The Abstract Sun Also Rises
by James P. Ong, Inquirer News Service
SUNRISES AND SUNSETS have been recurring themes in Norberto Carating’s works since he began painting 35 years ago. He favors geometric shapes, and the squares and rectangles in his past pieces carry reflections of the sun and moon.
In “Light Veins, Deep Hues,” which opens this Saturday in Hiraya Gallery (530 United Nations Ave., Manila; tel. 5233331), he pays direct homage to the source of light itself.
For the first time, he paints circles using metallic acrylic, his favorite medium. It’s a feat because acrylic dries fast and so he has to work swiftly in creating that perfect circle—or risk starting all over again.
It was in 2001 when Carating embarked on this new painting style, a synthesis of his previous methods.
“There’s still emphasis on the texture—I am obsessed with texture—but it’s more refined and subtle. It’s not screaming,” he explains.
Where before he would incorporate shells, sand, thread, paper and other objects into the canvas, now his only hint at texture is grooves which he creates using saw-like implements. It’s his way of mimicking the texture of fabrics—from fine silk to jute sack. He doesn’t use a paintbrush but has tools custom-made, inspired by trips to the hardware shops.
Shifting techniques
Changing techniques and themes is not alien to Carating, who was into figurative abstraction while studying at UP Fine Arts, and won awards for his depiction of underworld creatures, and public notice with his “Anilao” series, where he portrayed underwater landscape.
He has won almost all the major national competitions and exhibited in the United States and Europe. His last show was last year at Art Forum, Singapore’s oldest gallery and arguably its most esteemed.
This month’s exhibit at Hiraya comes on the heels of its 25th anniversary. It’s a homecoming of sorts, because Carating was part of the group that inaugurated the gallery. But he kept away for 20 years when it concentrated on Social Realism.
“How can you make ‘protest art’ with abstract? By using red? Black? I don’t even try to be political with works,” he says.
Some of the 12 works in the present collection were created as early as a year ago, originally for a gallery museum in Makati. Most are large pieces, like “Refuge,” a triptych measuring 7 ft x 15 ft. The first panel belongs to an earlier show also at Hiraya and was originally titled “Paradise.”
There are several works sized 4 ft x 4 ft. All have layers and layers of metallic acrylic—bronze, copper, silver and gold—which make them literally dazzle when hit by light. It’s a rare, enchanting experience which can be encountered only with the works of this master.
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