From big to small, from canvas to paper

Art exhibits in alternative venues like cafés and swanky lobbies have now become serious engagements as they challenge artists to pursue concerns that further their art and craft. When they became popular in the early 1960s, they were simply looked at as trendy and fashionable, many believing that such happenings were merely to capriciously accommodate the needs of artists to make easy monetary returns.

Today, exhibits at these venues empower artists to come up with works adjusted to these specific sites. And often, it is not surprising to view works that may actually be disparate from what one readily associates with a particular artist.

Take the case of Lito Carating, by now celebrated because of his large works. In his last solo exhibition of works entitled Alma Matters held at the Corredor at the UP College of Fine Arts from February to March 2004, among the works included were "Sanctuary," an acrylic painting on canvas, all of 6 x 12 feet, and "Tranquil Refuge" and "Red Landscape," both 5 x 10 feet.

A smorgasbord of works on paper by Carating will be for the taking starting April 27 at Cena, Greenbelt 2, presented by Hiraya Gallery. It will run for three weeks. Some 20 works in two formats – 15 x 14 and 14.5 x 18 inches – comprise the collection. The café-exhibit follows his successful one-man show at the UP Corredor and a group show at Art Forum in Singapore last February and October 2004, respectively.

Carating’s exhibit at Cena features works done in the non-representational idiom, or what is commonly referred to as abstract art. Instead of the usual canvas as ground, Carating uses paper. The use of paper as ground is deemed basic, if not universal, to artists. Many great careers in the visual arts trace their genesis to the interaction between pencil and paper as medium and ground.

Carating primes eight-ply Bristol paper with cobalt blue, red or orange. On these prepared grounds, Carating applies metallic acrylic pigments to achieve textural play through incisions, scrapings and layerings.

It is worthy to note here that the Manila audience continues to be exposed to an array of exhibits featuring works done in the non-representational idiom. This month alone, several art exhibitions have focused on this preferred idiom. Worth mentioning here are Lindslee’s mammoth Black &Transparent at the Art Center, followed closely by Cid Reyes’s Demoiselles de Manille at the West Gallery, both at the SM Megamall. Another show just opened early last week, Patrick de Veyra’s Assault and Retrieve at the West Gallery on West Avenue in Quezon City.

The spate of shows presenting abstract art strengthens the belief that the artistic disposition is here to stay. Hardly moribund, it continues to attract young practitioners to bring the idiom to more contemporary explorations, ascribing it new forms of iconography, if not expressions.

The Philippine Star had an exclusive interview with Carating about his outing at Cena. Excerpts are printed below:

Philippine Star: You are a painter who is known for large works. Now you are working with small works. How do you explain the shift?

LITO CARATING: This is just a lull before the storm. I am doing much larger works soon. I am already in the process of collecting materials for bigger works in the vicinity of 20x20 feet.

How is it working on paper? What is the difference between working on paper and on canvas?

Working on paper is very different from working on canvas. It is more difficult to paint on paper since the surface is very smooth. On the other hand, its smooth surface is an advantage in that all the colors that you apply are projected vividly. Lumalabas ang mga kulay sa papel. Colors come in quite strong on paper. Underpaintings are also more discernible on paper. Execution and rendering on paper are also quicker.

But canvas is a painter’s ground.

Working on canvas is a different experience. Colors on canvas are subtler.

Have you worked with other surfaces?

I’ve used lawanit. My Anilao and Lamanlupa series are on lawanit. The ones I’ve used were tempered lawanit of long ago. These are no longer fabricated. If ever there are pieces of lawanit today, they are just plain cardboard.

Are there any peculiarities in working on lawanit?

Since I am working with acrylic, I get more textures working on lawanit. I can’t get the effect on lawanit when I work on canvas. Lawanit does not absorb much of the paint. The textural treatments you put on lawanit are preserved when dried. Canvas absorbs. And because of this, the physical textures applied to canvas are somewhat flattened. They become subdued. On lawanit, they are more pronounced.

Do you have any misgivings now that you are no longer working on lawanit?

None at all.

What about those textures you once were able to create?

It’s time to say goodbye to those textures and time to say hello to new visual experiences.

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For comments, send e-mail to <ruben_david.defeo@up.edu.ph>.