Rafaelle Louise’s works for “The Awakening” are inspired by meditation and Zen philosophy.
Each work emerges from a singular contemplative experience. Like life itself, this series reflects the origins of structure and circumstance. In line with the concept, the artist emphasizes “suchness” in her art, where purpose lies in accepting matters for the way they are, without words but through visual elements.
Along with Zen, Rafaelle Louise’s recent works are also reminiscent of Baroque–embracing dynamism, theatricality, and elaborate ornamentation. They illustrate how the material world interacts with the divine and the spiritual; becoming an interesting fusion of western and traditional Japanese aesthetics. They feature subjects best read as iconic stand-ins for humanity, universal rather than specific. For the artist, they serve as meditations on man’s finite relationship with the infinite.
With her use of metallic pigments, Rafaelle Louis aims to capture radiance and illumination from within. By producing art from a place of self-reflection and reverence, she can closely examine the unnameable– the honest, raw, unabashed, and precarious aspects of life.
Entirely secular in nature and more personal in scale, “The Awakening” digs deeper than the mere appearance of things, the first level of realism. Rafaelle Louise intends for her art to ask questions of personal and metaphysical concerns, with its meditative quality as a means to explore the nature of existence. The exhibition aims to uncover the innate clarity and workability of the mind, and encourage awakening and rediscovery among its audience.
Rafaelle Louise (b.1990) studied Visual Communication at the College of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She describes her oeuvre as “modern interplay between action painting and minimalism, where the end product stands somewhere between painting and sculpture”.
“The Awakening” will be on view at Galerie Joaquin BGC until June12. The gallery is located at the Upper Ground Floor, One Bonifacio High Street Mall, 5th Ave. Corner 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
