World For The Moment

When one asks for a figuration of nature’s beauty, images of vibrant flowers would come to mind. The idyllic pleasure they bring through those vibrantly colorful petals that range from pastel shades of purple to bright and bold orange hues show aesthetically strong emotions. Reminiscent of the Dutch realisitc style, painting flowers has grown remarkably throughout the years by no longer depending on symbolisms and aesthetics. Initially, floral works of the well-known masters like Manet and Van Gogh were painted simply for sentimental purposes.

In Felix Tiglao’s latest solo show, he lets abloom 22 paintings that were nourished by his personal concerns and passions. Entitled “World for the Moment”, Tiglao draws from American modernist floral painter Georgia O’Keefe’s statement, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.” This “world” as embedded in his flower paintings contain emotions and stories he wants to share with his viewers. He forwards the narrative as a significant facet of his works and creates a sense of realization and appreciation in their reflection.

Many of his works are rendered with a soothing palette of yellows, violets, and pinks balanced out with a personalized yet strong Expressionistic style. By allowing his flowers to stand as protagonists, he enhances them with a sense of focus and direction, imbibing in them his own stories and feelings. It is through these stories that the artist’s personal Eden has blossomed.

Felix Tiglao’s unique style probes into conventional subjects through the artist’s unique methods. His floral compositions are always a balance of the mystique and of rash boldness—a paradox eager to bloom on a canvas. His colors usually dance between pastels and tranquil shades of the sea, and are at times rejuvenated with warm sunlight tones and melodic perspectives. His palette, a garden in itself, is a growing manifestation of an artist similarly growing into an orchard of styles and potential. Perhaps in the years to come, just as how all the great artists in the past began with their floral etudes, Tiglao’s renderings with strong contemporary bias should also be a pillar of panache for such a budding artist.

“World for the Moment” will be on view from December 4-13 at Galerie Raphael Shangrila. For inquiries kindly contact 941-6194.