Causal Loops
Bernardo Pacquing
Silverlens, New York
About
For this exhibition, Pacquing continues to explore the transformative nature of everyday materials, in particular the complex quality of concrete when manipulated on canvas. It is a substance traditionally used in building structures, denoting a monolith resisting environmental stresses.
The new works transgress material expectations because concrete is not cast or erected as individual pieces in tiles or blocks. They are part of the greater geometric form, which may be broken down into elements. The concrete on the canvas is given movement – maybe a greater sensuality – as if it were bubbling, oozing, or dripping in clumps. It would seem that for Pacquing, mastering concrete is not just treating it as a tool but a way to merge ideas and senses with its nature, almost like forming a dialogue with it.
Pacquing persists in his innovative approach to painting by crossing the line and damaging even the sacred space of the canvas itself. The canvas is slashed, torn, pinched, slotted with petrified wood, and mounted with electric wire. Something is irrevocably changed for the better when you are willing to make progress by pushing the boundaries of what you are willing to do and be seen doing.
– Words by Josephine V. Roque
Bernardo Pacquing (b. 1967, Tarlac, Philippines; lives and works in Parañaque City, Philippines and Singapore) is an artist broadening the expressive possibilities of abstraction in painting and sculpture. Incorporating diverse found objects that challenge conventional perceptions of aesthetic representation, form, and value, his work displaces the idea of unequivocal forms, introducing possibilities for the coexistence of affirmations and denials.
He was twice awarded the Grand Prize for the Art Association of the Philippines Open Art Competition (Painting, Non-Representation) in 1992 and 1999. He is also a recipient of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award in 2000, an award given to exemplary artists in the field of contemporary visual art. Pacquing received a Freeman Fellowship Grant for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in the United States.
