Mallari’s ‘Life on Water’ and Alcuaz’s ‘Abstract Aquarelles’ at Galerie Joaquin
Erwin Mallari is an artist that combines both the European proclivity of using watercolor as a topographical archiving platform to capture the zeitgeist with an Asian respect for the potential of the medium.
Mallari will be exhibiting his works in a one-man exhibit titled “Life on Water,” which opens tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., at the Centre Gallery of Galerie Joaquin in San Juan City. The show is on view until April 26.
“I want to preserve my timeline, who I am as a person, and my surroundings,” says Mallari of his work. This need to archive — the “preserve” as he calls it — leads to an aesthetic that is hyperrealist, capturing the life scenes of an urban landscape that is as gritty as it is beautiful. He points to an interest in photography as the catalyst for this approach, and this hyperrealism is apparent in his paintings.
The inherent characteristic of watercolor also serves to highlight the subjects that Mallari depicts. “I choose subjects that are high contrast. Not all subjects have the same visual appeal inn watercolor that they may have in, say, oil. But I like the challenge. I use studies to figure out the right technique for the subject, to figure out the right tones and colors. I usually start at eight in the morning, then I finish at four in the afternoon.”
To demonstrate another aspect of water- color, Galerie Joaquin will also be exhibiting works by National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz at the 2nd floor VIP Gallery concurrent to Mallari’s show. Titled “Abstract Aquarelles,” the exhibit is the first one of its kind to show how this Modernist master used the unique characteristics of watercolor for abstract works.
It is the first time that important watercolor works from the late National Artist will be mounted in an all- watercolor event. The forms echo Alcuaz’s abstract canvases, but the use of aquarelle to layer the forms allow for a haunting organic aesthetic that is reminiscent of the work of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.
Galerie Joaquin is at 371 P. Guevarra Street corner Montessori Lane, Addition Hills, San Juan City. For information, call 723-9418 or email at info@galeriejoaquin.com.