Chati Coronel (b. 1970, Manila, Philippines; lives and works in Toronto, Canada) has been consistently evolving her painting practice for twenty-eight years and in that time, she has developed a singular artistic voice. Her distinct painting methodology, which she refers to as ‘Figurative Spatialism’ is a process by which negative space is painted over completed layers of text and abstract gestures until a silhouette is enclosed. This leaves her paintings’ subjects, often human figures empty to expose the abstract layers below. By effectively omitting the usual visual cues that point to race, age or personality, Coronel chooses instead to give her human forms an inner world, a human universality. Coronel is represented by Silverlens Galleries and has exhibited her work in Manila, Los Angeles, Florence, Singapore, and most recently, Art Basel Hong Kong.