The sheer number of human beings in this planet assures us that a day can’t go by without setting our eyes on a face we’ve never seen before. There are hundreds of people that we see but never meet, as we walk the streets, ride a jeep, drink in a coffee shop or watch TV. Their faces are a blur, a blank, as we go about the business of living. We practically never see them---but there are a few that stick.
There are a few faces that we never seem to forget. For some inexplicable reason, there is an intangible connection to the stranger whom we’ve never even spoken to, much less get near to. He or she must have reminded us of someone we used to know in kindergarten, for all that’s worth. There is an urge to stop, turn around and look closely to find...what? Who knows?
Rene Cuvos explores this phenomenon in his new collection, “Estranghero”. Each painting is a close study of a stranger’s character and personality. In “Mangangaral” (oil on canvas, 24x18 inches), he delves into the irony of a person whose intentions are intrinsically good, but whose heart is hard and unfeeling. In “Konserbatibong Maligalig” (oil on canvas, 30x24 inches) the hypocrisy lies in a person’s pretensions to conservatism in sex that is altogether different from his or her actual sexual relations. “Makapangyarihan” (oil on canvas, 10x8 inches) illustrates the impunity by which people in power treat their positions.
Cuvos tells us that the strangers we meet are never who we expect them to be, despite their pretensions. In the end, we might even be strangers to ourselves.
“Estranghero” opens on Friday, September 12 at 6pm until October 1 at blanc at 2E Crown Tower 107 H.V. De La Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City. For inquiries, please contact tel. 02.7520032, mobile 0920.9276436, email info@blanc.ph or visit the website at www.blanc.ph
