Crowing, Neighing, and Barking
by Cid Reyes
These are the assorted sounds that will greet you when you attend the solo exhibition of Salvador Arellano. No, your ears will not actually hear them (then again, who knows?) but certainly your eyes will feast on the superb artworks depicting game fowl, racing horses, and, for good measure, a solitary dog. Whereas most painters will delight in a landscape, a still life, a floral arrangement, a nude, or a portrait, Arellano will mostly prefer to seek the company of avian, equine, and canine creatures.
Such specialist subjects may not be your typical visual fare, perhaps beloved only of aficionados, but through the transforming brush of Arellano, they will find their way into your hearts and delight your aesthetic sense. That is incontestably the visual power and emotional force of art, given the skill, vision, and punctilious passion, such as what Arellano has invested in rendering his works.
To be sure, for all their contemporary appeal, reminding you of next Sunday’s tupada(cockfighting derby) or the Sta. Ana racetrack and the dividendazo (racing program), it may come as a surprise to know that images of game fowl and horses are found in prehistoric caves of the Paleolithic era, in ancient Egyptian and Grecian murals and pottery, in the Renaissance drawings of Da Vinci, and later, in the engravings and paintings of Durer and Rubens. The French Impressionists Manet, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec were obsessed with equine images, while the American artist John James Audubon painted, then lithographed, the entire species of “Birds in America.”In 17th century England, Sir Edwin Landseer was unrivalled in his depiction of horses, dogs, and stags. Without a doubt, US-based Filipino artist Salvador Arellano is in excellent company. But in the history of contemporary Philippine art, this artist is raraavis (rare bird; extraordinary person!) indeed.
In place of applause, you may crow, neigh, or bark your approval!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salvador “Dodong” Arellano, a Filipino painter best known for his paintings
of thoroughbred racehorses and gamefowl, will hold a solo exhibit on
August 29 at Galeria Lienzo Serendra at Bonifacio Global City.
The son of the late architect/painter Juan M. Arellano, Salvador is also an
accomplished portraitist who has done commissions for, among others, former
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles, Sultan Bolkiah of
Brunei, and actor Sylvester Stallone and other Hollywood personalities.
A permanent resident of the US by virtue of his “exceptional ability in the art
of painting,” Arellano has exhibited at the Christie's and Dyansen Galleries,
the Los Angeles Equestrian Center as its Resident Artist; Empire Polo Club as
its Official Artist; Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club; and at the Del Mar,
Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita Park racetracks.
His works have been exhibited in Japan, Singapore, Australia and Dubai as
well, with prominent collectors from Manila as his patrons since the early
1980s. He was sole judge thrice in the Watercolor Category of the annual art
show sponsored by the city government of Beverly Hills, California.
It will be Arellano's first public exhibit in the Philippines since he left the
country for Los Angeles in 1987.
For more information on the exhibition, please email info@charliesartgallery.com or galeria.lienzo@gmail.com |
