Recent Works

Jack Sotto

7-30 September 2006
Mag:net Gallery Paseo


Mag:net Gallery Paseo in Makati is pleased to announce new works by Jack Sotto. The exhibit runs from September 7 to 30.

The exhibit will consist of  medium-sized and large-scale paintings, all of which have been made in the last two years.

Sotto's latest work continues to delve into the endless possibilities of abstraction and painting.

The paintings can be divided into two groups. The first is based on a grid which the artist uses as the armature for an interplay of colors and forms. Each unit of the grid contains a form that suggests calligraphy or runes but which are in fact gestural freehand lines that have no meaning.

Together, these unit create a pattern that is optical, decorative, improvisational. The paintings evoke opposing forces of system and intuition and of reason and passion. Two examples are " The Rhythm of Days" and "Far as the Eye Can See", which pulsate with vivid colors. Sotto utilizes colors which are masked out and built in layers. These are painstakingly removed to reveal the hues underneath. The effect is oftentimes weathered, like distressed, chipped paint.

In the second group the artist employs the same layering and masking technique but the works are unconstrained by the grid. The colors and lines flow lyrically, as in "Green Tea Painting", which is dominated by rich golds and suggests a riff on traditional Japanese screen painting.

The show is Sotto's sixth one-man show. Jack Sotto holds a BFA in Painting from the University of the Philippines . He was a recipient of the CCP Thirteen Artists Award.  He has had a career as an award-winning creative director of a big
multinational advertising agency.

Mag:net Gallery Paseo is located on the ground floor of Paseo Centre, Paseo de Roxas corner Sedeno St. For inquiries call 8177895 (Jhennie) or email magnetplus@gmail.com or visit www.magnet.com.ph