METANOIA: The Transformation of Carlos Trinidad

by Cid Reyes

“Gift words,” as the word implies, are freely given, gifted, to certain individuals by the public or by an institution. Some of these words are hero, saint, and artist. Thus, a man who may have done a courageous deed may not call himself a hero – rather, it is the State that will declare him so. A man who has lived a virtuous life may not call himself a saint. It is the Church that will proclaim his sanctity. A painter, sculptor, pianist, or filmmaker can ascend, by virtue of their talent, to the level of an artist.

What heroes, saints, and artists have all undergone is a process of transformation, a transition from one stage to another, achieved through dedication, commitment, persistence, tenacity, even obsession, or in some blessed unexpected instances, by revelation, or a moment of epiphany.

Spiritual Conversion

Currently on view at the Altro Mondo Creative Space is Carlos Trinidad’s solo exhibition titled “Metanoia.” A Greek word that means a spiritual conversion, the experience involves a changing of the mind and heart. A reversal, a turnaround, a shift in direction is what has occurred in man’s inner nature. This is precisely what triggered Trinidad’s recent works, which are a distinct deflection from his previous works.

With ten solo shows to his credit, Trinidad has been faithful to the calling of conservative, representational art: portraits, still lifes, landscapes, fiestas and festivals, Mother and Child works: indeed, all the serviceable themes on which most Filipino artists cut their teeth. Inevitably, Trinidad began to sense a growing realization that all these familiar themes have, alas, blighted his artistic energy and inspiration.

Providentially, this state of artistic discomfort and anxiety came at a time when Trinidad – who incidentally is the founder of a commercially successful graphics and design agency – was ready to go into semi-retirement, having trained his eldest son to manage the business. The time was propitious. Relieved of the decades-long stormand-stress inherent in corporate life, Trinidad could now transition into a psychic space that would allow him to give a voice, in visual terms, to sensations, emotions, and feelings not anchored on reality.

Finding His Bearing

It was in abstraction that Carlos Trinidad eventually found his bearing, which released him from what could only be called an artist’s block, and which freed him from his creative malaise. Let it be said at the outset, however, that abstraction while liberating from reality, can itself be littered with stylistic landmines. In between the layers of abstract expressionism, biomorphic, lyrical abstraction, and geometric minimalism are all the painterly nuances of execution and variants of chromatic tonalities, through the mists of which the artist must discover himself. To navigate this alien territory, Trinidad kept a balancing act between impulse and temperament, passion and detachment.

With a loaded brush in his hand that must not be allowed any selfindulgent gestures, Trinidad reined himself in, so strong was the instinct to court accidents and splatters of disintegrated form and splattered pigments. After all, loose and wild paint handling has always been the bane of many starting abstractionists. Embedded in their subconscious is the grandiloquent statement of the American critic Harold Rosenberg: “What was to go on the canvas was not a picture – but an event.” The influential critic had compared the canvas to “an arena in which to act.” Thus, giving birth to the label “Action Painting.”

Vibrations of Light

Though Trinidad clearly eschewed the dynamics of action painting, what actions he evoked are internal and spiritual, rather than physical. His works seem to be the result of concentration, rather than action per se, as evoked by the titles ascribed to them. Thus: “Soaring Spirit,” “Breaking Ground,” “Basking in Glory,” Moving in One Direction,” “Daring to Change,” “Affirming Friendship,” and “Changing Moment.” What is felt by the viewer is the buoyancy of his brushstrokes, feathery and lyrical, weightless and breathing, with their gentle vibration of light, luminous not only on the surface but in their ethereal aura. Construction-wise, the works are not complex at all, propelled in the trajectory of verticals, horizontals, and diagonals.

Artistic Patrimony

If one were to search for Trinidad’s artistic patrimony, one would not look in the direction of National Artist Jose Joya, pioneer exponent of Philippine Abstract Expressionism, but rather at a less heralded artist, the under-appreciated abstractionist, Florencio Concepcion. Unbeknownst to the public, it was Conception, then Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of the East, who played a critical influence on the sensibility of two of his former students named Gus Albor and Lao Lianben, now both acknowledged as masters of their craft. On the other hand, Carlos Trinidad is a Fine Arts graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, but such is the mysterious crosscurrent of art. Suffice it to say that an artist must surrender himself to forces that will allow him to submit to his true calling, regardless of origin.

Sliver of Light

To be sure, Carlos Trinidad has for now merely cracked open the door of abstraction. But that sliver of light is radiance enough for him to continue pursuing his journey towards this non-objective idiom which has indeed been likened to a foreign country with a strange language that can only be mastered by years of domicile. To master this language is Carlos Trinidad’s supreme gift to himself.

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Cid Reyes has written the books of five National Artists; namely, Arturo Luz, BenCab, J. Elizalde Navarro, Napoleon Abueva, and Fernando Amorsolo. He was the 2015 recipient of the “Most Outstanding Kapampangan in the Arts” Award. His recent book, “MVP: The Man and His Art” won a Gold Trophy in the 2021 Stevie International Business Awards.

Related Event

Metanoia