Four L'arc en ciel artists at Artist Space

MANILA, Philippines - Carla Jang Kim and Stella Kim are in no way related but have something in common — they both have a unique talent in their art.

 Carla is an Impressionist and never fails to elicit comments like “It looks just like a Monet!” She holds a master’s degree in art from the Ehwa University in Korea and was president of their Korean Art Group. She has had a solo show at Ayala Museum in 2009 as well as numerous group shows here in Manila. In her large vertical painting of bougainvilleas, the flowers breathe with life; the fuchsia flowers seem to have been picked from the bush and glued on to her canvas. The highlight coming from the top right of the painting flows down and filters through the leaves and petals producing a dramatic effect on the overall appeal of the work.

 Carla’s family is also involved in the performing arts, she herself being a violinist, with her sons playing the violin, saxophone, bass guitar and clarinet. Her husband Joon, who owns and runs an elevator company in Korea, is an artist as well excelling in watercolors. He also plays the piano and the sax. Together this talented family makes beautiful music.

Stella Kim is a photographic realist. Her art is “HD” as an amazed viewer once expressed — as in High Definition. All the fine details are incorporated in her paintings so that sometimes it is hard to distinguish them from a photograph. During her first few sessions at the studio, everyone gathered around her first painting, so beautiful, smooth and neat, with fine clean lines, and asked her “Are you sure you never painted before?” And she timidly answered, “I have been painting in my dreams.” Barely a year after joining L’arc en Ciel Atelier, she was deservingly feted in a solo show in their gallery. In her painting “Phaelaenopsis,” the delicate pink orchids against the dark raw umber background produces a dramatic effect, reminiscent of old masters’ chiaroscuro paintings. 

“L’arc en ciel Interior” by Connie R. Quirino

Stella excels in her many varied fields of interest — among which are playing the contrabass and ballroom dancing. Her other interests are in sports — swimming and golfing. Part of her artistic background is a short stint in Korea at fashion design and computer graphics.

Both Korean artists produce exquisite works. 

Connie Quirino trained under Federico Aguilar Alcuaz. His influence is evident in her present works. In this show, she presents nooks and crannies of the studio L’arc en ciel that enthrall her. She portrays the other artists as they paint while art class is going on, with the intricate and busy background of gallery interiors. Her major piece in this show starts out with the inspiration of a large floral bouquet in the center of the gallery. Interestingly, she includes a lady artist painting on the right side. In the background, another segment of the gallery is suggested subtly beneath the French doors, where one sees a four-poster antique bed, the favorite site for the figurative and nude paintings. On the table itself where the flowers are, a tableau of other items chime in, as in a featured Damian Domingo book and an open guest book. To the left of the painting is a large portrait of a young girl in a ballerina outfit rendered by another major artist of the gallery. The soft fringes of a Russian vintage mantle adds charm to the entirety of the composition.

 Connie studied drawing and painting at The Art Center of Pasadena in California. She is also an equestrienne and a commercial model. She is proud of her heritage, being a presidential granddaughter of Elpidio Quirino.

Golden Mums” by Alfred Galura

Alfred Galura stands out in his field: watercolors. Hailing from Bacolor Pampanga, his home devastated by the Pinatubo eruption and buried under lahar, he spent his lifetime savings from a 10-year stint in the Middle East relocating to Mabalacat. A fulltime artist, his work is a product of experimentation and discovery, as he never had formal art schooling. His watercolors can only be described in superlatives. Even if he has unselfishly conducted workshops in L’arc en ciel, sharing his hard-learned techniques, one is still perplexed and in awe of his masterpieces, whether these be still lifes of copper, silver and brass, or panoramic landscapes of Pampanga rice fields or farmers at work. His mastery of depicting flora is so awesome and the varied tones create deep values as shown in this painting of yellow chrysanthemums.

These four diverse personalities are featured in a four-person show at Ayala Museum’s Artist Space, which opens on April 9. The show is on view until April 26.

For information, call Elaine O. Herbosa of L’arc en ciel Atelier at 0917-8901219 or visit http://larcencielgallery.blogspot.com.