CARLO Magno has found success in a multitude of styles, from realism to abstraction.
“The reality is your very brushstrokes serve as your penmanship, that is your very identity because it comes from you. It is what’s inside you,” Magno said. “What other identity do you need?”
This defining direction of his practice is the subject of his latest exhibition, “Daydreams,” opening July 11, 6:30 p.m., at SM Megamall Art Center.
The works revel in Magno’s precision in form, whether a realist human figure or the abstracted elements.
“The Dance” epitomizes the artist’s control. It is one thing to paint a realistic figure of a dancer, then place her in the foreground of an abstracted environment.
Perhaps this sense of precision comes from his background. Forging his career during the late Modernist era of the ’70s and early ’80s, Magno’s earliest works actually went against the abstraction trend of the ’80s, before embracing it as an evolution of his practice. Along the way, he gained acclaim for his work, holding exhibitions at some of the most important art spaces in the Philippines, including the Ayala Museum in 1990 and the Madrigal Art Center in 1992.
Exhibit is organized by Galerie Francesca, 4/F, SM Megamall Building A, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. Call 5709495, 6592667; e-mail galeriefrancesca.mega@gmail. com or galeriefrancesca001@yahoo. com.ph.