The modernist precepts of Ernie Claud

CEBU, Philippines – A bevy of works by Bacolod’s Ernie Claud is currently on display at Canvas Bistro Bar & Gallery at the 2nd level of The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu. The collection – which consists of more than 10 paintings and pastel-on-paper works – doesn’t just give a sampling of the maestro’s creative oeuvre; it also sets the spotlight on the variegated vistas that can be discerned from modernist precepts and views.

Known for rendering cubist-themed tableaus, this aspect of the artist’s creative penchant is impossible to miss in this particular show. However, to say that this is the show’s only noteworthy aspect would not be apt – given that Claud masterfully plays with a variety of compositional elements in the works that complete this exhibit.

Mainly merging abstraction’s free-wheeling scopes, perspectives and scales with unhinged alliterations and transliterations that have long been associated with the linear painting form, Claud manages to infuse a temporal aspect in this collection – permeating elements of music, mood and tone.

As they are, the exhibit’s presented pieces conjures standard scenes from popular jazz bar to the mind’s eye – bringing viewers to the latitudes and longitudes that are recanted in pieces like Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” Jimmy Smith’s “8 Counts for Rita,” The Village Stompers’ “Washington Square” and – most particularly – Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

On display until the end of the month, the exhibit beckons everyone to drop by and experience the moving precepts that are rendered by one of the Visayas region’s celebrated creative talents.