At 71, Raul Isidro can successfully lay claim to being one of the most senior living Filipino visual artists of our time.
The 1979 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) and 2006 Outstanding Thomasian awardee has not given a day’s rest since he first burst onto the art scene in the late 1960s and early ’70s with his distinct abstractions that derived their inspiration from nature.
As Armando Manalo once wrote, Isidro was, like Benedicto Cabrera, Rodolfo Samonte and Mars Galang, among the brightest stars of the Philippine Modern Art firmament of the 1970s.
This distinction was borne out of two inspiring moves: To anchor his work on abstract meditations of natural phenomena; and to instill in his memory the vibrancy of his idyllic childhood spent in the magnificent isolation of Calbayog, Northern Samar.
Known for his trademark circular paintings with deep-red gestural strokes and segmented shaped forms that he lightheartedly refers to as his “Pakwan” series, Isidro’s back-story is as compelling as any Filipino’s who has to overcome great odds to survive and prosper.
Spending his youth in storm-tossed Calbayog gave the young Raul fortitude and the sense of independence needed to cope with challenges.
Coming to Manila to study at the University of Santo Tomas for a degree in Fine Arts, Isidro imbibed the spirit of Modernism with mentors such as National Artist Victorio Edades and Angelito Antonio.
Among his classmates at UST were brass sculptor Ed Castrillo and glass artist Ramon Orlina.
Among his early colleagues on the art scene were surrealist Raul Lebajo and Prudencio Lamarozza.
His sense of adventure and artistic direction was set by his friendship with Manuel Rodriguez Sr., who introduced him to printmaking, which has become a lifelong passion for Raul. It was through the unconventional techniques of printmaking that he first garnered accolades at the Shell National Student Art Competition.
His first solo show at Solidaridad Gallery in 1969 alerted critics to his unique ability to fuse technique with a naturalist sensibility linked to another Modern free spirit, the National Artist Jose Joya.
In his latest solo exhibit at Galleria Nicolas, Isidro continues to amaze audiences with his formal adaptation of abstract techniques that evolve into more surprising interpretations of nature.
Abstract legacy
Consisting of pairs or trios of column-shaped gestural abstracts with clear-cut outlines superimposed on a neutral gray ground, the resulting series of works plays with the abstract legacy of using triadic formal elements (warm-cool-neutral colors, or foreground-middle-ground-background combinations) as building blocks to create the impression of a series of “floating rocks” a la Magritte.
These painted “rocks,” which to some may remind them of the karst limestone islets of Coron Bay, are actually grounded on a more intimate memory: the sea rocks that jut on the breakwater of Calbayog when the artist was a boy.
These creations of nature Isidro associates with determination and fortitude, and symbolize the strength needed to overcome adversities thrown our way by fate.
Inscribed on each “rock” is a history of strokes and careful maskings Isidro has overlain to produce a richly textured painting that reverberates in both natural simplicity and stylistic sophistication.
Indeed, to master the art of painting rocks without showing them as such is a testament to the mastery of a Filipino Modernist like Raul Isidro.
The exhibit opens March 12, 6:30 p.m., and runs until March 26 at Galleria Nicolas, 3/F, Art Space, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City. Call 6250273, 7239418; visit www.gallerianicolas.com.
