

Lascano continues to cultivate a strong appreciation for this Chinese-born playwright and author of Soul Mountain, which earned him a Nobel Prize for literature. The author’s works were thought to be critical of China and was thus banned, eventually forcing him to flee the country. “In France he came to realize that all the words used by humanity are not enough to express human emotions, which is why he evolved into a painter.”

The artist’s inclination toward capturing the unseen has further encouraged his study in Oriental philosophy. He is not only inspired by Chinese literature, he is also fascinated by the philosophies borne within the region. “My art has a strong Japanese influence, too,” he said. “My body of works [The Pondering Series] was inspired by the haiku poems of my wife Chachu, and the Satori Series, [following the tradition of] Zen Buddhism pertains to a moment of enlightenment.”

He has now earned the praise of discerning people within the industry. With more than 11 solo exhibitions in the Philippines and abroad, he has an international audience, all of whom have lauded his work for its timeless beauty and its ability to touch on universal and fundamental aspects of our humanity. His works have found its way to the homes of many people across the globe, in privileged residences such as that of Claude-Michel Schonberg of Miss Saigon fame, as well as distinguished institutions like the Central Bank of the Philippines.

Passion continues to drive Lascano, who said that, “As long as you keep that flame burning and keep on nourishing it you will continue to create fresh and stimulating art.”

This is also evident in his most recent endeavor, where he showcased his work alongside distinguished abstractionist Benjie Cabangis in the exhibit “Substance-Essence,” which opened last March 18 at Art Anton.

Exhibiting 18 works, Lascano continues to unveil paintings that are visual manifestations of his artistic philosophy which he aptly describes as an “inner journey that elevates existence and consciousness.” As he dives into work, he continues to draw from visual experiences and internal reflections, which, as he says, has always been the wellspring of his art.

“Making art is a very spiritual endeavor,” Lascano affirms. “Your whole being, your mind, body and spirit are catalysts in the process of creating art.”

Published April 10, 2017

Bullet D

Experience is Bullet Dematera’s greatest Teacher

By Hannah Jo Uy

Most people ask “why,” yet a few souls, even in the most damning of circumstances, stand proud and ask “why not?” Bullet Dematera is one such person. What Dematera lacks in formal education, he more than makes up for with his resilience, tenacity, and willingness to learn.

“Even when I was in elementary, I was already drawing,” Dematera said recalling his early illustrations of rustic provincial life in Bulacan. He was influenced by his older brother, who also drew. “I started thinking, I could do that, too,” he says.

Though he showed promise at a young age, financial setbacks forced him to stop school and work to help provide for his family. Even in the absence of a formal education, however, the desire flickered like an ember against the harsh winds. Meeting with distinguished realist painters reignited this passion and nourished it into a flame.

At 20, Dematera got the opportunity to work as a studio assistant for artist Rolando “Olan” Ventura. It was a pivotal moment for Dematera who, without knowing it, had embarked on a painting apprenticeship. “I learned how to use graphite and the right combination of pencils (from Kuya Olan),” he said. “I stayed with him for about three years. After three years, I was sent to his brother, Ronaldo, where I was an apprentice for almost 10 years. I learned how to use acrylic, oil, and the right combination of color.”

Dematera soaked up the information Ventura’s shared and vigorously applied himself to his craft. “I have the highest respect and deepest gratitude for the two brothers, because it is through them I was able to refine my knowledge and improve my skills in painting, even without a formal education. It was from Kuya Onat that I learned how to deal with people, present myself, and talk in a professional manner. He would always remind me that he didn’t consider me as someone less. He would be teaching me, little by little, and I wouldn’t even know it. One of the things he said, which I will never forget, is ‘If you make a mistake, use it at as a lesson so you can learn faster and be better.’ He would remind me that for everything that happened, God has a purpose. Even if we don’t know what the reason is, a day will come where everything will work out.”

Dematera worked with graphite, oil, and acrylic, developing his own brand of hyperrealism by studying books and sources from the Internet. He’s meeting with Dr. Joel Mendez further moved him toward the creative life as Mendez became a mentor, encouraging him to paint full time: “He was the one who helped me and placed trust in me.” By 2016, Dematera joined his first three man show under Big and Small Gallery and earlier this year, he had a back-to-back exhibit at the Art Center in SM Megamall. He is now embarking on his first solo show, set for March.

When asked what inspires him, Dematera points to his always colorful and often difficult life. “Everything I went through, I used it as my inspiration and lesson to reach my goals,” he said. “I came from a poor family. I only finished elementary because I had to start working to help my parents.” During this time, he would take all odd jobs, including those in construction or in factories. While he was in school, he was also victim of bullying owing to his cleft lip and cleft palate. “I used to be ashamed of it,” he said. “But I realized now it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I realized as long as you don’t step over anyone, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m just thankful for my family and friends, for their support, and that I had the strength to regain my self-confidence.”

This outlook greatly moved Dematera’s work towards aesthetics that reveal an adept sense of composition and technical skill through the depiction of various animals juxtaposed with human elements. His thoughtful reflections, adds to the view point and style he continues to cultivate.

“I want to communicate to the viewers that everything God created is valuable, and thus we should take care of it, big and small,” he said. In addition to the environmental facet of his work, there is also a psychological component driven by his reflections on human behavior. Dematera instills his subjects with animal features not only to underline the “one-ness” living species share but also to represent the prima behaviors and characteristics parallel to those exhibited by human beings.

Indeed, Dematera’s spirit, imagination, and unparalleled work ethic create an inspiring formula that drives him to overcome personal, professional, and artistic hurdles. His enthusiasm is infectious, as he fights for his fundamental right to create.

j joven

The World through the Eyes of Jonathan Joven

By Hannah Jo Uy

Perspective has always been what sets Jonathan Joven apart, both as an artist and as a person. As an artist, he explores the possibilities of perspective through distinctive compositions that subtly communicate his unique view of life and the progress of society. As a person, his approach in life, especially in the pursuit of excellence, showcases such an awe-inspiring resilience and tenacity.


“I want to continue my exploration on how to effectively develop and compose scenes through, first and foremost, the use of ‘worm’s eye view,’” says Joven. “My intention is to effectively communicate my social observations through my paintings.”
The view of an object from below evokes a sense of humility. In direct contrast to the birds-eye view, which provides an overarching perspective, the worm’s eye view makes the subject immense, intimidating, and imposing, making the viewer almost  childlike or, at times, powerless.

Talking about his evolution as an artist, Joven says that he is committed to constantly adding to his understanding of techniques and mediums. “My confidence and boldness continue to grow as well,” he says.

Touching on the pursuit of a creative life, Joven remains optimistic and calm in the face of its accompanying challenges. “We expect this to be part of our hardships and our lot in life,” he says. “Whatever challenges and difficulties that lie ahead must be faced with a sword forged by the never-ending search for knowledge, excellence, and consistency.”

Joven weaves this approach seamlessly with his fascination for memory and inclination toward nostalgia. With much of his time consumed with rethinking the past, he looks toward quaint snippets of the life that was in comparison to life that we know today. “For example,” he says, “look at these games everyone used to play on the streets. Most of the youth today don’t play them anymore. This is brought on by increasing dependence on gadgets and technology. As a result [these street games] are disappearing.”

These thought processes made their way to Joven’s latest exhibit, “Under the Same Sky,” which was recently unveiled to the public at Secret Fresh Gallery. In this, his second solo exhibition, Joven is presenting a total of six paintings, yet he is also revealing a more experimental approach in the use of other mediums.

“I’m trying new mediums such as installations,” he said. “Such as three-dimensional works that, in my opinion, have the ability to be more effective within my creative process. In my experience, in some instances, this approach was able to better communicate what I wanted to say and what I wanted to show, compared to paintings and the use of more traditional mediums.”

As evidenced by the title, the collection reveals Joven’s views on equality in the larger scheme of things. “I believe that, as humans and as Filipinos, we are all equal,” he says. “We are equal in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of our fellow human beings. I wanted to communicate the feeling of being ‘grounded’ to the spectators. All of us, we all stand on one ground, in one surroundings and we are under the same sky, wherever in the world we may reside.”

Joven’s collection features figurative subjects from all walks of life, often thrown against unexpected elements. We see a snippet of a couple dressed in Cordilleran garb in the midst of a traditional dance, positioned against the overbearing nature of urban high rises under the sky of the iconic rice terraces. Another work that gives off the feeling of industrialization drowning the individual consciousness is the one that showcases two subjects planting rice against the city backdrop. We see their somber expression, and we see heartwrenching details such as the mud and dirt under their feet, souvenirs of a life of honest hard work. We look up at the carefree faces of children in the midst of playing, white streaks alluding to white chalk drawn on the ground during street games, a scene that is now considered uncommon.

Published October 30, 2017