Tuesday, April 01, 2008 Puzzling patches By Ritchie Landis Doner Quijano
A FRESH fine art grad uses her memory and journal to base the composition in her mixed media paintings. The method makes her first-ever solo, “Patches,” a visual autobiography utilizing forms that are familiar, personal and taken from her experiences growing up.
Phylgea Donayre of the University of the Philippines joins this month’s new crop of graduates. Her artworks, though at first sight may appear to be abstract, are actually arrangements of figures shaped and formed with ambiguous patterns and patches of color.
She also use techniques, like transparency, layering and collage. The primary media she employs is tulle cloth for canvas and thread. She weaves them to form imagery created from her thoughts.
The finished paintings ultimately play with our eyes as they can be a puzzle of seemingly well manipulated, optical illusions.
We will need to concentrate and focus on it during close inspection because identifiable imagery slowly starts to emerge as our perception begins to adjust.
There’s more here than meets the eye. The images are entertaining to view. The artist freely opens us to her visual diary.
Overall, Donayre’s work demonstrates a clear grasp and understanding of materials and medium as manifested in the innovativeness of her style.
Now that she’s done with school, it’s time to start the next stage in her being an artist in the real world. A new chapter in her diary begins.
