Joint exhibit between Juvenal Sansó and Madrid-based compatriot Cristina Gamón at Fundacion Sansó plays on the themes of experimentation, lunar phases and serendipity.
Spanish-born artist and longtime Philippine resident Juvenal Sansó and compatriot, Madrid-based artist Cristina Gamon, are the featured names in a joint exhibit presented by Fundacion Sansó and Galerie Stephanie.
Dubbed as “Once in a Blue Moon,” the exhibit is curated by Fundacion Sansó director Ricky Francisco and is envisioned as a “visual dialogue” between Sansó and Gamón. It also shows the similarities between the two artists. Going beyond their nationalities, there are parallelisms in their art, specifically their experimentations on painting.
The first half of the show, located on the ground floor gallery, focuses on Sansó’s cliché verre, his series of paintings on photographic slides, which he did during the 1970s-80s. His earlier slides were scratched, burned and collaged with added objects like dried leaves, fibers and film. As he progressed, Sanso painted the slides with colored inks and paints, as he loved their vibrant hues and transparent qualities. Much later in his life, during the 2000s, he used the cliché verre as inspiration for his abstract paintings, which became a part of his popular abstract series.
“Once in a Blue Moon” then transitions to the second half of the show, located at the main and mezzanine galleries, which clearly shows the dialogue between Gamón’s and Sansó’s works. Gamón, who works with acrylic pigment and paint on transparent acrylic sheets, creates dream-like, large-scale abstracts that allude to landscapes, a satellite’s-view of an area, or a made-up environment.
(FROM LEFT) Secretary Javier Alvaro, His Excellency Miguel Utray Delgado, Jack Teotico, Cristina Gamón, Abby Teotico, and Ricky Francisco
The atmospheric color and subtle textures of her paintings can resemble the other side of the moon. Incidentally, Gamón relates that major lunar phases have coincided with her visits to the Philippines: A Super Blue Moon and a lunar eclipse in 2018, a Super Flower Moon in 2020, and most recently, another Super Blue Moon last August 30.
She highlights how special her visits are, particularly, as the notion of “once in a blue moon” pertains to a rare phenomenon. In relation to this, most of Sansó’s works, whether Brittany landscapes or florals, all have a moon as a final accent, hinting at the solitary aspect of his art.
It is interesting to note that Gamón had not seen Sansó’s cliché verre works prior to her creation of her pieces, adding yet another layer of serendipity to this show.
Juvenal Sansó is a Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee and recipient of the Distinguished King’s Cross of Isabela by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Cristina Gamón garnered the BMW National Painting Awards’ Golden Medal in 2011, the Queen Sofia National Painting Prize in 2016, the Comenge Foundation Acquisition Award and the Mainel Foundation Award in 2022.
“Once in a Blue Moon” will run until September 23 at Fundacion Sansó, 32 V. Cruz St., San Juan; museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed on holidays. Follow it on Facebook @FUNDACIONSANS0 and @fundacion_sanso on Instagram
