Duo Delight: Hecita and Delleva at Orange

CEBU, Philippines - There was much to get fired up about this summer over in that land of sugar canes, Bacolod City.   Not only was the heat at its peak, but two artists of quite distinctive temperaments decided to team up and present a joint show that energized an enthusiastic crowd at Bacolod’s most supportive venue for Negrense visual artists, Orange Gallery.

Jay-r Delleva, a whimsical and quite fanciful illustrator of quirky characters, went head to head with Jovito Hecita, a more subtle expressionist.   Both of these fine artists produced not just works on canvas, but also three dimensional pieces that clearly delineated the divergence between them.

Delleva shows us, in this his latest exhibit, less of those animal masks riding astride unpolished humanoids that he has become known for.   Yes, the headpieces are still somewhat present, but not as a compelling theme.   Instead, we notice that the characters he depicts are more elegantly shaped, the lines finer and the features more gracious.   There is a Modigliani-esque feel to their personalities.

Perhaps, what is predominant in Delleva’s new works are the dots and dashes of color that flow from corner to corner or from point to point of the canvas, whirling and twisting this way and that.   Delleva says he wants to draw attention to the flow of the story, the whorls directing viewers towards certain directions he wants them to pursue.

For example, his Avatar-ish female figure in “Cross Breed” is beautiful, if expressionless.   The blank stare is accompanied by a trio of scarlet and pink feathered friends, and a fantastic coiffure positively blooming with flowers.   Interspersed among the stunning details, however, are tiny white and red splotches of color, giving movement to the quite immobile tableau.

Similarly, the magician in My Empty Party Afternoon Is impassive.   Despite the magic tricks about to burst forth from his elegant fingers, he is stoic, a silent presence.   The dots that burst forth and encircle him, however, lend the needed vitality to what could have been a grim scene.

While flowy dots were Delleva’s theme, strips of cloth were Hiceta’s.   There was a distinct mummy feel to Hecita’s offering, although that description is a disservice to the craftsmanship easily perceived from this collection.   Layer upon layer was wrapped round and around to create a figure, yet so much care was taken in the wrapping process that the final shapes Hecita achieved were still lithe and evocative of grace.   Whether he was creating a pair of feet, an arm, or a bust, the pale end-product was never rough, but a piece to covet.

One example is “Acceptance”, a simple sculpture of a hand reaching upwards.   But there is nothing simple about the grace of the curves of the fingers, or the placement of the strips, which convey emotions of suffering, loneliness, longing and piety, all at the same time.

Hecita’s wraps were then replicated in his canvasses.   Elaborate care has been taken with the multi-threaded rendering of the characters within the frame.   One particularly beautiful piece, “Little Wild Imagination”, had the ribbonettes of fiber fllowing from his muse gradually morph into ethereal butterflies and leaves, apparently a recent innovation that arose from Hiceta’s exposure to the just concluded Art in the Park.

Juxtaposed against Hecita’s sculptures were Delleva’s own rougher figurines, surprisingly made out of cement (although they were much lighter than expected). A favorite was Wendy, not just because of the colorful execution of her festive dress and her equally brightly-hued stand, but also because of the story behind it.

Delleva narrates that the reason Wendy has her head tilted and her hair blown at a vertical 90 degrees it because of the wind: it’s very windy.   That amusing (and quite deliberate) play on regional accents had us cracking up, and provided fodder for more anecdotes.

Again, though, we see in Wendy the same element of pointing and direction that Delleva has incorporated in his canvasses, the taking of control of his viewers.

Also of note is the pair titled “The Hunters”, which is a costumed hero with cape, poised to fly off to fight battle with his sidekick, a mutt likewise bestowed with his own costume.   An amusing conversation piece, for sure, but essentially a coveted collectible.

Hecita and Delleva allowed their fans to see a contrast in styles and hues. But at the end of the process, what was evident was no matter the differences, their commonality was the genuine talent they both shared, in spades and heaps.   Oh to possess such gifts. (FREEMAN)