“SKYLIGHTS” Herbert Pajarito

The impulse to look at the night sky and wonder at the stars seems common to all of us. Perhaps, because it is as theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss says, that “the amazing thing is that every atom in our bodies came from a star that exploded. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: we are all stardust.” Metrobank Art Competition Grandprize winner Herbert Pajarito is not exempt from this impulse, as he recalls that as a young boy, he would look at the star-strewn sky over his beloved Mindoro, and wonder when he would explore the vastness of space, and see the stars up close.

Skylights, his latest solo exhibition at Galerie Francesca, is a tribute the sense of wonder. Though he did not become the astronaut he once dreamed of becoming, he has explored not just outer space, but all manner of spaces, both within and without, real and imaginary, as an artist. With luminous dots and willowy lines which intersect rhythmically over canvas, he paints entire galaxies, creates his own constellations, and brings us all with him on a journey away from the din and noise of Metropolitan Manila, to reaches of the unimaginably immense galaxy. With his abstractions, he brings us within arm’s reach of the heavenly lights, and gives us front row views into the furnaces of creation. In his creative act, he echoes what the Divine Creator did in painting the cosmos, and bringing us all into being. In this exhibit, we become as the astronomer Carl Sagan said, “a way for the universe to know itself,” as pop singer Des’ree claims, “we’re the stars on earth.”

Skylights, Herbert Pajarito’s 4^th solo exhibition, opens on November 15, Thursday, 6pm at Galerie Francesca, 4^th Level, Megamall Bldg. A, Mandaluyong City. For inquiries, please call 570 5495 or email galeriefrancesca.mega@gmail.com.