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//Chronicles of Pain Colored (Invitation)
CHARLIE CO | BOBIT SEGISMUNDO | JUSTO CASCANTE III | ARNEL S. AGAWIN
06/06 - 06/24/2008
Opening Reception : 06/06/2008 . 6:30pm
osage soho
45 Caine Road
Lower Ground Shop 1
Corner Old Bailey Street
Soho,Central,Hong Kong
Mon - Sat: 10:30 am - 7:30 pm
Sun & Public Holiday: 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
Tel: 852 25370688
email: info@osagegallery.com
web: www.osagegallery.com
The four Filipino artists selected for this show have a lot in common - they are not so young, they are all
willingly domesticated, and they all come from a culture known for its passion for discourse and music. In
their work they have a penchant for visual narratives, expressive symbolism and mystical drama. They are
politicized, not just in terms of national issues but also in the ways they deal with personal relationships and
all that they entail - distress, betrayal, loss, frustration, exhaustion and pain.
For many artists, pain is such a constant theme that it forms and moulds the artist into being the person that
he or she is. The invocation of pain, subdued yet visible through the process of overlaying images and
colours, is very evident in each of these four artists’ work. These works do not preach but attempt to
chronicle personal past experience, pleasant or grim, and transfer it from the deep recesses of the mind to
the canvas.
Justo Cascante III gives the human form expression through characters drawn in a comic or surreal manner.
The style that he developed during his arts school days has been re ned through working for a number of
years with major players in Hong Kong’s lm and design production industries. His anthropomorphic
creations are playful and engaging. His large format canvases and mysterious gures may well be a
re ection of his sense of self - larger and more mischievous.
Bobit Segismundo addresses deeply personal issues in his work. His work and its content is dark. His dark
gures on monochrome grounds and carefully scribbled transliterations of his most intimate torments
convey a sense of foreboding and gloom. They may be expressing some kind of warning for you to keep
your distance or alternatively may be a plea for your empathy. They seize your attention as if you were
standing next to a man atop a building, at the edge, ready to jump.
Arnel S. Agawin is an archetypal product of his generation - awakened 60s, mind-stretched '70s,
anarchic-cynical 80s and refuse-to-grow-up 90s. The art in his work appears as a form of distillation of the
process of creating it. What is seen is a vestigial trace of that wonderful experience. There is always a
semblance of truth which is proportionate to intent but also the lies that lead to it. Every work he creates is
a sincere attempt to de ne his true measure.
Charlie Co was one of the founders of an artistic movement that became known for its politically and
socially committed art during the years of the Marcos administration. His work continues to address
important socio-political issues and more autobiographical concerns. On the surface his allegories appear
colourful and festive, but in truth they continue to strike at the heart of social ills.
Times change, and with them do us all. For these artists, change gives rise to clear and present realities.
