Acclaimed painter Modesto shows earth-y, spiritual sides in new exhibit

Back when being environment-friendly was not yet in vogue, highly regarded artist Fernando C. Modesto would often insert comments like ”to the revolution” and “this is good for the environment” in conversations that often received puzzled reactions from his friends and fellow artists.

Art critic and author Cid Reyes mentioned this side of Modesto in his review of the artist’s work: “Since Fernando Modesto burst (onto) the art scene in 1977, his one abiding quality has been irreverence, but irreverence laced with zaniness and hilarity.”

Since the late 1960s, Modesto has made a mark on the Philippine art scene with his colorful persona, loud laughter and generally irreverent art. He makes a slight departure from that this year, though, with his latest one-man show at the Hiraya Gallery that features not only new paintings, but, more notably, touches on his more serious side.

In his latest exhibit—his first for 2016—Modesto is back and so are his angels—floating and flying in his pastel landscapes (“Angel in flight”) and fantasy takes on his favorite artists (“Tapies” and “Picasso’s Back”), giving us a glimpse of his more spiritual side. His artworks remain colorful with bright splashes of paint and textured molding paste.

The show’s title, Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit, seems to hark back to his previous comments on the environment and shows these in the landscapes of the places he had visited—“Capri” and the ethereal quality of that famous island in the Gulf of Naples; “Tuscany” and the trees dotting that lush Italian region; and “Siquijor” and the bewitching and mystical ambiance of that Visayan island-province.

Modesto has exhibited his works not only at the Hiraya, but also at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Metropolitan Museum. He has also shown his pieces in other local galleries and at international exhibitions: Work No. 4, The Farm, San Francisco; Philippine Printmakers, Royal Festival Hall, London; Contemporary Asian Art, Fukuoka Museum, Japan; Kunsan International Modern Art Exhibition, South Korea; VII Biennale International del Arte de Valparaiso, Chile; Seoul Arts Exhibition 1986, Seoul Asian Games, also in South Korea; Exposicion International de Dibujos en Brusque, Brasil; Rassenga Internationale di Arte Postale, Turin, Italy; Third Asian Art Show, Fukuoka Museum; and in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the artist lived for two decades.

Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit runs at the Hiraya Gallery, 530 UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila, from Feb. 25 to Mar. 15. For more information, call the Hiraya Gallery at (632) 523-3331, or visit http://www.hiraya.com/