IN THE Taoist belief is the Tao, which roughly translates into “the way.” This animates Luisito Balmes’ solo exhibit “Element,” which opens today at Galerie Stephanie.
A collection of round abstract works, Balmes’ series takes on the idea of the famous symbol of oneness in Taoism, the round yin and yang. Symbolizing the everlasting opposition of forces that arise from the primal force that drives creation, it emphasizes oneness in all things, despite the differences that arise. Hence, Balmes’ collection of round works, with a multitude of colors blending into each other.
His method of putting basic colors together recalls how a color wheel, when spun fast enough, reflects not a rainbow but pure white light.
The artist reflects on how painting could be a metaphor for life. He relates how “each paint reacts differently from the other. And each paint has a life cycle. Some dry faster than others. Some are easier to apply. Some do not mix well together. Harmony comes when we get to know all of the paints and work with them, instead of imposing on them what we want. By working with the paint and the canvas, we achieve depth, and a variety of colors and expressions that is effortless.”
In contemporary works of Abstract Expressionism, Balmes is celebrating not a way of seeing, as many art movements have done in the past, but a way of making.
In his effortless works, we remember the joy of discovery, like finding things out for the first time: how paint flows; how canvas absorbs it; and what colors are and how they affect us. It is discovering the very nature of his materials and collaborating with them— coaxing them to merge, and not impose some pattern or idea on them.
Exhibit runs until July 20.
Galerie Stephanie is at Parc Plaza Building, 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., C-5, Libis, Quezon City.
Call 7091488 or e-mail inquiry.galeriestephanie@gmail.com. Visit www.galeriestephanie.com.