Call it the revenge of the three-dimensional on the formalized and traditional format of the rectangle and the square. Whether the attempt is to bridge the gap between painting and sculpture or merely to seek relief from the tedium of working within a regularized shape, artists have explored the dimensions and potential of the shaped or the irregular canvas. Today artists can move into real space, releasing them from the constraints of pictorial illusionism, thus setting off sensations of movement. The use of the shaped canvas flourished in New York in the Sixties, though as early as the Renaissance times, artists have already favored the use of the circular canvas called tondo. At their disposal was the versatility and dynamism of geometry, allowing artists the freedom to determine where the edge of their painting lies. Looking like wall sculptures, these works have been freed from the imposed tyranny of the two-dimensional space, even able to respond to the needs of architectural space. With the “Shaped II” exhibition at Art Anton, Filipino artists have delivered pictorial space from the restricting tradition of the normative rectangular space. Participating artists are: Hermes Alegre, Salvador Ching, Fil Delacruz, Anna de Leon, Gig de Pio, Mario de Rivera, Edgar Doctor, Neil Doloricon, Raul Isidro, Raul Lebajo, Omi Reyes, Fernando Sena, Nestor Vinluan, and Janice Liuson-Young. The show is curated by Fil Delacruz.
“SHAPED II” at Art Anton
