‘So Many Scars’
It’s very refreshing to see talented young artist Angelo Quintos in the local art scene. This 19-year-old’s genre is quite different from the present crop of young contemporary visual artists in the country.
From the airport, I went straight to the opening of Gelo’s well-attended first solo exhibition titled So Many Scars at The Metro Gallery in San Juan. The place was packed with young people, collectors and art aficionados. Gelo, managed by Derek Flores of DF Art Agency, usually wears a jacket/hoodie or a T-shirt every time he paints. Instead of wiping the brushes on a piece of cloth, he just wipes them on the clothes he is wearing. In that way, not a bit of paint gets wasted and makes the clothing an art piece of its own. He was wearing one that night, which I found fascinating.
Gelo’s art is a mixture of street art, poetry (painted words on canvas) and graphic design. Though his works are influenced by those of Jean-Michel
Basquiat and Cy Twombly, there is still that personal Gelo Quintos touch that makes his style his own.
For Gelo, So Many Scars was a dream come true. He said that things fell into place rapidly and he was thankful for the opportunity.
The recently concluded exhibit reflects the artist’s “openness to capture the world of his youth as he himself is transformed by it.” Having just finished Multimedia Arts at iAcademy and an incoming freshman at the College of Saint Benilde, this promising artist still has a long way to go.
My dream was shattered when I wanted to purchase one of his works but I was told it was sold already. I look forward to his next show where I hopefully can get one of his works.