Carlo Magno Celebrates Three Decades of Life and Art
As Carlo Magno opens his solo show entitled “Relive” at the Art Center of SM Megamall on July 27, he will be celebrating three decades as one of the country’s most versatile artists and a new phase in a life that he says is a “gift from the Almighty.”
Carlo Magno is presenting 31 new paintings that are a synthesis of the elements and themes he has explored through 30 years of art making. He is also showing three sculpture pieces to serve notice of the direction in which he is taking his art.
The renewed vigor to explore the endless possibilities of his medium, to give glory to the source of his artistic gift is tempered by the near fatal heart attack that Carlo Magno suffered last year. “I had just marked my 50th year. It felt great to be on the threshold of a world that offered endless possibilities, I wanted to explore, to experiment and see where I could take my art,” he says.
This is reflected in some of the new works in the show such as “Bluesette”, “Soulful Rendezvous”, “Psalms”, and “Quiet Times”, which are done in more subdued hues and are almost contemplative in appeal. But Carlo Magno makes an exultant paean to his new life as well in the vibrant hues of “Blaze of Glory”, the title piece “Relive”, “Resonance”, “Resurgence”, and “Rhapsody”.
The three sculpture pieces in stainless steel show another facet of his artistry. For while he is firmly established as one of the country’s best abstractionists, very few know that he is also a sculptor. “But this is not to say that I am leaving my painting even as I focus on my sculpture. My sculptures must be viewed in the context of my works on canvas. They are extensions of each other. I incorporate some elements of sculpture in my paintings to give them a more tactile feel,” he says.
His paintings, on the other hand, are a distillation of the influences that have informed his art through the last 30 years. Carlo Magno’s mastery of light that was very distinctive in his figurative phase remains very palpable in his abstractions.
In one canvas after another, Carlo Magno honors the source of his creative gifts in a palette that ranges from the subdued and contemplative to exuberant hues. As art critic Cid Reyes says, “Carlo Magno’s two-decade journey into the terrain of abstraction has finally led to this celebratory show, which, counting the eighties, spans a total of three decades. To what dimensions will Carlo Magno extend his constantly evolving art, only the future can tell. Paradigmatically, the show “Relive” is a forecast of things to come, even as it reflects, as an act of thanksgiving, the artist’s new lease on life.
“Relive” may be viewed until August 7 at the Art Center, 4th level SM Megamall Building A. For more details, please call Galerie Francesca - Festival Mall 659.2667/ Galerie Francesca – Megamall 570.9495 or visit www.galeriefrancesca.com or http://galeriefrancesca.multiply.com
