Provenance: : Pinto Art Museum

ABOUT THE WORK

Tapaya’s paintings recurrently depict narratives embedded in Filipino cultural history that offer sharp and often piercing commentary on contemporary life and issues. Through his adept manipulation of folk aesthetic and material, Tapaya provides his mythical characters with allegorical significance that transcend common perception, offering fresh insights about their origins and relevance. Tapaya’s imagery is always predicated by native myths, which eventually intersects with society’s present concerns. His works reflect the tribulations of his country; he is, first and foremost, a connoisseur of tales, possessing a keen eye for stories and narratives. Be it carried from generation to generation via oral tradition or written down in epic poems, Rodel Tapaya finds a way to revitalize the narratives in his canvases. As all great storytellers do, he draws connections between the imagined and the real, history and the present day, and myth and current events. His artistry is one of the few bearers of Filipino folklore and legends able to cross the boundaries into the universal, being abundant in both meaning and imagination, and validating a vibrant and worthwhile return to the power of allegory in painting. As his paintings drift between figuration and abstraction, his works show nature and culture in a playful relationship with our technical world.