Galerie Joaquin Singapore Events


	Press Release Malaya Living March 28, 2007 Carlo Magno opens at Galerie Joaquin Singapore At the peak of his career Carlo Magno’s works were representational. Yet his paintings never failed to elicit praises for its distinct imagery and clarity. He was then very well known for his subjects: ancestral homes, churchyards, interiors, vistas, and cathedral altars and bell towers. In a style he developed for 25 years, day to day objects (a batibot chair, a fountain in churchyards, a cart, and a pail) become nostalgic symbols. These early works stirred warm emotions among his countless viewers and collectors. An art critic in the 80’s observed that Magno’s works were very popular because they “successfully captures time, a day, a season, an emotion or an era. They are a mosaic of recollection and retrospectives.” Other critics and peers acknowledging his technique referred to him as a “master of light.” Magno recalls being inspired by Vermeer’s art. He found himself painting interiors of old houses and windows. Other influences were Richard Estes and Winslow Homer, who inspired him to do landscapes. He was at his peak painting representational subjects when a dramatic transformation took place in 2003 just before his 15th one-man exhibit. Magno had become restless and wanted to do something more by taking his art several steps further. Apparently he was no longer content with showing objects as they are and wanted to look into the internal and hidden relationships between things as well as the conceptual and spiritual dimensions in the painting. Magno embarked on a completely new direction. He decided to explore the worlds of abstract art. In that show aptly titled Transformation, he exhibited works characterized by exuberant colors highlighted by a variety of textures and techniques he had accumulated through the years. Magno himself saw the leap from figurative or representational art into the world of abstraction as a logical and highly exciting development. “I find it very exciting because abstract art is so free flowing,” he says. The result has been phenomena. His works are now included in the choice selections of top collectors of abstract art. Aside from that, they are found in many of the boardrooms of top corporations in Makati and in the Madrigal and Ortigas Centers as well as in many newly built modern houses in upscale Green Meadows, Corinthian Gardens and Valle Verde. Since the time that Magno made the difficult transition from figuration to abstraction he has had seven sold-out solo exhibitions underscoring his phenomenal success in abstraction. His oeuvre has been fast evolving and he has taken elements of gestural abstractionism from noted Japanese artists and abstract expressionism from European abstractionists and infused his own spiritual convictions and intellectual directions. What Magno did was to successfully seek new ways to depict reality that he felt traditional figurative and representational methods were no longer capable of capturing. Gino Dormiendo reviewing one of his recent exhibits said: “what is particularly endearing in Magno’s new works is his evolving minimalist tendencies, a striving to achieve the impact of the Buddhist adage that less is more. Then there is the artist’s obsessive use of the circle motif which betrays his firm foundation in Chinese classical studies and philosophy. As the purest geometric form, the orb assumes the aura of a heavenly body, expressive of the Chinese concept of being boundless and immeasurable. Thus, East and West coalesce in Magno’s works, such as in the large work, Peaceful Duel, that was successfully auctioned at Sotheby’s in October 2006. Dormiendo writes further “Magno has endeavored to strike a balance between objectivity and subjectivity, creating interpretations of spaces, austere, ethereal and deeply personal. Though his architectural leanings manage to surface accidentally (he studied architecture for one year and later specialized in painting the interior of houses), he had succeeded in exploring the themes of reflection and meditation, opacity and transparency as well as intimacy and expansiveness.” This coming Friday, March 30, 2007 at 7 p.m. internationally renowned artist Carlo Magno opens Galerie Joaquin Singapore’s summer season with a special show titled “Theory of Mind”. The show features 18 artworks done by the artist especially for this exhibit. Galerie Joaquin Singapore is located at The Regent Singapore, #1 Cuscaden Road, Ground Floor, Unit 3 Singapore 249715. Visit www.galeriejoaquin.com.sg. Seven successful and sold-out solo shows later, Magno is now ready to embark on his 23rd one-man show. This has even proven to be greater challenge as it now means he is addressing an international following, Singapore being a major financial and cultural center of Asia and the regional headquarters for many Southeast Asian organizations. Some of the works on exhibit are the 36” x 30” Blaze of Glory VIII, the 30” x 30” Harmonics II, the 36” x 30” Multitude VI, the 30” x 54” Periphery of Thoughts and the 36” x 30” Rising II. Today, Magno has become one of the country’s leading abstract artists and one of the selected few whose works have been chosen for inclusion in recent international auctions, in particular at the Sotheby’s international auction of Southeast Asian Paintings. This, in itself, is no mean feat, considering that only a handful of abstract art pieces from the Philippines are chosen for auction. Usually these are works from National Artists and masters such as Arturo Luz, Jose Joya, J. Elizalde Navarro, H.R. Ocampo, Fernando Zobel, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Nena Saguil and Pacita Abad. These early works stirred warm emotions among his countless viewers and collectors.

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The Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road, Ground Floor, Unit 3, Singapore 249715