• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Painter and printmaker Charles Lahti opened a solo exhibition titled “For the love of” at The Negros Museum on February 15.
The show is a non-profit art benefit in memory of Isabel and Gregorio Urra. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the exhibition will support The Negros Museum’s continuing cultural programming.
Lahti has been a creative force in New York’s art community for more than three decades. He first studied with Mary Abbott in Minnesota, then relocated to New York in 1977 to pursue a career in the visual arts, acting as a printer at Styria Studios. From there, he went on to work with some of the giants of postwar American art, including Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and LeRoy Neiman. His works have regularly exhibited in the United States and with collectors around the globe.
Tanya Lopez, TNM executive director, recalled that it was on February 8, 2018 when the Negros Museum opened it’s first Charles Lahti Exhibition – where sales of his artworks were donated to the museum.
This was followed by a donation of Charles Lahti prints and printmaking materials to support the museum education program, she said.
The Negros Museum is privileged to have such an artist as partner and collaborator whose work has contributed significantly in the printmaking and visual arts and collaborated with influential postwar artists such as Robert Rauchenberg, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol and Leroy Neiman, Lopez said.
His commitment of collaboration and experimentation – though the exploration of diverse mediums from performance to graffiti and multimedia art, while mentoring generations of printmakers through his studios – both in lower East Side and Bushwick which have become vibrant centers for artistic growth – has benefitted even our museum exhibition staff who were allowed to play around with their ideas on how to present these prominent set of art – encouraging them always try out what works, with his gentle guidance and lavish praises when he likes the output, she said.
“Today, we extend our sincerest thanks to Charles – whose generosity and talent are expressed not only through his works, but through his continued support for our initiatives,” Lyn Gamboa, The Negros Museum, and Negros Cultural Foundation, Inc. president, said.
“May this exhibition inspire us all to continue supporting the arts and building a future where culture, history, and heritage thrive,” she added.*
