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Tony Twigg
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“STANDING STICKS” Opening: Saturday 3 May at 3 - 6pm, 210 Loring Street, Pasay City. Tony Twigg’s artworks have the capacity to expand the way we look at forms; to broaden our preconceptions of what painting and sculpture can be and how we look at objects. Over his 15-year engagement with the Philippine art scene, gallery-goers have become accustomed to his organic timber constructions, however this exhibition, his sixth with Galleria Duemila, brings a surprise. For this exhibition Twigg has chosen a new form – the circle. He has been interested in space for as long as he can remember. Most recently he has been looking at the sensation of space created when a disc is sliced into vertical slats allowing the parts to interact with each other. The sculptures, titled expanded discs, are stretched apart energizing the spaces between as they slowly become an oval. As the viewer moves around the sculptures, they begin to expand and contract with the sense of breathing. In this organic dance space takes on a ‘personality’ that is further explored by Twigg in the freestanding sculptures included in the exhibition. His standing sticks maintain the totemic quality of his wall works but confront the viewers at their scale and in their space. They are simultaneously geometric and humanoid. As the “Encyclopaedia of Australian Art” describes: “His works have become increasingly sculptural and focus on the use of space, or spaces within the wood of their construction. His work has an organic quality and is often made from discarded or found wood such as boxes. It is reminiscent of the calligraphic nature of the paintings of Ian Fairweather and sculptures of the Tiwi Islanders’. He works from both Sydney and the Philippines.” Tony Twigg admires the intuitive art making in everyday objects. A market stall stacked overnight or discarded shipping pallets piled up on the sidewalk present him with a dialogue of geometric abstraction. They provide an encyclopedia of forms that are assimilated into his timber wall sculptures, which he terms ‘constructions’. Using a combination of wood found in the Australian landscape blended with processed and milled timber such as plywood, Twigg’s constructions have the warmth of organic material that curiously resonates with the minimal austerity of contemporary design. His line – the personification of a stick – easily translates from looming installations to optical wall pieces to lyrical and calligraphic drawings. This is a playful yet sophisticated exhibition and Twigg’s constructions are completely unique. Tony Twigg has produced over 40 solo exhibitions as well as installation, performance and film works. He received a Master of Visual Arts from the Sydney College of Advanced Education in 1985. He has shown in Australia, America, Italy, New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Singapore and The Philippines. In 1995 Twigg began dividing his time between Sydney and Manila and in 2005 spent a year in Malaysia. Last year, he made three large-scale private commissions in Singapore. In 2009 a book on Twigg’s 15-year engagement with Southeast Asia will be published in Malaysia. Twigg is represented in major collections in Australia and Manila including the National Gallery of Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila. Showing until 30 May 2008, for enquiries contact Mimi Santos at (632) 831-9990 (632) 833-9815 email: duemila@mydestiny.net.
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