"Shadow fragments"

CEBU, Philippines - A coherent combination of addends and subtrahends. A fragmented union of hatches, curves and tones. A play of shadows not as opaque elements, but as a parallel line rendering.

These are among the terms that aptly describe the pieces that comprise "Shadow Fragments" - the second solo art exhibit of Danao, Cebu artist Leopoldo Aguilar at Qube Gallery.

Opening on November 17 and ongoing until today, December 3, Aguilar's framed precepts of infusing tribal art elements into neo-expressionism and abstract expressionism sets the primary mood and tone of the show.

Cutting back on solely depending on parallel criss-crossed hatches to render allusions of shade, structure and tone, a sampling of the artist's "Whirlys Series" stands as one of the exhibit's noteworthy highlights - a series that utilizes linear curves and swirls in molding parallel line-rendered forms.

Like "Things to Come," the artist's first solo exhibit in Qube Gallery in September last year, its Aguilar's penchant in bridging "pandemonium" with "control" that makes "Shadow Fragments" special.

But just as the artist maintains the creative elements that made "Things to Come" one of 2014's noteworthy exhibits in Cebu, "Shadow Fragments" reveals what were then to-be-expected from "Things to Come" - proving that tribal art has a place in the contemporary arts scene; that shadows drawn from layers of lines can be grafted to render shape, structure and form.