Black, grey, and white — given the opportunity to be the most used colors in a work, establish rawness. It brings a beneficial limitation; the dominance of these three allows one to focus on the figures. Yet color is no enemy; any amount that allows the trinity of colors to flourish makes a work distinct. The featured artists in Silhouettes and Shades, have challenged themselves to see how colors can affect their specialty: Through deconstruction, Mark Nativo displays a collage of fragments displaying people and landscapes. The artist shares that it’s his first time adding colors to his works; it feels
like a chaotic playfulness is introduced. Meanwhile, Jaspher Penuliar, in his first time using a monochromatic and earthy palette, integrates nature’s symbolism of time and change in his art. For him, leaves carry temporal beauty and stones that embody patience. Adding gold allows more complexity.
The incorporation of color can go beyond the canvas and into the artwork’s frame. Siefred Guilaran’s work, which exhibits a quiet and heartfelt form of beauty, allows a simplistic complement to any external color that comes close to his work. Silhouettes and Shades reveals that within the restraint of a neutral palette lies an opportunity for contemplation on the subjects of the artworks.
Notes by Gabriel Gaston
