UnPortraits

Chati Coronel
Silverlens, Manila

About

    In her Artist's Statement, Chati Coronel cites a meditation from the Dalai Lama as the inspiration for her paintings: “in order to generate compassion for someone, one can meditate on something ordinary that you have in common with that person. For example, you can focus on that person's fingernail.”

    Hence, UnPortraits. It is the What-ness, not the Who-ness, of others that fosters compassion. These small details bear a heart-wrenching mortality that beg for tenderness. We cannot help but be so very in love with the mortal body—vulnerable and common though it may be—that serves as vessel to the sublime.

    There is an absence of ego in UnPortraits. The large canvases feel physically close and intimate, yet Chati has managed to leave out the sex and circus that so much of today's art now offers to an audience bent on short-lived frissons of excitement. Instead, Chati's figures are reflective, serene, and forever.

    We cannot say that we know these people, yet the very lack of information—with which to judge, to differentiate—tells us that we may know them, after all. Stark backgrounds and extreme crops signal that nothing is superfluous, nothing accidental. These are simply softly coloured love letters to humans, Being.

    The eye is drawn unerringly to those areas that represent warm flesh: planes, dimples, lines where limbs meet, flex...or where skin ombres from cheek to lips...details so recognizable and affirming that, as often happens in art, a magical flip occurs and we find that we are circling ourselves. 

    Words by Nat Quintos Uhing 

In her Artist's Statement, Chati Coronel cites a meditation from the Dalai Lama as the inspiration for her paintings: “in order to generate compassion for someone, one can meditate on something ordinary that you have in common with that person. For example, you can focus on that person's fingernail.”

Hence, UnPortraits. It is the What-ness, not the Who-ness, of others that fosters compassion. These small details bear a heart-wrenching mortality that beg for tenderness. We cannot help but be so very in love with the mortal body—vulnerable and common though it may be—that serves as vessel to the sublime.

There is an absence of ego in UnPortraits. The large canvases feel physically close and intimate, yet Chati has managed to leave out the sex and circus that so much of today's art now offers to an audience bent on short-lived frissons of excitement. Instead, Chati's figures are reflective, serene, and forever.

We cannot say that we know these people, yet the very lack of information—with which to judge, to differentiate—tells us that we may know them, after all. Stark backgrounds and extreme crops signal that nothing is superfluous, nothing accidental. These are simply softly coloured love letters to humans, Being.

The eye is drawn unerringly to those areas that represent warm flesh: planes, dimples, lines where limbs meet, flex...or where skin ombres from cheek to lips...details so recognizable and affirming that, as often happens in art, a magical flip occurs and we find that we are circling ourselves. 

Words by Nat Quintos Uhing 

Works

Chati Coronel
Chest
2013
1782
2
acrylic on canvas
48h x 60w in • 121.92h x 152.40w cm
-1
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0
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Chati Coronel
Elbow
2013
1783
2
acrylic on canvas
60h x 96w in • 152.40h x 243.84w cm (diptych)
-1
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Chati Coronel
Shoulders
2013
1786
2
acrylic on canvas
48h x 60w in • 121.92h x 152.40w cm
-1
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0
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Chati Coronel
Wrist
2013
1787
2
acrylic on canvas
48h x 60w in • 121.92h x 152.40w cm
-1
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Chati Coronel
Arm
2013
1781
2
acrylic on canvas
60h x 48w in • 152.40h x 121.92w cm
-1
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0
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Chati Coronel
Neck
2013
1785
2
acrylic on canvas
60h x 48w in • 152.40h x 121.92w cm
-1
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PHP
0
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Chati Coronel
Knees
2013
1784
2
acrylic on canvas
60h x 48w in • 152.40h x 121.92w cm
-1
0.00
PHP
0
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Installation Views

Artist Page

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