“A Winter Break,” featuring paintings by Jörg Stähli, opens Feb. 21 at Galerie Hans Brumann (Greenbelt 5, Makati City; tel. 7282175).

Stähli does not paint lush images of blooms nor freezes them into still life. He narrows down each image to a scale of isolation and drenches each with the burst that fireworks do on a big white sky. Each petal burns with the splendor of a gemlike quiver in a moist morning. Each bloom shines not from a rooted spot but rather on the sunburst itself.

A walk about the canvases becomes countless drifts into patches of soft glows of flames as though jerking in the unseen breeze. Stähli’s magical talent lies in his designs and fashion of jewelry pieces, like his compatriot and friend in the Philippines, Hans Brumann.

The exhibit runs until March 21.