Bullet Dematera
12 June to 1 August 2021
BenCab Museum | Gallery Indigo
Km. 6 Asin Road, Tadiangan 2603 Baguio City, Philippines
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The latest one-man show of artist Bullet Dematera opens at the Gallery Indigo of the BenCab Museum in Tuba, Benguet on 12 June 2021. Composed of 12 paintings in oil on canvas, it is the painter’s tribute to beauty.
Bullet is largely self-taught, drawing the things around him as a child, joining art competitions to improve his craft. Growing up in poverty, and suffering from a physical disability, it was not an ideal environment for an artist to blossom.
Bullet learned by doing. Working for years as a studio assistant, he listened and observed, improving his artist’s vision and graphic skills. “I was lucky to be part of a studio where I saw artworks come alive from sketches to finished masterpieces. I am grateful for everything that I learned in observing the processes and many other details involved in creating art. I continue to learn every day.”
The artist’s works are often described as hyper-realistic because of their photographic quality. He has a keen eye for detail, juxtaposing flowers, butterflies, birds, and leaves with humans and animals, as well as everyday, common objects. He fills the canvass with a happy mix of colors – a celebration of nature’s bounty and largesse.
“Growing up with nothing, all I can share is what I see: the shapes and colors of nature, life, and my imagination. I am fascinated by the great variety of plants, flowers and animals. Because of my limited verbal skills, instead of my tongue, I let my eyes and hands express the great happiness that I feel in observing our world.”
Beauty comes in many forms, shapes and colors, and Bullet’s ode to pulchritude exuberantly reflects its multifaceted variations.
– Rene E. Guatlo
