Artist J. Consunji has been sketching and painting for most of his young adult life but it was only last month that he opened his first, one-man show.
The exhibit, “8 x 8,” presented by Altro Mondo Arte Contemporanea runs until July 18 at the Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences in Salcedo Village, Makati. It consists of 16 canvases, eight each of oil and watercolor paintings.
A few days after the opening, Inquirer Lifestyle interviewed Consunji, now 34, who said that all eight watercolors and three of his oil paintings had been sold. Despite this obvious success, the soft-spoken painter said that really wasn’t his intention when he agreed to do the exhibit.
“I was more concerned whether these thematic pieces would look good together in one space,” he said.
The result is a series of vaguely human figures, twisted this way and that, seemingly unperturbed by gushing fountains or other external forces. As writer Ian Carlo Jaucian puts it, “There is tension in the amalgamation of expression and structure—and it is on this volatile junction that we find traces of J. Consunji’s strokes.”
Art school
After graduating from De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Consunji took up further studies at Australian National University, including a semester at France’s Ecole National Superieure des Beaux-Arts.
Since January 2000, he is listed as a Painter in his LinkedIn profile .
“That’s basically what I’ve been doing since I graduated,” he said.
His body of work—none of which has been publicly exhibited although pieces can be viewed on his blog Monkeyhouse at https://jconsunji.wordpress.com—consists of pencil sketches, drawings, portraits and landscapes.
“I do different styles because I don’t want to be pegged at ‘that guy who does only one thing.’
Artists he looks up to include Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Peter Doig. “Doig works from snapshots but does not copy them exactly. His work is very vibrant, like those one would find in a fairy tale.”
In situ
Consunji doesn’t take photos of his subjects, preferring to sketch them in situ or using only his imagination.
During family vacations, he paints landscapes and beaches.
“For my solo show, I wanted to show energy in the figures. I wanted them to be dynamic,” Consunji said.
Before he could arrive at the finished product, however, he had to make pencil studies, begin painting at noon, and return the next day to see whether a painting needed something more.
“I didn’t finish my paintings until close to the opening,” he said
Less than a week after “8 x 8” closes, Consunji will participate in a group show with three new oil paintings.
The exhibit, “9-5,” is nine artists’ takes on the theme of contemporary work, and relates to the usual business hours. It will run July 24-Aug. 8. in Now Gallery+Auctions at Eco Plaza, Chino Roces Ave. Ext., Makati.
“Right now I’m really interested in thematic works, or the exploration of a particular idea. I want to keep painting these kinds of pieces for a while.”
