Lynyrd Paras’ portraits in his 4th one-man show, Some Things are not Meant to be Beautiful, exude grimy street vibes with graffiti and color scratches drawn on predominantly grey faces. Upon closer inspection, these scribbles on the skin, which also double as the pieces’ titles, reveal snippets from a narrative of intense intimacy that has always been identified with this artist.

Paras encourages trespassing into his personal space, but not without a backlash. These portraits are his visual diaries, and the faces staring out the canvasses with prominent eyes accuse intruding onlookers. This is what Alice Guillermo deemed as “the tone of late adolescence” in his works. The artist gives us a peek of his struggle to express unadulterated emotions such as love and hate, while trying to intellectualize the more complicated notions of affection and detachment. Hence a pervading sense of wistfulness in the gazes, as if desperately looking for something to hold on to in the flux of their coming, finally, of age.

Some Things are not Meant to be Beautiful is presented by the Ayala Museum and Art Verite. Show opens on June 5, 6pm. runs until June 20, 2010 at the ArtistSpace, 2nd Floor, Glass Wing, Ayala Museum, Greenbelt Park, Makati Avenue Cor. Dela Rosa St., Makati City, Philippines. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9 am to 6 pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am to 7 pm. Entrance is free.

The show is curated by Ruel Caasi.