National Artist BenCab, Charlie Co, and Mark Justiniani, three celebrated Filipino artists known for layering their canvases with symbolic iconography and social history, break away from the usual confines of their artistic boundaries to explore an unexpected material for the first time: Bronze.
‘Forging Ahead: The Productive Unknown’ at Gajah Gallery Manila, a group exhibition of established Southeast Asian artists, presents the culmination of their artistic explorations at Yogya Art Lab (YAL), the gallery’s foundry and production house based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Gajah Gallery Manila, which opened in September last year, is the fourth and newest space of Gajah Gallery. Its other locations are Singapore, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta.
According to James Page, YAL Foundry Director: ‘We have a long history of working with Philippine artists and representing Indonesian and Southeast Asian artists. And so, we thought, it’s about time we opened a gallery in Manila.
‘The intention is not only to show the Philippine artists whom we’ve worked with but also to show other artists from the region and showcase the Southeast Asian culture ‘
Co-founded by Gajah Gallery Director Jasdeep Sandhu and Indonesian artist Yunizar, YAL was conceived as a space where artists could work with new media while being supported with access to technical expertise and quality casting techniques and materials.
‘Very often, these works start with a preliminary idea. And we help test and develop them into a material that they’re not familiar with-whether it be bronze, glass, aluminum, stainless steel fabrication, or wood so that the artists can elevate their own use of the material and explore a wide range of subjects with the guided hand of the artisans and us,’ stated Page.
The richness and permanence of bronze
Known for its versatility and high tensile strength, bronze is a premier material from the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans to the present.
Page reflected, ‘Bronze is a rich material. In every culture, there are incredibly deep roots in bronze, and not only that, but there’s this idea of creating something that will outlive many generations. You can do a painting, but a painting survives for 500 years unless it’s really well cared for. ‘But with bronze, you can put it in the ground and a thousand years from now, you can dig it up, clean it up, and it’s going to be quite close to what it was originally.’
As for the Filipino artists working with YAL and Gajah Gallery, Page noted, ‘It is exciting for them and even for me, just watching an artist create something so permanent.’
For artist Charlie Co, working with bronze is a full-circle moment for his practice.
‘I was already doing sculptures since 1996, but with terra cotta. Imagine, it took 40 years before I could meet Jasdeep and James. Working with bronze for the first time is both challenging and exciting for me as an artist,’ he said.
Cabrera explores humanity in the context of Filipino identity in his three bronze pieces: a life-sized sculpture, ‘Mother’s Love,’ and two smaller pieces, ‘Lovers’ and ‘Three Muses.’
The three artists are likewise joined by Jigger Cruz, Leslie de Chavez, and Marina Cruz from the Philippines; Ashley Bickerton, Dzikra Afifah, Handiwirman Saputra, Uji ‘Hahan’ Handoko Eko Saputro, and Yunizar from Indonesia; Jane Lee and Suzann Victor from Singapore; and Wei Ligang from China.
Collectively, the sculptures are the results of the artists’ work with materials like bronze, aluminum, and glass.
Suzann Victor’s ‘Lens-scape of Unlearning,’ for instance, consists of Fresnel lenses and photographs of Asian ancestors. The massive work delivers a prismatic effect that inspires viewers to question perception as the one gazed at also gazes back at the viewer.
Leslie de Chavez’s ‘La Paz Supper (The Last Feast),’ a large-sized painting with a bronze frame with two hands seemingly supporting it, questions faith and sacrifice in a culture that sanctifies excess.
Yunizar’s acrylic painting, ‘Dua Ikan Emas (Two Goldfish),’ celebrates the everyday fisherman-the day’s fresh catch in each hand-portrayed with a naif style that also conveys quiet dignity. His ‘Predator,’ cast in aluminum, presents a giant yellow fish appearing to have emerged from an ethereal world.
‘Forging Ahead: The Productive Unknown’ offers the realization that when artists are given access to space, time, and support to work with uncertain materials, the process becomes a creative catalyst-empowering them to scale up and deliver exciting breakthroughs in their practice.
Artists’ talk
On Saturday, July 18, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the gallery, artists Mark Justiniani, Charlie Co, Leslie de Chavez, and YAL Foundry Director James Page will speak at an artists’ talk and panel discussion moderated by Angel Velasco Shaw.
‘Forging Ahead: The Productive Unknown’ opened on July 5 and runs till August 9 at Gajah Gallery Manila. Unit 1B-!E, Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City. All photos by Francine M. Marquez