ABOUT THE WORK

Lauded for his novel and unorthodox takes on traditional and classical forms of art without succumbing to formless postmodernism, Culibrina decides to take his verve and critical eye a step forward by not merely alluding to traditional techniques, but actively recreating and restructuring them to suit the predispositions of a more contemporary age. In this piece, Culibrina uses the cultural and artistic influence of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo to lure in the viewer by virtue of familiarity. He then overlays Amorsolo’s images with copious amounts of individuality through his signature use of dynamic and eye-catching elements inspired by pop-culture and contemporary life. By doing so, Culibrina opens up possibilities for reflections, discussions, and meditations on cultural and sociological issues by virtue of revitalizing the originality that once graced Amorsolo’s works when they were first unveiled to the world. For Culibrina, for art to effectively achieve an emancipatory effect, it must imagine new horizons upon the mound of its corpus. Ronson Culibrina (b. 1991) received his degree in Fine Arts at the Technological University of the Philippines in Manila. Since 2008, he has participated in group shows here and abroad and recently held simultaneous solo shows last July 2016 at the Ayala Museum and in Galerie Michael Janssen Berlin. He is a recipient of several awards including the Grand Prize, 23rd Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company painting Competition (2009) and Juror’s Choice, Philippine National Oil Company Painting Competition (2010). This particular piece was part of Culibrina’s 2014 Exhibit entitled Before Sundown.