MANILA, Philippines - The title “Anonymous” might startle and puzzle those who know the artist Fernando Modesto.
Modesto has been in the Philippine Art Scene since the late ‘70s and with his colorful personality, loud laughter, crazy one-liners and overall irreverent art, he could hardly be described as anonymous. As art critic and book author Cid Reyes wrote, “Since Fernando Modesto burst on the art scene in 1977, his one abiding quality has been irreverence, but irreverence laced with zaniness and hilarity.”
His latest exhibit at the West Gallery is a mix of new and old paintings and collages most of them created after he had a mild stroke in 2010. Perhaps underneath the smile and the laughter, the artist feels somewhat anonymous because post-stroke he was partially paralyzed and his speech was impaired making it difficult to communicate. After four years and rehab sessions, Modesto is well and back to his voluble self, but still occasionally needs some “interpretation” because his speech is not yet 100 percent clear.
His artworks continue to be playful and his collages feature the toys of his youth — marbles stuck in wood and canvas with bright splashes of oil paint and textured molding paste, even his daughter’s Barbie Doll.
And yet some of the paintings hint of this “Anonymous” theme with images of headless angels in a series of palettes, another headless figure with a cassette cover of Peter Murphy, and a haunting image of another figure with an empty hole as his head in the collage. Perhaps the one painting that echoes the theme is “Falling Man” — an oil-on-canvas work that shows a figure falling into an abyss with dizzy swirls of paint in bright red and blue.
Has this notorious artist suddenly become mysterious and anonymous? He counters and says, “There’s nothing mysterious about my work… it’s all about immediacy and there’s nothing mysterious about that. Today it’s all about clicking on buttons and instant gratification.” But he seems to say this with his tongue planted firmly on his cheek and a wide grin on his face.
The exhibition is on view from Aug. 6 to Sept. 6 at West Gallery, 48 West Avenue, 1104, Quezon City. For information, call Sol Noble at 411-0336, telefax 833-9815, email info@westgallery.org., visit http://www.westgallery.org and follow West Gallery on Facebook.