Provenance: Art Cube Gallery, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

Observing Life’s Flow is one of the pieces that truly tells of the artist’s love for art and his unique ability to make do with what is at hand. As the middle child of a tricycle driver and a seamstress, art was not a mere hobby for the young Raffy Napay. He grew up painting and participating in contests as a way to support his family. After some time, he experienced respiratory problems with oil and acrylic paints, his original chosen medium, which led him to explore a new material - thread. Through this medium, Napay weaved his canvases not only with intricate details but also with visual poetry. He is able to see the creative process behind the threads and fabrics, which he found to be closely comparable to the use of paint - from early ideation to the finishing touches on an artwork. He created his thread oeuvres as he would a painting, but exploring depth and complexity rather than simply miming light. In 2017, his works were exhibited at the Palazzo Mora during the 57th Venice Biennale in collaboration with the European Cultural Centre. Then in 2018, he received the Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. (P.I.R.)