A New Romance for Marivic Rufino

After the death of her husband and best friend Rafael “Paeng” Buenaventura, who succumbed to cancer two years ago, Marivic Rufino is painting the blues away.

And she is doing it by splashing reds, oranges and all the other vibrant colors of the rainbow over the blues.

Has painting helped her heal from the pain of losing a loved one?

“Definitely,” says Marivic, who also produces shows and concerts. Not having the luxury to paint every day, and plunging head-on into a fundraising activity for the Red Cross last year, she took up the brush again after a creative drought of nine months.

A night person who derives inspiration from classical music, Marivic surprised herself by painting in the morning.

She paints in a studio in a new house she moved into after Paeng’s death. “I wanted to create new memories,” she explains the move.

Paeng was Marivic’s husband for over six years, and half of those happy years he was stricken with cancer. They first met when she was one, and he, 15. They would meet again when Paeng would visit her cousins at the Rufino family compound in Baguio. When Paeng was in his senior year in college, he started working for Marivic’s dad, Rafael Rufino Sr., at Security Bank. Rufino would become Paeng’s first boss.

Paeng and Marivic’s relationship metamorphosed into something deeper after 20 years of friendship. In a way, their relationship reflected her art — it didn’t start out the way it ended up to be.

Marivic started painting in 1976 and had her first solo exhibit in 1987. She started with Chinese and Classical painting, then moved on to Impressionist. Today, her paintings veer towards the Abstract or Minimalist form.

One of the paintings she’s putting up during her exhibit, dubbed Romanza, on Feb. 23 at the Peninsula Manila is a 2 ft by 3 ft canvas that was primed by Paeng. Marivic finished the painting after his death. She called it, “Passion.”

Romanza will be Marivic’s 15th solo art exhibit of new works. During the exhibit, Romanza, the poetry book that is a labor of love from Marivic, National Artist Virgilio Almario and award-winning poet Marne Kilates, will also be launched. 

Aside from her paintings, also on exhibit will be furniture and fashion accessories with Marivic’s paintings on them: a side table on whose top is a painting; an upholstered lampshade that is a backdrop for another painting, screen dividers, even shawls. The paintings were digitally transferred to the furniture and accessories.

At this point in the canvass that is her life, Marivic is undergoing a change, which is perhaps as abstract as her latest works. Still, passion is the dominant theme.

“Passion in the heart, mind and soul. This is what helps me survive the turbulent storms of life. Passion is a gift I wish to share with the audience this new year.”

(Romanza, the art exhibit opens on Feb. 23 and runs till Feb. 28 at the Peninsula Manila. Romanza, the poetry book, is published by Tahanan Books. Proceeds will benefit St. Mary’s house for girls in Tagaytay and Serra’s Center for girls in Pasay City.)

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