WHILE pure in intention, the proverb “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” promotes a grave mislocation.
Visual artist Iya Consorio-Barrioquinto contends that the quality hinges not in the perception of the observer, but lies within the subject itself, shining through the crevices of flaws as a light that is as golden as it is honest.
In her latest solo show, titled Unpretty, Barrioquinto celebrates empowered women who have overcome and embraced their imperfections as defining marks of individuality and, by extent, true beauty. The show is currently on-view at Provenance Art Gallery in BGC.
According to the art space’s coowner Raul Francisco, the exhibition features the version of Barrioquinto who has truly grown in her sense of style. “This show, we believe, is a turning point in her career as an artist, where she has really come into her own,” says Raul, who runs the gallery with his wife Joanna Preysler-Francisco. “[Barrioquinto] has always had a unique sense of style, her own distinct visual language, and now it has evolved to a whole other level of maturity.”
The artist has always displayed a penchant for depicting works that bordered on the macabre, with subjects defined by salient eyes that capture life and/or death with busy details all around. In Unpretty, Barrioquinto fills the canvas with more activity yet with more cohesion and depth. There is almost something new waiting to be discovered at every view: From a geisha’s expression and her textured hair, to the space she occupies in the frame which, upon further inspection, forms a face when viewed at a distance.
The artworks also draw inspiration from kintsugi, the Japanese art of putting together broken pottery pieces using gold lacquer, both in the visual and symbolical sense. In the exhibition note, Joanna Preysler-Francisco writes: “These are the modern-day heroes of [Barrioquinto], the feisty face of femininity.”
“Unpretty is an ode to being a woman, and knowing there is strength even in being gentle, and there is power even in submission. Hear us roar, even when we are silent,” she added. “We are whole even in our brokenness.”
According to Raul, Provenance Art Gallery has an “exciting” lineup of solo exhibitions and group shows for 2021.
The gallery started the year with two solos, featuring Betsy Westendorp’s Recuerdos de Ayer and Barrioquinto’s ongoing exhibition. Next up is Provenance’s annual group show, titled Two Sides to Every Story, featuring 15 of the gallery’s most coveted contemporary artists.
“We will also have notable solo exhibits by Jojo Barja, Arturo Sanchez, Danilo Arriola, Reynold dela Cruz, Brave Singh, Demet dela Cruz, Renato Balute, and Arnel Natividad, among others,” Raul said.
Another part of the gallery’s plan for the year is to maintain its charity works by donating to foundations such as Unicef, Kalipay Negrense and Acay, among others.
Raul said: “We at Provenance like to invest in the artist [not solely on the artwork], and we believe in giving back or paying it forward as often as we can.”