P+RE+VIEW

Flow could be a most accurate word to characterize the works of Orville Tiamson. The water element runs in his veins. Orville was raised around water. He has totally loved the peace and quiet of the sub-urban settings provided by the lakeshore. This same theme recurs in all his works.

Way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Orville lifted jagged forms from the likes of Manansala and irreverently intertwined them with the flowing lines of Francisco. This was how Orville developed a unique style, evolving from a fascination of modern masters into a noteworthy artist of the late twentieth century.

Orville then became a sound artist, a performance artist, an artist of all sorts, branding himself eventually a “visual trans-media artist” in the process. Then he lay low, hibernating for some three years or so, yet quietly producing very personal works which he claims to “soothe his nerves,” as though after a deep seemingly incomprehensible experience.

All things must pass. For Orville Tiamson, it did too and this exhibition is the beginning of that. For P+RE+VIEW, Orville re-presents himself, with a quick review of his beloved past, and with an understated preview of his possible future.

The exhibition begins with a peek into his desired format. Orville presents us with his gesso-founded works in water-based acrylic on canvas. These are creations which have provided him with the solace and tranquility only attained through deep meditation. This could have resulted from the process of building up layers of the water-proofing agent for water-bound vehicles. It could have been the silent application of well-studied pigments. It could have been the dash of metal powder here and there. It could have been anything in the artistic process that provided all this realization that Orville was never alone. He had the entire Universe working for him, moving with him, flowing through him.

These evidently abstract works baptized with such titles as sand dance prepare the viewer quietly to a well-loved era of Orville’s past: his fascination for grace and movement. In the early 1990s, Orville did a lot of drawings using dance as inspiration. His collaboration with the Ballet Philippines endlessly gave him materials to produce his now famous pencil signature. The flow is there, in the forms of the dancers, in the poses of the models.

To cap the exhibition are more works in pencil on paper, a medium which has defined the draughtsman in the multi-faceted person of Orville the artist. Note the undulating lines which recur as ribbons in air. Note the gentle breeze accompanying these aerial laces. Note the music vibrating in them.

Lastly, note the incessant fascination for children. Take notice of their love and curiosity for work and productivity. All these teach us grown-ups one very simple thing: go with the flow and prosper.

Exhibition opens 4pm Sunday 18 January 2009

Runs till Tuesday 10 February 2009