At “Spontarealismus,” the first one-woman show of Celeste Lecaroz held last summer, Fernando Sena, the Father of Philippine Art Workshops, hailed Lecaroz as a rising star in the Philippine art scene. Sena said to her, “Napakagaling mong pintor… Mark my words: dadating ang panahon na tatanghalin kang isa sa mga magiging higante ng sining.”
The painter’s words are turning out to be prophetic as Lecaroz opens 2019 with participation in two major exhibits: “Pastelero” which runs from January 12 to 31 at Art Anton in Mall of Asia, and “New Wineskins” which runs from January 18 to February 6 at Galerie Roberto in Molito Lifestyle Extension Building, Alabang, Muntinlupa.
“Pastelero” features several pastel art works by various artists. Two of Lecaroz’s figurative realism works will be on exhibit; one of which shows the influence from the painting style of veteran pastel pencil portraitist Cuong Nguyen of Vietnam, and the other is a product from a workshop that Lecaroz had with recent Manila visitor, Spanish master painter Vicente Romero Redondo.
Meanwhile, the “New Wineskins” group show curated by Maan Nueva underscores the theme of innovation and fresh perspectives. For this, Lecaroz has created “Kalinga Girl,” a portrait of a young Kalinga maiden and a portrait of Juan Luna, both rendered in the colorful strokes of spontaneous realism.
These new shows come at the heels of the year-ender art and fashion exhibit held at Okada Manila’s Crystal Corridor where Lecaroz had several spontaneous realism paintings on display.
Since 2016 when Lecaroz began her art career, she has consistently produced works that have made their way to local and international shows.
In 2017, she created paintings of the Jones Memorial Bridge that she personally bequeathed to the Richmond County Museum in Washington, DC, as a gift of the Philippine government to commemorate the 100th year of the Jones Act.
Lecaroz marked 2018 with her first one-woman show and the copyright release of her spontaneous realism portraits of former Philippine presidents Cory Aquino and Manuel L. Quezon.
This mother of four continues to create art as a personal advocacy. She declared, “I believe that as artists, we have an important role to play in raising consciousness and contributing to public discourse.”
For more about Lecaroz’s art, get a copy of Lecaroz Spontarealismus, which features full color reproductions of her work alongside essays by Sasha Martinez and Leon de Pola, available through sananselmopress.net; and follow Lecarozart on Instagram.
