Throughout history, art has been known for its ability to heal both its audience and the artist. More often than not, the healing process an artist experiences begins soon after an artwork’s conceptualization.
Known mostly for his paintings of origami cranes and faceless boys, emerging Filipino contemporary artist Ryan Uy holds his first solo show dubbed “At the Brink of Dawn” at Qube Gallery from August 19 to September 2. Consisting of 18 paintings, the exhibit tells the story of Ryan’s journey of self-discovery and healing as he navigates life one year after his father’s death.
The self-taught visual artist became a full-time artist in 2018 after leaving his career in sales. “I had my life planned out, work for the next five to 10 years and retire in my 40s. But I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t follow my dream of becoming an artist,” he says.
The idea of origami cranes was born from the ancient Japanese belief that your wish will come true if you fold a thousand of this elaborate paper art. “When my father was diagnosed with cancer, I started folding origami cranes hoping that my wish would be granted. Sadly, he passed before I could even complete the thousandth piece. I knew I would never get my wish so I used the cranes instead as a metaphor for my grief.”
The faceless boys that figure heavily in his pieces, he shares, represent himself and many others who are going through the same struggles. “It is my way of saying, I know what you’re going through, and I empathize with you. It is a reminder that there is a lesson underneath all that pain. And that things always get better with time.”
Unlike his previous works, you can tell that a significant amount of restraint was used in creating most of the pieces. They are more minimalist, colors are more muted, almost monochromatic, with an element of poetry hidden beneath the layers of paint.
“Before, my first instinct was to fill every space of my canvasses with origami cranes because I wanted to be reminded of the pain of losing my dad, not knowing that painting them over and over would help me heal.”
In most of the pieces for the exhibit, spaces on the canvas were left to breathe, allowing your eyes to focus on the main subject—the faceless boys. Although in this collection, a female character was introduced. In “The Space We Share I and II,” he paints both characters looking out a balcony, but leaves you wondering if they’re together. Like most artworks, it allows viewers to make their own narrative and interpret it the way they like.
This is also the first time that Ryan gives you a sense of the characters’ surroundings. Here, they wander and explore the city as if saying “I’m ready to move on.” A lone crane follows the boys wherever they go, which for Ryan is a reminder of his dad’s presence.
The tone and message of his works may have changed, but the rigor, discipline, and attention to detail are still there. His pieces have a mechanical precision that from afar, one would think that they were made digitally, a remark, he says, he often gets. But look closer and you’ll see the clean lines, the graceful gradation of tone, and you begin to marvel at the many hours the artist must have spent in creating each piece. And just like his reference to origami, you can tell that there is a strong Japanese influence in his art, which alludes to his love for anime.
His works are compelling yet unpretentious. There is also an obvious confidence in the way he outlines each shape and silhouette, a skill which perhaps he has perfected from his early days of creating abstract geometric art.
At the Brink of Dawn runs from August 19 to September 2 at qubegallery.ph. Physical exhibit is scheduled to open tentatively on August 21 at Qube Gallery, Cross Roads, Gov. M. Cuenco Avenue, Cebu City, pending the lifting of quarantine restrictions. For more information, contact 0918-8074175 or email the gallery at info@qubegallery.ph to request for a private gallery tour.
