• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Renowned Negrense artist Charlie Co is holding two simultaneous solo art exhibitions titled “Tugyan sa Tawo: Apat ka Dekada nga Obra ni Charlie” at The Negros Museum, and the Orange Project in Bacolod City, which opened on May 20 with national artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera among the guests of honor.
The show offers an overview of the different phases and facets of Charlie’s life through works from the artist’s personal collection and select borrowed works, consisting mostly of drawings and a selection of paintings and sculptures.
“At a young age, Charlie has been aware of his acute sensitivity to the world around him. Art helped him cope and make sense of his environment. Through the years, he has developed his own iconography that may very well exist in dreams but are very much grounded in reality. These include the crows, arcades, clowns, mannequins, and mechanical horses, to name a few. His works have been described as “childlike fantasies” when they are playful and whimsical. But his compositions are also apocalyptic visions, reminding us of social, political and environmental threats, ” the artist’s statement said.
Curated by Boots Herrera, “Tugyan sa Tawo: Apat ka Dekada nga Obra ni Charlie” runs until July 16 in the Orange Project, and until August 31 in The Negros Museum.
The tandem exhibits also mark two decades of the art district that Charlie helped establish and continues to nurture that is known as the Orange Project.
‘Tugyan’ is his artistic legacy entrusted to the next generation of artists.*
