Reinvigorated and eager to share never-before-seen pieces from four different series comprising his body of work from 2023-2025, Edwin Wilwayco pushes the limits of mastery and visual resonance with each canvas as he continues to create a world of motion, rhythm and lived experience.
From his last exhibit at Galerie Joaquin Podium in December 2023, “Octo Gravitas 2,” Wilwayco’s unmistakable signature is still very apparent in this new collection through a symphony of bold, layered colors, and masterful strokes. Yet, each piece showcases a renewed vitality, even sharper contrast and an intuitive command of both harmony and structure.
His Rhapsody in Abstraction series presents a euphoric interplay of cool hues, softened and punctuated by slashes of white and sparks of lighter colors. These works evoke the organic and the cosmic in equal measure, suggesting the bloom of nature, the pull of the tide, or the stirrings of memory.
Bellavia, on the other hand, features explosive compositions rendered in combinations of red, white, gray and black. In contrast to his other abstractions, Bellavia surges with controlled strength and dynamism. Each canvas is inscribed with movement and emotional tension – a collision of sharp, deliberate lines intercut with gestural sweeps and energetic layering.
The third series, Soundscapes in Shape, is music – rhythm and movement – in physical form. Transcending the traditional rectangular canvas, Wilwayco allows color and texture to spill beyond boundaries. Like the ebb and flow of sound waves, his shaped paintings seemingly undulate with movement wherein music is not just referenced but embodied.
Lastly, Wilwayco revisits his Jeepney series (1989 and 2018) via Jeepney Unicus. Here, he not only reminisces scenes of jeepneys in motion and street scenes through flashbacks of memory but also experiments with velocity abstracted into colors and lines.
“Edwin Wilwayco Now,” captures a master challenging the very language he helped define in Philippine abstraction. His works speak of a relentless commitment to painting as experience, of an artist unafraid to continue exploring and reimagining. In these four series, Wilwayco looks back on not only where he has been, but more importantly, where he is now.
Born in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, he has worked his way into local and international success, elevating the respect from many artists and art-savants then and now.
Wilwayco experienced his maiden brushstrokes at the Continental School of Design Studies in Los Angeles, USA. He then went on to sharpen his skills at the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts, majoring in advertising arts with a minor in painting. There, he studied under National Artist Jose Joya and Constancio Bernardo, whom he cites as the mentors who influenced him.
As a student at UP, Joya handpicked him along with Rock Drilon, Benjie Cabangis and Fred Liongoren, to assist in the making of the mural “Pagdiriwang” at the lobby of the Philippine International Convention Center. Being under their prime tutelage has immersed him in the beauty of abstractions and colors.
Wilwayco then became a scholar of the British Council in England in 1982, training under the curriculum of West Surrey College of Art and Design. That same year, the Italian government granted him another scholarship for painting.
Even in his career-building years, the way opportunities opened for Wilwayco was a reflection of his skill as an artist. From his first merit award in the Shell on-the-spot painting contest in 1970, to being one the Thirteen Artists Awardees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to books featuring his works, Wilwayco has produced a career of continuous artistic vigor. He has held over 42 solo exhibitions (since 1973) and participated in group exhibitions in the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, France, Belgium, and Germany.
“Edwin Wilwayco NOW” runs at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell from July 6-18, 2025 with an artist reception at 5 p.m. on July 17. Galerie Joaquin Rockwell is located at the R3 level of Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati.
