This exhibit is Romulo Olazo's homage to an art theme he has long worked with in his multifaceted career and which also attests to his varied experimentation and artistic expression in this format.
Olazo was recently working on a number of black and white paintings in his studio with an awakened and renewed interest. With the prodding of Paseo Gallery, Olazo completed a series of diaphanous paintings in the said theme which encouraged and prompted Paseo Gallery to organize an entire exhibition around the completed set. The exhibition concept also included tracing back and bringing together some of his black and white works done over the years.
Olazo's romance with the black and white theme began with a series of 69 collograph prints done from 1971 to 1974. In 1978, as a part of the exhibition "Philippine Abstract Art" at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, he unveiled for the first time in his career two huge canvases (7x8 feet) that would subsequently define his body of black and white canvas paintings.
In 1979, Olazo also accomplished a one-man exhibition at 17 black and white paintings at the Luz Gallery and in 1982, thirteen large scale black and white paintings at the Main Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In 1987, he also exhibited in a one-man show at the Ayala Museum, 20 black and white serigraphs.
In 1994, Olazo's 25th year in the Philippine art scene, the artist mounted a simultaneous exhibit under the black and white umbrella the: Diaphanous and Permutation paintings on canvas at the SM Megamall Art Center, organized by Finale Art Gallery; Permutation on paper at Galleria Duemila and "Papestry" at Crucible Gallery. It was a major undertaking for Olazo as he tackled both the challenge of creating a volume of work entailing variations and different medium and still stay within the theme format.
Olazo's new diaphanous paintings in this exhibit, done in medium and large scale, use black and white that intermingle with his recent forms that seem to oscillate and gyrate. In other pieces, the artist uses structured and linear forms that are reminiscent of the beauty and elegance of his earlier black and white diaphanous paintings.
Also featured in the Black and White Redux exhibit is a sampling of works from the proverbial artist's vault: ink drawings, black and white serigraphs, and "papestry", among others. Also of interest is a series of large scale paintings that are quite noticeable because of their current state.
The pen and India ink drawings are favored because of their spontaneity and may read as the artist's studies for his paintings; but, the artist consider these as the finished pieces. Executed by the artist in 1991, the drawings featured opaque and irregular lines that are in contrast to Olazo's technical astuteness in this paintings, but they still reflect his sense of form.
The brush and Chinese ink drawings are done in more pronounced blackness and in more spontaneous washes, and also run contra to the paintings Olazo is identified with. Done intensively by the artist during 1978 to 1979, these drawings seem to merge Olazo's abstract works with his watercolor paintings that he has worked on through of his career, and pays tribute to one of his acknowledged mentors, Vicente Manansala.
The "Papestry" series involved working with handmade pulp paper and passing it through a printmaking press. There is no edition however, and being a monotype, this is considered a hybrid of painting and printmaking. Pat Olazo, the artist's wife and who was also involved in the research of the technique and its production, described the process as meticulous and laborious but rewarding. The "Papestry"series was a major segment of he Black and White exhibition of 1994.
Upon initial look, the serigraphs in black and white reveal a different side to Olazo's known abstract styles. Done in 1987, the suite of ten prints departs from Olazo's clear and defined forms and instead feature spontaneous splashes of paint and unpremeditated gestures that are bold and almost violent. Olazo's interplay with these forays are typical again of of Olazo as these are executed with the technical printmaking prowess of the artist. Forms are spontaneously captured in a meticulous process which demands discipline and tact in all aspects of its creation.
Also featured in this Black and White Redux exhibit is Olazo's large scale paintings exhibited in 1982 at the Main Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Its inclusion in the exhibit lends a bit of history to the artist's current foray, and in a sentimental sense, this excitement in seeing these works hanging once again in a gallery. due to the size of the paintings (almost 8x8 feet) and lack of adequate space, these paintings were kept in a warehouse in Pasay City, quite afar from the artist's residence and studio. Perhaps due to overconfidence and negligence, the paintings were left unattended and were coincidentally damaged due to roof leaks and other natural issues. In 2008, the Lopez Memorial Museum featured an exhibition that highlighted its Art Conservation Department which instigated the recovery of these pieces and a technical procedure that "fumigated"or "Cleaned"these paintings ensued.
Olazo has often reflected that he is moved to and fascinated by the theme of black and white primarily because it is there to be realized, but also hastens to add that it is also due to the artistic challenges it poses for any painter - his ability to solve pictorial problems of composition and form that requires a strong drafting hand and sense of form. The doing away of pictorial elements such as gestural and painterly line and emotional color leaves only the basic and abstract elements of pictorial structure and composition. For Olazo, such circumstances prove to be the greater challenge, necessitating an approach to painting that is direct, immediate, straightforward and consummate.