MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Juvenal Sanso has left behind all the angst that characterized his earlier works and has tapped into the primal happiness and calm of his emotions, and the past few decades has seen a kaleidoscope of different forms, figures, and colors.
The effect is a journey that he shares with his audience — a uniquely personal and highly emotive adventure into the highs of a distinct and renowned artistic practice. And now, just when Sanso has brought us into the skies, he parts the clouds and gives us a glimpse of the allegorical stars and the vastness of his skill. Happy with this new introspective period in his life, Sanso has found the dawn. Culling memories from his travels, he has begun painting vistas, sceneries, and panoramas through the prism of his imagination and with his newfound joyful and exuberant outlook. Beginning this new direction 12 years ago, Sanso now takes us into a higher plane in the development of his practice with stronger works of bolder colors and exciting compositions.
A good example of the idea of a “New Day” is the artwork “As Cascading Waters Flow.” In this piece is the convergence of technique and expression — the bubbling stream in the foreground and the skyline in the background perfectly rendered not in mimetic purity, but in expressionist sensibilities. The mix of colors, descending from the bluish-white glow of the farscape — with the famous Sanso moon — to the lush greens of vegetation and the browns and reds of the surrounding valley and stream indicate an artist at peace with himself and the world. The calm it brings to its audience is inherent in the composition.
Another fantastic piece from this exhibition is “A New Day, A New Dawn,” demonstrating Sanso’s brilliance as a painter of landscapes. In this piece, Sanso transitions the coastline sky from night to dawn. The waves that crash beneath the reflection of a craggy shore are luminescent with the subtle mixing of colors, from the inky blackish purples of night to the yellow light of a rising sun, subtly hinted with red and orange streaks. Movement is the key element here, and the focus on transition is marvelously depicted.
The opposite of this adherence to movement is “Forthcoming and Steady,” aptly transporting us from the ebb and flow of the coast to the steadiness of a mountainous desert landscape. The colors of dust and rust — red and brown — rest under the watchfulness of Sanso’s characteristic “moon” motif — a vision of calm fortitude.
To celebrate his 82rd birthday and over 50 years of artistic brilliance, Galerie Joaquin will be hosting an exhibition of new Juvenal Sanso works titled “Paintings of a New Day.”
The exhibit formally opens on Nov. 27, Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. at the SM Megamall Art Center, fourth floor, SM Megamall A, Mandaluyong City. The show is on view until Dec. 9. The works are available for preview at the Art Center starting Nov. 21.
For information, call Galerie Joaquin at 723-9418, e-mail at inquiry@galeriejoaquin.com, or visit www.galeriejoaquin.com.