Adoration, unrequited love in Janos Delacruz’s new exhibit

JANOS Delacruz’s “Pagibig at Lumbay” — a collection of artworks that tackles a adoration and unrequited love between artist and his muse amid the reality of pandemic — is now on view at Art Lounge Manila in Podium.

Although the artist’s icons do not revolve around a particular key image or subject, each artwork is intended to be viewed as a Chapter Illustration of an unwritten novel (a self-contained short story in an ongoing narrative). Viewers are invited to explore the machination and inner musings of the artist as he travails from one diatribe to another.

The paintings, sculptures, drawings and fineprint in the exhibition are used as vehicles to capture the frantic search for both meaning and creation. The eyes are invited to matriculate the etched lineal and spiral patterns, as if they are looking at striations of exposed musculature under a microscope.

The viewer is asked to participate/ self-reflect on each artwork to create their own truth and find their own narrative in each panel.

Delacruz’s drawing is an assemblage of random lines and patterns. An unfiltered brainstorm of a surreal idea from an incomplete dream to a fully rendered work on paper. As he transforms his work from one medium to another, the artworks will also evolve (affected not only by the limitation or advantages of the material but also the temperament of the creator).

The artist has always been fascinated in the art of printmaking and considers printmaking as his first love. Inspired by Illustrated Medieval Manuscripts, he left the impurities in the plate and hand colored his etching fine prints. By doing so, he hopes to capture “individuality in the face of uniformity.”

In his sculpture entitled “Kuya Daks (Big Brother),” Delacruz tells the story of a man in his most fragile state – removing the “smiling mask” that he showcases in society. The artwork is a commentary on hiding people’s beliefs and true self as they try to conform to social pressure, norms and biases. It represents the reawakening of unique thought and removal of the shackles of docility to be able to love freely and to create without limitations.

The exhibition will run until August 16 at Art Lounge Manila-Podium, Ortigas Center. For more information, visit www.artloungemanila.com.