NATURE melds once more with Marivic Rufino’s past and present life in “Luminescence— Dreamscapes,” her 18th exhibit which will open Manila Peninsula’s Gallery on Feb. 2.
“This exhibit of Luminescence- dreamscapes is still on the theme of my romance with nature and fascination with light,” says Rufino. “I worked on some unfinished works that I started in the late ’80s and mid ’90s and I finally completed them. I’ve been exhibiting since 1987. This latest exhibit is 29 years of my life as an artist.”
She has personal reasons for her work revolving around nature such as the sea, sky, sunsets, sunrise, fields and horses. “I rarely paint figures but I have included two special subjects. It’s a surprise,” she explains. “My dreamscapes are always quiet and uninhabited. I’m really a loner, but I’m surrounded by people. Painting is my refuge from the world. It is a spiritual realm that I immerse in. I paint in a trance sometimes, when I listen to classical music.”
Rufino says she does more mixed-media art now and has expanded her works to include new elements. “I have a collection of soft, practical art for friends who like my one-of-kind functional pieces—lamps, screen dividers, bags, a few pieces of furniture and accessories.”
Art’s loneliness
Pursuing art despite its loneliness says much of her durability as an artist.
“The big high of this profession is when you are appreciated,” she says. “When someone likes my work and acquires it, I feel validated and fulfilled.
“But I also appreciate what it brings me personally. I love the solitude of painting. It is the direct communication between me and the Divine. I really feel I am just the instrument. But I am also aware of the harsh reality. It’s hard to be a struggling artist in a material world. You will always need inspiration and creative energy and support. I work so that I can paint and be independent. I paint what I feel and I don’t do commercial art to make money.”
Favorite cause
Rufino adds she usually donates proceeds from her exhibit “to my favorite beneficiaries —abused girls through foundations such as the Child Protection Network, which is headed by my close friends Katrina Legarda and Irene Martel Francisco and Dr. Bernie Madrid (of the Philippine General Hospital). It’s a nationwide network of units for women and children. I’ve always supported this cause since 1993.”
For the artist that she has evolved into now, she credits her first master Hau Chiok and his wife Lolita for the discipline of Chinese painting, Ling Nan style. She also credits Jonahmar Salvosa, who helped her in the transition to Western watercolor.
“I’ve been on my own since 1987,” she says, adding that Purita Kalaw Ledesma, Art Association of the Philippines founder and patroness of the arts, had encouraged her “to paint and work.”
Rufino says she remembers Ledesma admonishing her: “Do both—paint and work. It is good for keeping your feet on the ground.”
Rufino says she is grateful to “my friends National Artist Virgilio Almario and poet Marne Kilates, whose beautiful poems have been a part of my past ‘Romanza’ exhibits.
“They are a part of ‘Luminescence,’ too. Poetry and painting are sister arts! They add substance and luster to my art.”
Marivic Rufino’s “Luminiscence—Dreamscapes 2016” will run at Manila Peninsula on Feb. 2-7. Proceeds will benefit the Child Protection Network Foundation.