Female Narratives in Paint, on Canvas

Creatives, like writers and artists, share a similar vein. When they’re starting, they write about or create from what they know. As they mature and explore different aspects, however, their style becomes richer and more varied.

This blossoming of lush creativity is now on display at ARTablado in Robinsons Antipolo, where the works of six female artists are in the spotlight.

“Her Art, Her Story: Celebrating Women’s Narratives” explores themes of identity, resilience, and the pursuit of dreams as conjured by Aed Solis, Dolores Van, Elizabeth Esguerra Castillo, Mary Joy Ann Cruz Tuaño, Maxi Cajayon Tungol, and Yam Tamayo. They are members of the ARTipolo Group.

Pol Mesina, head of ARTipolo, chose the six artists for the ARTablado exhibit because of their distinct styles and their surprising use of color. “They each have their own identities and a sizable portfolio. More importantly, they’re unafraid of showing their emotions through the art they create,” he said.

Solis started by combining social realism with pastels but has evolved to realism using acrylics. “I paint to discover an art with freedom and no boundaries. I paint to express to others—the society, the environment—the things that I feel. It makes me happy,” she said.

Trained in classical charcoal portraiture, Van Duijvenbode describes her style as “intuitive” and based on strongly felt emotions.

“I paint to reignite my spark [as I am] coming back to a craft I never lost. I paint because I am passionate and love what I do. I want to inspire others to follow in my footsteps but to continue to go for their dreams,” Van Duijvenbode said.

Castillo is an author, journalist, poet, and visual artist. She has joined local and international exhibits where her abstract, expressionist, and surrealist style has been on display.

“I paint to express my innermost emotions,” Castillo said. “When my muse prompts me, I create multiverses that depict worlds in all their beauty and madness. I also believe that art is therapeutic and helps to heal us emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and physically,” she added.

Tuaño describes her style as a “progressive artistic experiment” and likens the act of painting to cooking. “Painting and cooking are essentially the same experiences: the thrill of creation, reconnection with sentiment or nostalgia, and finally, consumption for enjoyment. The way I enjoy painting is similar to the way I enjoy cooking, where I prepare the ingredients, create a dish, and have loved ones and friends enjoy its sumptuous taste afterward. Except with art, the consumption never ends; it endures through time,” Tuaño said.

Tamayo is a practicing lawyer and a self-taught artist. She describes her abstract works as “out of the box” because she wants the result to feel random and unplanned—like “a colorful mess.”

“Painting is a form of release from the stress of having to constantly face adversaries as part of my day job as a litigation lawyer. When I paint, I only see beauty even in the darkest of hues or the most torturous aspect of the creative journey,” Tamayo said.

Tungol is another self-taught artist who bravely works with mixed media. She is known for combining different paints such as oil, acrylic, gouache, and raw, powdered pigments with lace, gems, sand, and charcoal.

“Painting is an opportunity for me to become productive. It’s also so I can retain a semblance of individuality,” Tungol said.

Tamayo put it best when she said, “If the eyes are the window to the soul, I would say a painting is a reflection of one’s innermost being. It is never impersonal. It is you, but in bits and pieces, in curves and lines, in drips and spots.”

This is not the ARTipolo Group’s first partnership with ARTablado, and by the looks of things, it won’t be the last.

“We continue to partner with ARTablado because it provides us artists with a platform to showcase our works and to reach a wider audience,” Mesina said, adding that its location inside Robinsons Antipolo makes it accessible to both art enthusiasts and mall goers alike.

“Her Art, Her Story: Celebrating Women’s Narratives” runs until August 31 at ARTablado at Robinsons Antipolo.