KENNETH MONTEGRANDE’S work focuses on the grand side of nature, when the landscape is in a state of flux or transformation. His paintings convey nature at very unique and unusual moments, thus capturing the spirit of a place. These pivotal and temporal situations secure a sense of the grand mythic qualities that mother-nature rarely reveals.
Highly influenced by Joseph Mallord William Turner, known as “the painter of light,” Montegrande also considered light, place, and environment as his muses. Finding and capturing the magical charm of a place and making it seem real in paint is of paramount importance to the artist. In essence, he searches for the consequential when the landscape resonates with the human spirit and tries to express these moments poetically.
The imagery in his paintings emphasizes the power of nature in a way that had not previously been depicted – making the human figure and all that civilization had built seem minuscule and fragile in comparison.JMW Turner incorporated novel motifs from the modern industrial era into his paintings – steamships and railway trains figuring prominently — as his paintings were reminiscent of the Days of the Empire, but Montegrande left these man-made motifs and focused on the sublime, the big picture; nature in its entirety and glory.
Kenneth Montegrande(b. 1979) is a self-taught Filipino abstract painter, a former PR strategist, and event organizer. He is also a former official spokesman of the Department of Tourism for National Parks Development Committee.
His foray into the arts started in 2012 while working as the events and media strategist of the Intramuros Administration, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism, concurrent with his role as the spokesperson for the National Parks Development Committee, also under DOT.
His works are also influenced by Jackson Pollock, well-known for his unique style of drip painting; and Willem de Kooning, who is known to have developed a radically abstract style of painting that fused Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism.
Aside from art exhibits, the De La Salle University Publishing House will be publishing a book, featuring Montegrande, under their first volume of Contemporary Filipino Artists book. The author of this publicationis the executive publisher of DLSU Publishing House, Prof. David Jonathan Bayot, Phd.
“Grandeur Landscapes”, the 10th solo exhibition by Kenneth Montegrande, will be on view at Galerie Joaquin U.P. Town Center from February 1 — 10, 2020 with the Artist Reception scheduled for Tuesday, February 4 at 6PM. The gallery is located on the 2nd Floor of Phase 2, UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave, Diliman, Quezon City.
