Luis Lorenzana’s instanity is almost self-explanatory. Weaned on unapologetic exhibitionism, wherein personal experiences and the artist’s knee-jerk commentary on what had transpired—or what had not—become the viewers’ own; Lorenzana is simply painting the obvious. Countless texts have been written on the subject of the madness surrounding everything quick and instant, but few have ventured into presenting the same societal malady with the exactness of a brush.
In the middle of obsessively contemplating the devaluation of hard-earned success, no thanks to the technological landscape we have been building around us, Lorenzana’s think-pieces were born. Perhaps, due to the ubiquity of the phenomenon of instant gratification as well as our hyper-awareness of it, it would be more appropriate to call them no-think-pieces, Lorenzana’s fresh contribution to a tired and text-heavy dialogue.
With each painting and sculpture, instanity attempts to cut through the fake veil that pretend-conceals what is essential and what is merely fluff. Each piece then becomes the real exposition, with Lorenzana calling us out on our questionable judgment of worth. Formed in his restless subconscious, the theme is cut-and-pasted—uncensored—onto surrealist backdrops.
This lack of a social desirability filter may just be Lorenzana’s primary advantage. A convenience for both the artist and his audience, the candid thoughts that underpin the oil, acrylic and resin are ready to be discovered, not deciphered—always a welcome palate cleanser among the usual fare of conceptual and high brow art. This is not to say, however, that Lorenzana’s mastery of his craft fails to leave room for interpretation on the part of the viewer. Amidst the satiric giveaways: severed breasts mid-flight and an anthropomorphic version of a beer bottle, the grotesque rendition of his subjects causes the artist’s central discomfort itself. Together, these conflicting visual elements make instanity a cohesive whole.
The undeniable connectedness between each large-scale painting and sculpture suggests that Lorenzana has had this particular body of work well thought out. Ironically, the stream-of-consciousness route and the simultaneous absence of censorship imply the opposite, and curiously so. While a criticism at the core, instanity is Lorenzana participating in the foolishness, an acting out in the name of fun. Finding himself in the thick of a plot he quite fervently dislikes, perhaps Lorenzana realized that the only way out is in. Not many of us are skilled enough to poke fun at no one and everyone at the same time.
About the Artist
Having originally graduated with a degree in Public Administration, Luis Lorenzana is a self-taught artist and illustrator who creates his own unique brand of pop surrealist works. He has participated in over 20 group and solo shows in Hong Kong, Germany and the United States. The artist has also been a finalist for the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, the International Book Illustration Competition and the Metrobank Art and Excellence Awards.
