HYMNS FROM THE FIRST QUARTER CENTURY

AUGUST 2025

GALERIE JOSE, QUEZON CITY 

PHILIPPINES

T H E V I S I O N A R Y

The Visionary asks: Is knowing the future a path to clarity or a labyrinth with no exit? Do they guide us forward, or are they lost within their own visions, unable to return?

T H E V I S I O N A R Y 

is a hymn for the unseen—a meditation on foresight, destiny, and the weight of knowing. It questions whether vision is a gift or a burden, whether those who see ahead lead the way or become lost in their own revelations. As part of Hymns from the First Quarter Century, this piece reflects on time’s unfolding verses, where the future hums softly in the present, waiting to be heard.

OBSKVRA

New Works by PINGGOT ZULUETA

9-30 March 2024

Art Cube Gallery                                                                                                                        Makati City, Philippines

 

“In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times.” -Bertolt Brecht

 In a world cloaked in darkness, the artist Pinggot Zulueta wields his ink pen as both a lamentation and invocation. In his solo exhibition of new works, Obskvra, the artist presents ten artworks that resonate with a powerful blend of artistic vision, social critique, and exhortation.

Obskvra is the fifth in a series of artworks by Pinggot Zulueta, which focuses on the existentiality of the human condition, his philosophical contemplations, and our infinite potential for survival. In 2016, his exhibition ‘Incepto’ had provided entry into the sublime thoughts of the artist’s soul. A year later, in ‘Ka.thar.sis’, his thoughtful reflection on alienation and solitude within unfamiliar environments was the central theme. In 2020, ‘Melankolia’ delved on understanding the inner self to achieve a sense of connection and harmony with one’s past. In 2022, ‘Infinitum’ accentuated an intense awareness of mortality, while urging viewers to make deliberate choices on what is truly important.

 The artist has excelled in various forms of art and within his works there is a wide range of genres and styles. His art dignifies his experience and universalizes it through a medium that dives deeply under the surface. The artist combines surrealistic elements and visually stunning images where black predominates over all colors. His use of symbols combined with intricate details and textures has produced artworks that are both haunting and beautiful. The choice of a more dispassionate and sober mode of expression, using ink pen and paper, is not unrelated to his inner struggle in the service of which his artworks are made.

 “My artistic process is characterized by the balance between a visual expression of what I see as well as personal influences. As an approach, repetitive layering using ink pen on paper continues until I feel a sense of harmony exists between the physical components and the evocative aspects of my artworks. I generate ideas through the artistic process itself. The unpredictable nature of layering – each step is a reaction to the one before - is a constant building up of an image and tearing it down. The more layers are added, the more thought-provoking the artwork becomes. This artistic process is also a metaphor for how I have been shaped by what I have experienced. “

 The artist’s works tend to be dark and almost monochrome save for the use of dramatic highlights – and present their subjects as fundamentally ungraspable and, inevitably, remain out of reach. His art is not about creating beautiful or enjoyable objects, nor is it about producing a pleasurable experience to delight the viewers. His artworks are designed to do quite the opposite – to cause us discomfort, to make us uneasy, or to make us feel the anguish and burden of existence.

 In Obskvra, the tension between the artist’s imagination and the overriding obligation to present the truth characterizes his works. His artworks convey darkness, mystery, and chaos. These are an extension of the artist’s subconscious which reveals what we already intimately know. He uses surreal symbols to depict the ideas and institutions, or temples of humanism, that our future has been invested in. The icons from which we drew our strengths now appear as esoteric characters, atrophied from within and turned into empty shells. His artworks have become an archival tool for resistance, a survival kit of imagination to retrieve and reclaim what has been lost.

 The exhibition is packed with artistic explorations – the central showcase, a four-panel piece, displays the artist’s skillful use of ink to produce detailed and intricate images that convey a sense of unease and psychological tension.

 Hereditas (Legacy)’ presents the ‘weight of the world’ which is symbolized by a colossal stone eclipsing the innocent visage of Infanta Margarita, echoing Velasquez's timeless portrayal. The black backdrop signifies the present, enveloped in the shadow of our choices. Amidst the decay of Earth, the artwork challenges viewers to confront the legacy we bequeath to future generations – a poignant reflection on the responsibility to unveil a sustainable and hopeful future for our grandchildren and the next generation.

The artist brings to our attention images that invoke a sense of urgency, if not in content, then invariably, in context. Faced with the fragmented and haunting elements of our past and present, how then do we construct a future?

‘Allegory of Rupture’ captures a poignant moment where an angel statue, symbolizing divine presence, rests against a dark foreground. The looming cumulus clouds suggest an impending event, or an imminent divine presence. This juxtaposition of celestial and sombre elements symbolizes the delicate juncture between the ephemeral and eternal.

This artwork delves into the transient nature of humanity and contemplates questions surrounding our finite existence. In it, the dark landscape looms, as so often, a visual image truly speaks louder than words.

 Art invokes something in the human spirit that bolsters the soul in the toughest times and gives some sense of peace and purpose. The artist incorporates this idea into his work. He challenges viewers to consider other possibilities and to make alternatives happen. He invokes viewers to see the world differently and to adapt to wider perspectives beyond their own fears and anxieties.

Bertolt Brecht put it powerfully: Art is not a mirror held up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it. In the darkest of times, art is not an indulgence. It is a mark of our deepest humanity and is essential. It is a way of undermining constrained perspectives, restoring hope, forging a sense of resilience, and asserting our humanity.

 The darkness of the world may not be our fault, but to light up the world is our existential duty. To cure the ills of society is too much to ask for any art or artist. But when a body of work – because it comes from a place of truth and universality – can reflect the horrors of the moment we live in, then it is incumbent upon us to give it serious attention. We cannot afford to overlook an ‘oeuvre’ as timely as this.

 The exhibition runs from 9 to 30 March 2024 at the Art Cube Gallery, OPVI Centre, 2295 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City.

Inside the Outsider

Pete Jimenez I Benjie Lontoc I Jose Tence Ruiz I Pinggot Zulueta

November 2023
Kaida Contemporary
Quezon City

In a partially wired planet of allegedly borderless exchange, in a globe where access has accompanied Capital to all regions of the exploitable planet, in a world where former categories are being broken down to merge into new constituencies, this show purports to explore the inner reflections of the residue of these changes previously asserted : While capital insists that we are ever closer to all inclusive societies, these four artists might ruminate on the inner world of the outsider, on the panoply of implications that the word suggests, outside of the institutionally broadcast, outside of the platitudinal.

These four mature souls have been outside, or seen the outside of matters, and are in a position in this show, the expose their inner regard, their reckoning with their positions.

It might be of deep interest to see the broad table on which they will lay their heretofore private spread. 

INFINITUM 

Pinggot Zulueta 

7 July to 6 August 2022

West Gallery 

 INFINITUM, the artist Pinggot Zulueta’s latest art exhibition, is a continuation of his autobiographical journey into introspection. This exhibit is the fourth in a series - inclusive of ‘Melankolia’ (2020), Katharsis (2017) and Incepto (2016) – whereby the artist presents his inner upheavals as a sentient being. As the series matures, and with the passing of time, the artist has gained deeper insights through an ability to see the outside inwardly.

 The meaning of Infinitum (or Ad Infinitum) is ‘without end or limit’. The adage ‘art imitates life and life imitates art’ is an endless philosophical loop, and one that the artist’s works corroborate with. However, ‘infinitum’ may be a difficult concept to grasp as the world continues to grapple with a pandemic. Amidst the crisis, artistic expressions have evolved, including those of the artist whose works had been subdued by intense questions about human existence and survival. In solidarity with various form of anguish, his artworks are presented in exuberant fields of black and white, as if shades of darkness are spreading into infinity.

 NFINITUM is a series of ink drawings on paper, a medium that allows the artist to devote himself to his craft for countless hours. The artworks present a confluence of emotions, including despondent expressions about the grim realities of this segment in human history. “During the years of isolation, my resolve was to document how the pandemic was affecting me and others, including the not-so-subtle realisation that our mortality is real. I had been more conscious of the creeping dangers to everyone, including to my family and friends. Sino ang may bertud at hindi tinatablan ng covid? Maraming kaibigan ang biglang naglaho … sino ang susunod? Panalangin ang palaging sinasambit upang mapakalma ang sarili. I saw the world in ‘black and white’, which disposition had resonated in my artworks.” The solitude and isolation from the seemingly endless days of the pandemic had been challenging; however, the artist had prevailed in projecting his mind forward to resist fixation on the immediate moment. 

 INFINITUM is a collection of artworks depicting various states of intense and conflicting emotions. The artist used surreal symbolism to draw in viewers into an immersive visceral experience, whilst challenging their perceptions and perspectives. The artworks are expressions of the artist’s innermost thoughts and defy any categorisation. “My work is inherently subconscious. I get lost in the pure enjoyment of creating. Through the artworks, I have expressed and affirmed my sensibilities which otherwise would have eluded capture.”

 The artist believes that art has something to say about the human condition. Keeping our destructive instincts at bay is what we need to do if we wish to preserve the fabric of our society and the very essence of human survival. When we are in a state of mind, in which things are not resolved into conventional categories, we are more likely to see new possibilities. “I have always painted whenever I felt the need to understand the underlying forces around my existence. The recent pandemic has created a more intense awareness of our mortality, as we make deliberate choices as to what is important. In a way, there was this ‘collective introspection’ that happened, where human beings stopped to reflect on the little things that make a huge difference in our lives. It was a collective effort that unified the world into defeating the pandemic.” The artist invites the viewers to engage in a process of individual and collective introspection, and to allow various levels of contemplation to generate it. Together, our collective resilience and survival is limitless. 

 The exhibition runs from 7 July to 6 August at the West Gallery, Quezon City.

 

The Shadow That Looms Until The End of Light

By Jose Tence Ruiz

It would seem salutary to suggest that we are woke, professing cognizance of an entire half millenium of having been molded and shaped by fellow humans coming in from outside our indigenous spaces. The Big Topic of the year 2021, aside of course from a persistently fatal virus that also drifted in from without, is a remembrance of 1521, when this archipelago which we inhabited since pre-history was to be changed by visitors from halfway across the globe. By 1521, these islands were not unused to foreigners : The Arabs, Austro-polynesians, Siamese, Chinese, Indians, they all came and found settlement and social exchange; It’s just that this wave of visitors from the Empires of the Baroque Era had designs to own us as a territory; Us, as a subjected peoples in extension and sustenance of their own progress, of their own growth, fed on resources taken from us.

Is this not the way to launch a meditation on 1521?

A cursory chat with three filipino artist contemporaries yielded a quaint, even giggly observation: All three of us, who are not of Iberian physiognomy, all bear hispanicized surnames ; Mr Jose ‘Pinggot’ Zulueta is rather quite bumi/austropolynesian, Mr Jose ’Bogie’ Tence Ruiz is more Ottoman/Chinese and Mr Federico ‘Pete’ Jimenez will definitely pass for Sino-Japanese. Yet we all move forward into 2022 with this cross pollinated bricolage of a self : That which sociologist historian Vincente Rafael describes as a product of the overlapping trajectories of three empires : Spain, America and Japan. And we belong to the converse of Empire, and, perforce, count ourselves as bred from Colony.

And the mention of Colony corollarily conjures up discourses of subjugation, resistance, violent domination, exploitation, release, self-realization, parity, human justice, compassion and cruelty, mimicry, bondage, heroism and betrayal and an elongated list of subjects that extrude themselves whenever one segment of humanity overpowers the other. So we therefore come into this exhibit with this Galleon-load of baggage and dwell on the expressions that are thrown up in a review of the painful but also rivetting narrative of a self-proclaimed community, imagined as Benedict Anderson would call it, that has labored under the heel of one that has sought to reduce it to being merely a source of nutrition and sustenance, while draining this very sustenance from those who by fate were born or sited on these dominated territories.

Thus does this show, which mainly deals with redolence, traces, effects, using the spanish line In the shadow of Colony, “ala sombra de la Colonia” unfold with works that can as well be mutating variants of redolence : Pinggot Zulueta has marked out some very intense black and white ink drawings that propose a visceral lens, with equally raw tropes that work to start newer conversations about the last 500 years, conversations from below, to lay down a perspective, from those whose lives were ravaged and brutally gobbled up to feed larger regimes. He posits that for a decolonization to be effected, courage, heroism, even martyrdom has to be relocated at the fore. He is aware that relations of subjugation are eroded by releasing suppressed histories, histories long referred to by national historian Renato Constantino as histories from beneath, from the subjugated breaking the silence of rule by force driven conquest. Zulueta presents the bovine carcass in a good number of his drawings, as if to suggest the domestication of the conquered, like humans domesticate cows for the table, and at the same time suggest individuals who have risen above this domestication to assert a decolonization, a realisation dreamt of, harking to the better f-word, freedom.

Tence Ruiz had a father who looked primarily Chinese. His maternal grandfather, Victor Tence, born in eastern France into the poverty of uphill farming, came over as infantry with the American General Dewey’s occupying forces. Tence Ruiz speculates on the dilution, if not the drowning of culture with dominance. He re-creates familiar poses of what were once Filipino heroes in the continuum of self definition but layers on them a pathetic corruption and

re-assignment into the desires of empire: Proto-heroic Andres Bonifacio is relegated to a Superman look-alike in a massagic purgatory, Revolutionary General del Pilar transmutes into a Hollywood leading man on an equestrian monument of exploited agriculture and the sublime intellectual Mabini, looking unnervingly close to a Chinese martial arts idol, is grafted onto the prurient equivalent of his namesake, that which thrust prostitution onto the laps of returning strangers, now re-christened as sex tourists.The narrative of A. Mabini as red light haven for the ‘puti’, whites, is a cautionary tale of twisted hospitality and the resultant degradation of otherwise noble lives into the infamy of subjugation.

His largest work for ‘Colonia’ is a florid kariton-katedral, harking to both the Illusory Garden of Eden and the Islamic firdaus, that ramrods a foreign one sided contract of a heavenly reward onto the oppressed in exchange for all their worldly ownings and dignity, while climbing on a stage crafted from the debris of denuded forests of exploited timber and industrially profitable minerals.

Pete Jimenez leavens the opprobrium of his showmates with wittily reassembled avatars of cultural notions evolved in the engagement with conquest: the ‘Sardinas’, comical metonym of overpopulation, bestowed with an elevating, if Euro-Olive oil imbued but homegrown Spanish snobberry; the robot-like remnants of ruthless Japanese severity, both as rulers and as defeated targets of the Americans; the superficial pacification of a whole people under a transplanted Educational system, even the prospect of a future loss of sea resources to the newly aggressive and determinedly growing Beijing-run Empire of Command Capitalism. He touches on grave topics with droll humor and irony, and spans the near erased past as well as the fearful future, a fraught span of time where the inhabitants of our Archipelago are unyeildingly besieged by those who would covet our naturally endowed treasures, above and into the soil, beneath the seas, and now, burrowing deep, into our demarcated continental shelf. Jimenez’ wit with discards also mirrors the self serving upitty attitudes that the elite of these islands have grown like a keloid to assuage and justify their consistent betrayal of the majority in favor of being surrogates/collaborators for and with the invaders, offering their feasance for uninterrupted economic and social ascendancy. Or to explain why someone once wanted to rechristen us Islas de las Ladrones.

The entire schema of dominance, of the large consuming the small, is generally undesirable in a proportional humanized proposition of ideal existence, but it does exist and looms, grand and imposing. Colonization is not new to homo sapiens, who from the individual to the tribal to the national to the global has always had to deal with one segment eating up another, or feeding from it in an unequal relationship. In our Utopian aspirations, we yearn for a state of being free from capture, but those of us thrown into the crucible of realpolitik have come to recognize that eternity is a concept that none of us will ever live to reach, that immortality is a conceit, and that the Utopian project of being in unfettered liberty is constantly vulnerable to siege from those who entertain the illussion that their power is equal to and a signal of their magnanimity. Tyrants, or colonizers for that matter see themselves as gods bequeathing to the Promethean among the masses, and this cycle of dominance and repression will accompany Humanity for millenia to come, at whichever planet we as a race might touch down on .

This exhibit exists within this contentious universe of emancipation and captivity, and our three quaintly surnamed exhibitors struggle to articulate, to give imagery to these tides of conflict between individuals, states, continents, later even planets in a way germane and thus emotionally resonant and authentic to their memories and modes of comprehension. Colonia will always hover over humans, maybe as an irreversible complement of their ability to grow. Power is said to be beneficial until it outpaces its needs, and the freedoms of people, to ever be realized, will always have to contend with the sysiphean processes of recognition and resistance.

MELANKOLIA Exhibition

MELANKOLIA: New Works in Black and White

"Pain, pleasure and death are no more than a process of existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence." - Frida Kahlo

In his latest solo exhibition, ‘Melankolia’, Pinggot Zulueta continues with his autobiographical theme of understanding the inner self. Following on from his previous works (‘Incepto' presented in 2016, and ‘Katharsis' exhibited in 2017), the artist lingers on his journey of introspection. His latest exhibit consists of a series of drawings which evoke complex emotions, intense sentiments and memories from his sojourn.

Guardian of Dreams, Ink on Paper, 2019

‘Melankolia’ incessantly returns the artist to some of the more intimate segments of his existence. Through a process of mindful reflection,  he has produced works that are imbued with a melancholic temperament ... highlighting negative and positive sentiments in almost equal measure. This uplifting temperament continues to inspire him as a visual artist. “I started with this series of drawings back in 2003, when I was a newly-arrived migrant in New Zealand, and was faced with the much known struggles of integrating, coping and belonging in a new country”. At that time, his situation was compounded with the misfortune of losing his father and not being able to come back home. He turned to paper and ink to express his sadness and solitude. “I expressed my intense emotions on paper canvas as part of my grieving process. I had to look for inspiration in my art in order to move forward. I created drawings based on my emotional experience and imagination. "Ang pakiramdam ko ay para silang mga sugat na ayaw maghilom at kinakalkal pati ang kailaliman ng aking bituka”, he intimated.

By immersing in his past experiences from a distance, the artist has given them a place in his life’s story, therefore achieving a sense of connection and harmony with his past.

Forest Nymph, Ink on Paper, 2019

Melankolia’ is not a debilitating state of resignation, but rather a reflective and uplifting experience. Its contemplative feature, and association with people and places, triggers an aesthetic response. The concept of melancholy has been explored in various art forms, both in the modern and classical, and has brought distinctive pleasure to artists and their viewers.

 In his new exhibit, Pinggot Zulueta presents twenty-one (21) drawings - some of which are vividly real, while others are intriguingly faint and sketchy. “In this series of drawings, I have combined both surreal and symbolic styles - there are no colours, only black and white hues on canvas. I hope the audience will identify with the contemplative perspective of each of the drawings, and dwell in the stillness of each visual aria for some time ... even after the exhibit is long gone."

The exhibit runs from 16 to 31 January 2020, at The Saturday Group Gallery on the 4th level, East Wing, Shangrila Plaza, EDSA, Mandaluyong City.

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MELANCHOLY IN ART IS A MATURE EMOTION’ 

By Sara Grace C. Fojas

January 20, 2020

Start the year with a bang, as the saying goes. And that’s what Manila Bulletin Lifestyle’s resident photographer and art­ist Pinggot Zulueta did. He opened the year with “Melankolia,” a collection of his black-and-white drawings, an expression of his “complex and intense emotions.” His 21-piece exhibit, cur­rently displayed at The Saturday Gallery of EDSA Shangri-la Mall until Jan. 31, represents memories and imaginings of distant places. 

“It’s a contemplative body of works that is meant to be introspective and uplifting. ‘Melankolia’ is not just my story, it is also yours. It is about find­ing a connection with our inner selves and with others. It is about coming to terms with the struggles and dif­ficulties we experience in life,” says Pinggot. “We all have moments when we experience sadness and futility—to acknowledge this and understand that other people might be going through similar struggles is something art can help us with. Melancholia in art is a mature emotion in which reflections calm a turbulent soul.” 

The exhibit is a follow through on the melancholic temperament of the artist’s earlier exhibits, “Incepto” in 2016” and “Katharsis” in 2017. It is a collection of various elements rang­ing from hearts to vultures to moons and inner organs, even including the Mexican paint­er Frida Kahlo and Belgian art­ist Rene Magritte. His Haunted Heart displays how the heart takes over the body, with an eye that sees only what it wants. On the other side of the room is the same heart, The Heart that Rules the Head, but this time the heart is already wrapped in thorns. But in The Wedding (Homage to Frida Kahlo and Magritte), two hearts are connected with these pains and thorns, and that makes them one—one with the struggles and fullness of life.

“Although my art has relative insig­nificance to the bigger issues of today, its theme ‘Melankolia’ may resonate more profoundly,” Pinggot says. “Life is complex, full of constant change no matter how we control it. There are times life tears us down, then we rebuild, and move forward. My heart goes to all those affected by the Taal Volcano eruption, and the many others in our country who continue to suffer from poverty, exclusion, and injustice. I continue to have faith in the Filipino spirit—and that we are capable of perseverance in the face of adversity. It is imperative that we maintain hope even when the harshness of our reality may suggest the oppo­site. Together we can create positive energies based on positive feelings of appreciation, gratitude, and compassion. I hope that this exhibition can be anchor for self-reflection and expression.” 

All of these humble masterpieces are created with pen and ink on paper, with some spilled with a splash of cof­fee. The effect may be a little morbid at first, in every small and intricate detail. Yet as you go through the col­lection and reflect, you’ll find that life indeed is full of change, and in the end all we want is peace. Pinggot, in his years of creating art, has become one of the most recognized artists in the country. He has a gift of being out of this world, with a unique imagination that makes his art extraordinary. He’s not afraid to use different mediums from oil paint to found objects to words, and now back to the basic pen and paper. That makes him unique.

 But more than his art, Pinggot never fails to recognize the work of his fellow artists. He created a book Filipino Artists in their Studios Volumes I and II, a col­lection of the artists’ stories, with their respective artworks and photographs, in cooperation with the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. 

“I am an artist because it is simply what I need to do and what I do best. Emotion equals art, the brush on the canvas expresses my emotions,” Pinggot says. “It is my wish you would dwell in the stillness of each of the drawings and reflect on their meanings long after this exhibit is over. And I hope that you will find that the underlying message in all of the works is our collective ‘oneness.’” 

‘Melankolia’ runs until Jan. 31 at The Saturday Group Gallery, Shangri-La Plaza, EDSA, Mandaluyong City. 

UMBRA + PENUMBRA

Kaida Contemporary presents Pinggot Zulueta's recent works in Umbra+Penumbra this Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 6PM. Zulueta plays on the familiar and the nostalgic as he presents monochromatic abstractions of mixed media, woodworks and assemblages. Found objects from his childhood countryside home make their way into his pieces, creating works that are partly autobiographical while touching on themes of attachment and abandonment, contrasting innocence with maturity, belongingness with alienation. Umbra+Penumbra is on show until May 25. Please come visit!

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UMBRA + PENUMBRA

For his first solo show this year, visual artist Pinggot Zulueta gives light, or rather, casts a shadow to the obscurities of his life through “Umbra+Penumbra.” Umbra is the Latin word for “shadow,” which is also the term used to describe the innermost part of it, a place of total darkness. The Penumbra, on the other hand, is the region in which only a portion of light is stained by an occluding body. But the body in the umbra is also within the penumbra.

“Umbra+Penumbra” is, in a way, Zulueta’s stygian look back to when he dreamed and came of age. In the exhibition, he takes us back to his childhood home in the countryside, where he often spent afternoons in the middle of crop fields and farmhouses, and nights musing in his room, calling for the moon as his solitary companion. 

Evident in the mixed media assemblages included in the collection, is Zulueta’s masterful utilization of found objects he deems familiar. The abstract sculptures are dressed with relics from both his childhood and adulthood such as wooden figures, tattered cartons, miniature toy soldiers, ropes, an umbrella, a typewriter, newspapers, and antiquated books. The inclusion of these objects make the works even closer to him and much more autobiographical.

Zulueta plays on nostalgia, the familiar, and the past to cast a shadow on the crushing adversaries, which he experiences in his day-to-day life. 

Summer Night Bloom, Mixed media Assemblage,18x24in, 2018

Unlike his recent shows in which he unleashed his sentiments in a cascading downpour, “Umbra+Penumbra” highlights the obscurities of his emotions spiritedly. According to him, this is his way of playing as a child again, carelessly tarnishing the sharp white background, reuniting himself with his toys and youthful soul. And like an eclipse, the two shadows, Umbra and Penumbra, silently dance within these monochromatic abstractions. 

With mixed media wood works and assemblages capitalizing on old discarded and found objects, Zulueta flirts on themes of attachment and abandonment, contrasting innocence with maturity, belongingness and alienation—“Umbra+Penumbra” is fueled with contradictions. 

All of these done by playfully creating tension between black, white, and gray

“I just want to play with shapes and forms, a way to escape from serious topics,” he says. 

“Through the abstract form, I channel my focus in trying to unearth and interpret my personal experiences and perspectives, which are buried deep within me.”

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'Pinggot' goes back to childhood

Text by Lester Babiera

Phil Daily Inquirer

Jose 'Pinggot' Vinluan Zulueta has been moving constantly these past few years. The photojournalist-artist has been mainly based in Manila, but he has been across the region-from Australia to New Zealand and Cambodia. But he has always tried to moor his photojournalism and art in the Philippines.

In his latest solo exhibit at Kaida Contemporary titled 'Umbra+Penumbra,' Zulueta tries to merge his photojournalism and artistic practice. Perhaps drawing from black-and white photography he paints polychrome mixed-media works consisting of relics of the past.

'In this exhibition, I am trying to reconnect my childhood by going back to my hometown and create memories by piercing together relics of the past through art,' Zulueta said.

Pinggot reminisces his coming-of-age years living in Tarlac. Back then, everything was not yet complicated, he wistfully says. He recalls an easy life in Paniqui playing with whatever simple things he finds at home or in his neighborhood. It was a bucolic existence, he says. He was at peace with nature.

As a result his latest mixed-media paintings are culled not exactly from found objects but from vestiges of the past. The artist explains he went back to his ancestral home and neighborhood and gathered from there remnants of his childhood and incorporated them in his art.

For example, 'Starry Night' collects his toy guitar, an old hanger, and even discarded wood in his house painted in different shades of gray. Gray presumably dovetails with the 'Umbra and Penumbra' of the title since the two distinct parts of the shadow almost always have only two colors, black and white, or a gradated merging of the these.

The pieces as a result reek of nostalgia. 'Summer Night Bloom,' a work that shows a bouquet of fake roses placed beside a withered palaspas (Palm Sunday frond), reminds one of those tacky decorations in the provinces and of Holy Week during summer break.

Zulueta is known for his abstractions. But he literally goes representational and figurative in his latest series, and since he's tackling something very close to his heart, his works in the new series are personal and nostalgic.