MANILA – Reynold dela Cruz as a self taught artist relies much on his instincts and is moved creatively by experiences, by deeply personal matters that he forwards to social space. Thus, his paintings are full of subjective narratives drawn from such experiences and sustained by artistic meditation. The images he churns out are imaginary constructs of reality which gradually continue to find its own criteria.
With art that is mainly borne out of his own personal encounters with people, things and situations and whatever that passes his thoughts and creativity, he turns much to observation and evaluation of his own life and journey as an artist. He digests his interactions whether good or bad to seek the lessons and goodness in every of them. His upcoming solo show entitled” The Bittersweet Tale of Shortcake” takes cue from all that.
In this beguiling collection of figurative paintings, dela Cruz intimates deeper visions of discernment, caution and knowing by using allusions of death and decay. He encourage us to see through his peculiar use of skulls and worms morphing into flowers in his canvases nuances of authenticity, legacy, virtues, goodness and beauty of men and women even after life and of physical existence; after all, men are all viewed and weighed mostly in their goodness. His works alternately reveal such beauty unseen and thought and otherwise an ugliness hiding in a veneer of beauty which he often refers to as sweet talk or best foot forward situations.
Dela Cruz is a self taught artist whose talent was forged by his deep commitment to understanding the craft and his esthetic leanings. Lucky to have found a supportive environment and mentoring artist friends who taught him the basics of art until he became confident enough to join national art competitions. His definitive break so far came in 1998, when he earned an Honorable Mention in the Philippine Art Awards by Philip Morris that lead him competing to the Asean Art in Hanoi Vietnam. He has since been exhibited in major galleries in the Philippines.
In Asia, he has shown his works at ABN Amro House, Penang, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, Earl Lu Gallery La Salle SIA College, Singapore, and Hanoi Opera House, Hanoi, Vietnam. He had also made solo exhibitions in Singapore in the following galleries, Studio67 Art Space, Utterly Gallery and Forth Gallery.
The show will open on February 21, 2015 at 6 P.M. and will run up to March 5, 2015 at Ysobel Art Gallery 2nd flr., Shops at Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. The gallery is open from 11:00am to 9:00pm Monday to Sunday.
For more information call 09285071117/09332227952/ 5764758 or email mark.sancheztiongco@gmail.com.
