LAWYER Joy Rojas, former general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, launched his first solo show “Strong Material” yesterday (Dec. 2) at the Saturday Group Gallery.
Strong Material was a racehorse that Rojas owned, and most of his work through the years circles around the themes of horses and horseracing in the abstract style.
Commenting on this collection, art maven Cid Reyes said Rojas “pursues a strain of abstraction that places deliberate emphasis on the integrity of his material…[opting] for the exploration of texture through the use of heavy impastos applied in vigorous layers to achieve a tactile quality.”
“The result is an expressive visual statement with meanings that have been coaxed out of the rich and rough terrain of primal matter. Each work is reflective of the artist’s state of mind and emotion, awakened in him by personal memories.”
Rojas has many recollections related to horses and racing, having been a horseowner and horseman since his young adulthood and once chairman of the Philippine Racing Commission, the government body that supervises the sport.
As a racing writer myself, the titles of some of his works—the “Sun God” series, “Bishop Blue,” “Gypsy Grey”—evoke the features and personalities of the champion horses and elements of racing from which Rojas draws inspiration. For instance, the horizontal and vertical stripes in “Sound Barrier” remind me of the rail that runs around a racetrack.
Rojas is, as far as I know, the only artist at present exploring this subject matter, and that combined with his powerful use of technique make his works one of a kind.
“Strong Material” runs until Dec. 8 at the Saturday Group Gallery, Shangri-La Mall, Edsa.
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The University of the Philippines-Diliman Institute of Creative Writing under its director Dr. Roland Tolentino staged the 17th Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Awards and launched the eleventh issue of their contemporary literature journal Likhaan at the annual UP Writers’ Night last Dec. 1.
The Madrigal-Gonzalez award winner was V. J. Campilan for “All My Lonely Islands,” and the finalists were Arnie Quibranza Mejia for “Writing Naked: A Memoir,” Francisco Guevara for “The Reddest Herring,” and Catherine Torres for “Mariposa Gang and Other Stories.” Gemino Abad, Randy David, and Sarge Lacuesta were the judges of these debut books.
This year’s issue of Likhaan was edited by UP ICW fellow Dr. Luna Sicat Cleto, with Romulo Baquiran and Isabelita Orlina Reyes as associate editors.
The contributors were R.M. Urquico and Anna Felicia C. Sanchez (short story); Carlomar Arcangel Daoana, Mariel Alonzo, Joel Toledo, and Ned Parfan (poetry): Kat del Rosario, Anna Felicia C. Sanchez, Thomas David Chaves, and myself (essay); Jimmuel Naval, Chuckberry Pascual, Nicko Manipis de Guzman, Arbeen Regalado Acuña, and Abner Dormiendo (maikling kuwento); Allan Popa and Jason Tabinas (tula); Joselito de los Reyes and Eugene Evasco (sanaysay); and Charlson Ong (dula).
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Included in the latest volume of Likhaan is my creative non-fiction work “In the Name of
the Father,” part of a larger memoir cycle that includes “Snakes in the Cane” that was published a few years ago in Tomas, the University of Santo Tomas’s literary journal.
Here’s an excerpt from “In the Name of the Father”:
… My father recalls that as a child he was sometimes taken along to pambichara or councils at which disputes were settled by my grandfather.
“The Muslims had great speaking skills,” he said. Each party would narrate their side of an incident in flowery, long-winded language, an oratorical style rooted in tradition.
“It was a sunny morning, honored Datu, when I took my banca out to sea. The sunlight glimmered on the waves like jewels. I gave thanks to Allah for the wondrous beauty around me . . . ” and so on for many minutes, until the point of the matter was reached almost an hour or so later.
My grandfather would listen solemnly, asking questions once in a while to clarify an issue here or argument there. When the entire problem was made clear to him, he would render a judgment for one side or the other or encourage a compromise or settlement, depending on the merits of the case.
“’Banar ka, datu, banar ka,’ they would say, bowing to him,” my father said. “’You are wise, datu, you are wise.’ Whatever your lolo (grandfather) said, they abided by. There was no appeal.” …
The essay was painful to write and reveals secrets long-buried, but it was necessary for me to make sense of them and find closure. So-called “dirty laundry” needs to be washed and dried in sunlight to purify it, and that was my aim in writing this.
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Facebook and Twitter: @jennyortuoste