Enchanting Summits

For her 2024 exhibit “Enchanting Summits”, Isab Angeles continues to highlight her intimate connection with nature via her signature organic abstractions. Choosing to create a legacy through her art by celebrating her affinity with the natural world, this birthday exhibit tackles various hidden symbolisms in her chosen subject juxtaposed with her own life journey.

Though landscape and nature paintings are widely used genres throughout history, Isab chooses to interpret it in hues that give viewers a glimpse of her personal artist practice. The slightly more feminine but still towering mountaintops dominate the landscape while evoking a tranquil sense of power. Her usage of cloud-covered peaks provide a stark contrast to the lush valleys that lie beneath the mountains. The panoramic views aim to invite the viewers to imagine for themselves a dreamland that combines the tangible with the fantastical.

The collection of works also explores the artist’s departure from fixed perspectives in both her personal and artistic life. She likens the curiosity to exploring the mountains, to a journey towards enlightenment - a discovery of self and a willingness to immerse oneself into whatever comes. She also shares the realization that it is in the transcendence of worldly concerns that one can find solace even while longing for the peace that being “lost” in nature brings.

Barbara Ruth Chanco Angeles (b. 1969) is a self-taught visual artist from the Philippines. After years of becoming an art consultant, Angeles decided to create and share her own artworks to an audience. The medium she initially used was pastel, creating lines using vibrant and metallic colors applied by a very fine paint brush. She has had several one-man and group shows with the Galerie Joaquin Group.

“Enchanting Summits” by Isab Angeles runs from June 25 to July 7, 2024, at Galerie Raphael U.P. Town Center with an Artist Reception on Friday, June 28 at 5 pm. The gallery is located at the 2/F Phase 2, U.P. Town Center, Katipunan Ave., Diliman, Quezon City. For inquiries, contact Galerie Raphael U.P. Town Center at +632 8247 1109 or email galerie.raphael@gmail.com.