NOBEL-WINNING Mexican poet Octavio Paz said contrast was the defining characteristic of Modernism—in a sense, to ensure the “continuity of tradition.” From an Asian perspective, however, the idea of cyclic continuity brings about a sense of balance and harmony, as in the yin and the yang.

 

A compromise between these two traditions—Eastern and Western—can best describe the practice of artist Herbert Pajarito. Using his own spirituality as a starting point, this multiaward-winning artist merges various techniques to explore themes of continuity and balance, within the discourse of modern abstraction.

 

Pajarito is now having his first one-man exhibition, “Continuity,” at Galerie Francesca in Megamall.

 

An AB Digital Fine Arts graduate of the Adventist University of the Philippines, Pajarito has won the grand prize at the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence in 2013, and the first prize at the 66th Art Association of the Philippines Annual Awards. He was a finalist at the 2012 Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards and won honorable mention at the 2015 Government Service Insurance System annual painting competition.

 

His art is composed of layers of lines, stretching out from the canvas like vines. His paintings can sometimes have as many as 10 layers of lines, which he first sketches out with a pen before applying acrylic. The resulting work is a masterpiece of controlled symmetry, with a complete understanding of how to balance each part of the painting to maximum effect.

 

Galerie Francesca Megamall is located at the 4th level of SM Megamall Building A, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. Call (632) 5709495, 6592667 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].