Manila Contemporary presents in the Main Gallery the latest solo exhibition by Jonathan Olazo. Approaching the exhibition in a critical and poignant manner, The Hotel Painter seeks to reclaim Abstraction’s dignity in a society that has relegated it to mere decoration. Playfully taking the hotel environment as a starting point for this type of dismissal, Olazo attempts to look at it from another angle, where the hotel instead becomes a temporary refuge for a reflection on painting.

The artist’s exposure to Abstraction started in his childhood, when his father, renowned Abstract artist Romulo Olazo, would bring him to see videos of Abstract Expressionists at the Jefferson Center along Buendia Avenue in Makati in the late 80’s. As he continued his formal education, Abstraction’s allure would then grow to become Olazo’s signature aesthetic as a professional artist. For the exhibition, he revisits a series made in the mid-90’s called ‘The Idiot Paintings,’ which focused on experimenting with acrylic stains, wax pouring and other varnishes. Once again taking this freer and more spontaneous strategy he concentrates on expression rather than form by methodically filling his surfaces with seductive colors and strong gestural marks. Mistakes are therefore, encouraged and accidents celebrated. The titles for the work, act as an additional exercise in wit, combining his knowledge of music and books with commentaries on various aspects of life.

In various social contexts, Abstract forms, inexplicable as they may be, have continued to captivate the masses, through a painterly inventiveness of pure expression. Grounded and inspired by this tradition, Olazo continues to work towards becoming an instrument for revealing the possibility, potential and even emotional/intellectual utopias of the medium itself.

Image: © Jonathan Olazo, Manila Contemporary