Rooted from Philippine history and stemming from personal and spiritual discovery, Joy Calanasan’s works for “Genesis “aim to bring the audiences’ attention to a higher perspective and a process of self-reflection — literally and figuratively. Through the observation of this chain of creation, the viewer’s mind is stripped of superficial concerns which are replaced by a sense of understanding and elevated perception.
The imagery presented in Calanasan’s work are weaved together from both her own artistic process and art historical sources, specifically, HR Ocampo’s abstract elements. The title of the exhibit is also an ode to one of Ocampo’s most triumphant works: the monumental tapestry at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo titled “Genesis”. This association ties the imagery of Calanasan to a pictorial tradition from the past.
This paradox of the curious and the familiar, the old and the new, the historic and the nostalgic, is another important theme of Calanasan’s exhibit. With this collection, the artist has found that the feelings associated with the past can be manufactured and used to modify how a particular subject is viewed, and eventually create a developed awareness to it.
Jesusa Marjorie “Joy” Prudencio-Calanasan (b.1978) has been artistic and creative since she was a child, expressing her abilities in drawing, crafts, bonsai cultivation, even co-hosting in an infotainment TV show as a Mass Communications student at Miriam College, among others.
In recent years, now a wife and mother of two, Calanasan attempted painting works of art in order to fill their home with her own artworks. Through social media, family and friends were able to admire and recognize the extraordinary flair of her artworks. In 2016, she started to accept commissioned pieces where the artist slowly but surely attracted a steady following. Since then, Joy Calanasan has ventured onto art exhibitions both locally and internationally, and currently guests in a monthly podcast of an acrylic-pouring group boasting of 97,000 members worldwide. Most recently, Galerie Joaquin enlisted her as one of its up-and-coming artists.
“Genesis” by Joy Calanasan will be on view from April 8 to 22, 2022. Galerie Joaquin is located at the 3rd level of The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.
