One man Sio

Peculiarity captures interest. At first look, one who is unfamiliar with the artist would find the title of the art exhibit outlandish. "One Man Sio" is a recent art exhibit of my former student and now a colleague in UP Cebu whom I have high regard, without airs amid his laurels in visual arts. In 2008, when I joined the Humanities Division then, Professor Dennis "Sio" Montera has been recognized as a true-blue vanguard of visual arts.   

It was also in his past art exhibit that he aptly titled it as abstractSIOn, a mesmeric play of words branding his great passion for abstract art and the nickname, Sio, as fondly called by his closest contemporaries.

For this year, UP Cebu Fine Arts Program and Qube Gallery proudly present his 18th solo exhibition starting June 18 until July 16, 2014 at the Ground Floor of Henry Hotel, Maria Luisa Road, Banilad, Cebu City.

For decade of being a forefront in non-figurative art, Sio attributes this success to discipline, passion and perseverance. He has consistently displayed his passion through solo or group exhibitions.

Thirty six masterful artworks are inspired from the artist's life and experiences brought about by recent local and international trips. His views on the super typhoon and his recent travel in Paris have truly marked in the strokes on his canvass. His great zeal for painting has ceaselessly braved him to master his material, tool, and technique in the depiction of personal realities in non-figuration. Through the years, Professor Montera has continuously inspired local and budding visual artists to hone their artistic craft.

As an artistic expression, Professor Montera deftly reminds that "abstract expressionism is neither relegated to the past nor at a hotel room but offers as a point of volatile discussions between symbolism and representations". This prompts to several occasions when an abstract painting challenges me for varied interpretations and profound understanding. When, oftentimes, the artist's purpose and understanding may be shared or viewed otherwise by others. This dynamic, though oftentimes contrasting exercise is therefore opening doors for critical thinking and analysis, an exercise that places art as a launch pad for critical discussion.  

In one of his interviews, Sio believes that "abstract art is difficult because you do not copy from nature. It is highly spiritual and meditative. Not all representational painters can do serious abstract art. They fail to understand that it is a higher discipline." When he says higher discipline, this I mean something that requires one's critical understanding of what is being presented or viewed. Being spiritual and meditative requires a great deal of awareness of one self and his relationships and understanding of others and the environment.   

Asserting that though abstract art has reached its peak in the 1950-60s in the US, expanding it to regain its lost glory should not be the goal of abstract artists. It should be treated as a sacred individual practice that goes beyond the conventions of realistic illusionism in painting. And the most effective abstract artists are those that are grounded on the foundations of mimesis.

Imitation of the real world means recreating instances of human action and events or portraying objects found in nature. This undertaking requires the artist's yawning discernment of his environment. In recreating nature, he needs to understand beyond what others commonly perceive.

Beyond what you see is the artist's message that he wants to convey to others. For some, their views may be perceived based on their unique experiences. But it is in this unique exercise that makes us fully realize one big lesson in life. And that is understanding and appreciating others' unique experiences. When we are confronted with similar experience, it is how we deal with it based on how we regard things.

Through his artworks, Sio elevates the understanding of objective realities to a level of nonrepresentational interpretations. As an artist, this sets him apart from the middling mortals. Congratulations to my former student, a colleague and a true servant of art.