Filipino artist Rodney Yap's 'Primeval' exhibit rocks Wroclaw

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino artist Rodney Yap’s exhibit “Primeval” opened to great acclaim recently at the BWA Gallery of Contemporary Art in Wroclaw in Poland.

The Bacolod-born Yap was raised in Davao and studied in the city’s Ford Academy of the Arts where the late Philippine National Artist Victorio Edades, the father of modernism in the country, was its resident teacher.

Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann Paez, exhibit organizer Mabel Guia Acost, and the artist Rodney Yap.

Guest of honor Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann Paez in her welcome remarks that “modernism encourages experimentation in artistic expression and allows the artist to interpret reality the way he sees it as an individual.”

Described by Malaysia’s Dusun Magazine as “Best in Asian Region”, the Yap says that his works are like a child’s story book.

“There are lots of surprises and innocence, which is why the title ‘Primeval’ is so apropos,” Yap says. “There is more to each painting than meets the eye as glaring images reveal themselves the more you look.”

Rodney Yap's "Primeval No. 9"

Yap adds that art should be with purpose and honesty and without fear. His multi-layered approach fuses hypnagogic images that are both intentional and unexpected. The artist admits that his mind already has the finished work in his head even before the first brushstroke lands on the canvass.

He notes that the exhibit came at the right time as the Philippines and Poland celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.

The exhibit was made possible through the efforts of art advocate Mabel Guia Acosta. It will move to the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw on September 6.