" Felipinas The Chan Rooster's Threshold "
July 5 - 30, 2008                   

Chán, in the Chinese language, takes its roots from a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism more popularly known as Zen. Felipina is a 16^th century Spanish word adopted by the artist Roberto Robles to describe the landscape surrounding his studio in Batangas and its ancient heritage. And rooster? …well we all know the rooster is a fixture of Filipino life and a character in Chinese astrology, but what do these three mean when pulled together, as in the title of this exhibition, “Felipina: The Chan Rooster’s Threshold”?  

Roberto M.A. Robles has been working in a self-styled Oriental tradition of ‘Chán’ for more than a decade, deeply inspired by his travels to Japan and Korea. His meditations in paint and stone are the most sincere expressions of Haiku – a form of poetry as old as time that places its inspiration within nature. However greater than this Zen sentiment, Robles’ minimal paintings are a deeply personal expression inspired by his ancestral land of Batangas – the place where he decided to become a painter. As he says, “...[within nature] you don’t find yourself as a stranger.” 

The third in a trilogy of ‘green painting’ exhibitions, what sets these new canvases apart is their golden hue - the illuminance of the morning light. They offer a sanctuary from Manila’s cacophony of noise and heat; their thin washes strangely calming.  

Robles admits he has never studied calligraphy. His lines are more spontaneous, less academic than such painting techniques. He says, “…I’m not interested in formalities”. We can observe the subtle form of bamboo that appears in several of the paintings here, its notches a soft gesture rather than calligraphic definition. Robles explains, “I paint bamboo as I feel - as I remember – capturing the essence of nature rather than a contrived gesture.”   Similarly, the objects in this exhibition are evocative.  

The rooster Robles refers to in the exhibition title is a simple animal that toils the land. He connects its scratching in the soil with the unearthing of history. Batangas is a place where artefacts and pot fragments have been retrieved. Robles refers to this past through a small assemblage that holds aloft within a bamboo structure a mass-produced Chinese bowl painted with a rooster. It is a delicate balance between the object and void, and captures in its simplicity the tenuous connection of land and history. Like the paintings, it is Haiku expression.   

This abstract idea is explored further in a small photograph titled “Felipina”. It is a landscape blurred almost beyond recognition and thus describes a place of memories and sentimentality. Its Spanish title and gold frame help usher the viewer to thoughts of the past, and yet collages with masking tape it remains a contemporary vision of the past – labelled as one would a family album. Curiously, the photograph’s lack of definition works in the same way that the thin washes of Robles’ paintings evoke the spirit of his provincial garden.  

The exhibition turns full circle:  the landscape that sits centre to this exhibition, which was the first inspiration for Robles as a young painter, now provides his conclusion as a mature artist. I am reminded of T.S. Elliot’s famous quote, “…in my beginning is my end.”  Time has allowed Robles the resolve within his work. This is an intelligent yet humble body of work.  

Gina Fairley

For exhibition inquiries, please call 831-9990 and 833-9815, or email duemila@mydestiny.net