The exhibition MECHANICAL POSSIBILITIES, by Darwin Guevarra, a partnership between Fundacion Sanso and Galerie Joaquin, is framed as a conversation between the younger artist and the multi-awarded master Juvenal Sanso. It focuses on the parallel development of the theme of the whimsical machines which Sanso made drawings of in 1956, and which Guevarra started exploring in earnest in 2016, sixty years after, independently.
Little can be gleaned from published material on the whimsical machines which Sanso made. But what is quite clear is that it is done in the same fun, playful spirit which he made the etchings in 1956, like La Fete a Guillaume, Beaux Art Ball, and Eve. We could also see it in his studies for the set and costume design of The Most Important Man, created for the New York City Opera by his two-time collaborator Gian Carlo Menotti, one of the most prolific opera composers of the 20th century.
On the other hand, Guevarra’s earliest machines were in 2016, for the Baguio Art Festival in Tam-awan Village; when a stroke of inspiration allowed him to feverishly paint a number of whimsical machines. Prior to this, he was toying with tricycles to the brim, such as in his exhibition for Tashkeel Gallery in Dubai, in 2014; and cyborg-like human-machine chimeras in 2015. Guevarra has been active as an artist while he was employed in visual production work there. Through his exhibitions and art-related activities, he was awarded the Sheikha Manal New Signature and Young Artist Grand Prize Award in 2008, and shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Portrait Category. He also commissioned projects for the Dubai Arts and Culture Authority.
What is obvious in both is the influence of the city. In Sanso’s works, the city is manifested as an orientation to the future; full of possibilities. In Guevarra’s, particularly in the earlier works, it is rooted in present realities, mirroring urban life which we are familiar with.
In 2020, Darwin Guevarra created works for the exhibition Homage to Sanso. His work, and those of his companions, helped support the museum during the community quarantine.
Mechanical Possibilities will run until May 31, 2021 at Fundacion Sanso.
For inquiries, please call Camille Abello-Calimon at 0917-5822115. Fundacion Sanso is located at 32 V. Cruz Street, Brgy. Sta. Lucia, San Juan. For appointments to visit the exhibit, you may call 09266764689 or email fundacionsanso@gmail.com
