Multifaceted artist Rosscapili draws out the beauty of Nature in all its manifestations as he takes a trip back to his signature abstraction in his latest exhibit, “Nature’s Impulse,” at ArtistSpace in Ayala Museum, Makati City. The exhibit runs till July 8.
Along with her daughter Miro, who has three poems in the exhibit, Rosscapili presents 18 of his paintings inspired by the multiplicity of Nature rendered in abstraction, a style he used for his main productions in the ’80s and ’90s.
“[The exhibit] is a continuation of my love affair with abstract painting—this time in a calligrapher’s manner of execution,” he said. “I’ve always desired to capture Nature like a tai-chi master delivering a solid hit. The flow of my brush strokes is bold yet peaceful. That’s also how I’d describe my new collection.”
Rosscapili applies layering and masking in his artworks, some of which rendered in massive sizes. All are in acrylic on canvas.
“I incorporated all the layering and masking techniques I’ve used from the ’90s to the present,” he said. “Some of these might be old techniques, but I tried to use them in refreshing and surprising ways.”
“Crystal Waters” is done in bold brushstrokes using hues of orange, yellow, black and white, evoking the image of splashing water.
The four-panel canvas, “Celebrating Spring,” achieves the feeling of warmth and serenity of springtime with vibrant colors of blue, green and yellow overlapping one another.
“Batanes Scape” tries to capture the beauty of the northernmost island of the country in what seems to be a meeting of night and day.
Mounted on a silver canvas, “Moonlit Calligraphy” takes the shape of the moon in its imperfect roundness and sandy appearance.
“Luminous Sunset” is an abstract depiction of the sun set against a stark red background.
Rosscapili said he wanted his paintings to evoke the feeling of comfort, peace and nostalgia in his viewers through his depiction of Nature.
Audience participation
“Sometimes I aim to represent or depict the sunset, dawn and wind, but I don’t intend to dictate the interpretations of viewers,” he said, “I want them to process their own imaginings and emotions [so] that they may participate in the creative process.”
Meanwhile, Miro, a three-time Don Carlos Palanca literary award recipient, featured three of her poems that also explore Nature and its wonders. “Tree / House” is an ekphrastic poem about how avant-garde artist Dean Ruck had grown a tree out of a house with the “floorboards / piked at the center, punctured by a trunk / and its crowded memory of rings.”
Reminiscent of Lisa Mueller’s “Monet Refuses the Operation,” “Monet Seeks His Last Yellow” talks about how Impressionist painter Claude Monet had to deal with his eye impairment.
Rosscapili has mounted over 30 solo art exhibitions in Manila, Paris and the United States. He has participated in over 35 group exhibitions in Fukuoka, Japan; Taipei, Taiwan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; and Seoul, Korea.
He has also accumulated at least 55 awards and distinctions, including Jurors’ Choice in the 1994 Philip Morris Asean Art Awards; Pamana ng Lahi Award in San Francisco, USA (2001); 2008 Pata Gold Award for Travel Photo Journalism in Hyderabad, India; and 2009 Ani ng Dangal Presidential Award.
He was an Executive Council member of the National Committee on Visual Arts of the NCCA 2007-2010; and chair of the Philippine Committee at the 26th Asian International Art Exhibition (AIAE) in Seoul in 2011.