Sio Montera
FREE-WILLING by Ritchie Quijano published in SunStar Daily August 21, 2007
WITHOUT freedom, no good work can be done.
In art, the creation of free form epitomizes the greatest of all human rights of expression.
When the mind takes over what the eyes can no longer perceive during artistic production, the aftermath will only be pure abstraction. Having to think in abstract terms can deter the self from reality and things practical because, first and foremost, abstraction exists only in the mind. Pure and honest abstraction is the pinnacle of the art practice because here the artist starts with zero visibility in the form of an empty space or a blank canvas.
It is unpredictable, in the sense that the artist can never foresee his desired result. Given a free rein of his imagination, the artist exercises complete unrestrained freedom.
Free Form, the seventh solo exhibition of Sio Montera, may be viewed at the SM Art Center till Aug. 28. This next level of his art brings him to the state of mind where the cerebral authority rules over “art.” An awakening of the artist’s subliminal self. Conscious all throughout in what he is doing, while freeing himself at the same time from representations that limit visual perception. Having the gift of free will has been innate in mankind since primordial times.
We inherit this capacity from birth, but rarely do we summon and use this power because of the fear to use it excessively. A new way of seeing and doing a painting may alter accepted customs and violates cultural restraints.
Montera, as an artist, wants big changes now. He wants to leave an imprint in art history by introducing new processes and new materials, like asphalt, which are alien to painting tradition. His mostly mixed media works are an amalgam of different paint mediums that overlap and blend with each other.
In some works, he employs outrageous implements such as a steel brush. He clearly is breaking rules. By exploring other painting grounds, such as tarpaulin, he paves the way to further exploration. In the vein of non-objective/abstract expressionism, Montera contributes to the movement’s endless possibilities. His continuous and spontaneous approach achieves what the mind can only perceive—the unseen and the unknown.
He farms a concept and plants the germ of an idea that blossoms into a wild but carefully controlled work of art worthy of a pedestal at the apex of artistic profession.
