This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

Unity and harmony, in Orlina’s context, should not only be the coherence of sculptural forms but physical holism of the interior and exterior of the glass sculpture. He further incorporates a multitude of perspectives and interpretations. His glass sculptures leave off a “fixed base” in which one can view his glass sculpture from different angles and viewpoints. Thus, it heightens the audience’s appreciation and seduces them to an infinite look. As an underlying homage to Philippine neorealism, Orlina reduces his object’s form to the abstract and essential. He injects his reason for working in the abstract-figurative style in his sculptures for ready and accessible interpretation by different people from different cultures, leaving no cultural hang-ups. As the sole progenitor of Philippine glass sculpture, his creative process of cutting, grinding, smoothing, and polishing is empirically rooted from his stint in Republic Glass Corporation. By asking glass engineers, observing the industrial process of glass, and trial-and-error sculpting, he tames but empathizes with his medium. For his artistic inspirations and philosophies, Orlina gleans from the milieu and moments of his time. He only acculturates artistic concepts that are suitable to his medium, to Filipino culture, and to his own artistic context. However, to the point of copying an artist’s style, direction, and form is a manifestation of artistic bondage and flattery. The sculptor abhors its Filipino counterpart of utang na loob and doesn’t want his art to beholden, dictated, and tainted by anyone. Overall in a “crystal clear” manner, Orlina’s métier of glass sculpture is homegrown and self-developed which can be corroborated that contemporary glass sculpture is not only a creature of Europe and North America but shines in the Philippines.