MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Galeria Paloma is pleased to present “Stop.Motion,” an exhibition of artworks by Carlos from July 07 to 09 at the North Court of Power Plant Mall.
This exhibition puts a special focus on his sculpture, the first medium the artist ever used when he began his career in the 1980s. Carlos’ signature, bright, colorful, and joyful canvases will also be on display, as well as his collection of animated paintings motion-designed by IJ Cacnio.
“I started creating sculptures in my spare time in the 1980s, more purposefully than I did previously, in which it was a minor hobby,” said Carlos, explaining his first foray into sculpture-making. “When I switched to being a full-time artist over twenty years ago, I focused mainly on paintings. I produced fewer sculpture pieces, except for commissioned projects. But I never tired of making them.”
On mediums, Carlos commented, “I always tried to find the best materials to suit what I wanted to create. Doing so, I have found my materials in resin and steel.” Through resin, the piece is given body, texture, and layers; with steel as its skeletal structure, the artist captures a precise moment in the figure’s motion, conveying a wide range of actions.
In the mid-1980s, his wife was the owner of Galeria Mia, a gallery along Arnaiz Avenue (then known as Pasay Road. While the gallery carried artworks by then-contemporary artists Arturo Luz, Jose Joya, and a rising star named Lao Lianben, the gallery also supported younger, up-and-coming artists in the field of visual arts. Carlos, who had always been the artistic one in the family, was encouraged by his wife to sell the sculpture he had been working on. They didn’t expect the warm reception her clients would have towards his sculptures, so he devoted more time to the art.
Carlos’ sculptures always have been of men and women at work: fishermen, vendors, bullfighters, etc. He also creates pieces depicting fathers and sons, mothers and their children, all of which were designed to be in the middle of a motion, which take his sculptures beyond being statue-like. Carlos wanted the works to feel alive and exude emotions, like the love between family members, or the camaraderie developed in working with others. For his pieces depicting people at work, it was never about the toil of labor, but the nobility of and pride in work.
“My thesis about my paintings, which is to create scenes that inspire joy and gratitude about both the little and big, amazing things in life, run parallel to my thesis about my sculpture, which is also to evoke positive feelings–pride in one’s work, camaraderie in working together with others towards a goal,” he said.
“To me, they are related. I try to create an environment that encourages the viewer to examine within their own lives a feeling of appreciating life and the moments we tend to take for granted. Sometimes, we have to stop and take it all in.”
