Panoramic View of Exhibit (click on image to enlarge)

The Philippine Consulate General hosted the Oteyza and Oteyza "Tatay at Anak" exhibit.What: Oteyza and Oteyza, Tatay at Anak (Father and Son) Art Exhibit

Where: Philippine Consulate, 30 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60602 (312) 332-6458











When: March 21 – March 28, 2007

Opening Reception: Friday, March 23, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

This is the third father and son show featuring the combined artistic talents of Victor (father) and Julian (son) Oteyza in the United States. The first was held in the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, when the Honorable Excellency Raul Rabe welcomed a standing room only crowd to the exhibit launch, and the second was at the Philippines Consulate in New York City where consulate officials welcomed the large audience.

This current exhibit features the works of Victor Oteyza, one of the 13 moderns who began the modern art movement in the Philippines. Victor’s work originated from an extensive study of philosophy and was a physical manifestation of his goal to portray the creativity of the modern (1950’s) Filipino in a manner that broke the mold of the posed portraits and copies of art masters. Victor was a writer, director, musician, perpetual student of the universe and his life lessons translated into his expression of modern art. Through the growing up in the Philippines, visiting the provinces, producing plays, radio shows and engaging in philosophical discussions with his kababayan (countrymen) he had a basis for the expanded sensory journey he experienced while visiting Europe and exploring the United States. That experience manifested in some of the most incredible art Victor ever created.

Julian Oteyza’s life experience also began in the Philippines where he was surrounded by an extensive support network of family and friends, intense colors in everyday objects such as tropical birds, fish, flowers and the ocean and sky in both Baguio where he was born and Manila where he attended school. Julian’s art emerged from his innate curiosity and an inventive streak that led him to create his own style of expression on canvas and in the patent he holds on his compact, travel guitar. Julian’s art work rotates, emerges, pulsates, appears in layers, joins together to form film clip style time frames and is designed to be interactive with the viewer. Julian’s body of art work offers the viewer tactile involvement. Since Julian has been in the United States he has created work that has been featured on both coasts of the country. He has also exhibited in India, Egypt and of course in his bayan (homeland), The Philippines.

This show offers a spectrum of artistic expression by father and son and covers the time frame of the 1950’s to 2007. Victor experimented with different materials. He saved polystyrene plates that came with meat packaging and melted them with a blowtorch into various shapes which he thought he might be able to incorporate in his paintings. He used hairdryers, fans and straws to blow paint across his canvas to create the shapes he envisioned.

Julian builds unique mechanisms in some of his works that help convey a distinct experience to the viewer, often requiring them to touch the paintings and manipulate the frames to create an appealing configuration. His motivation was to involve the viewer with the art and offer a different perspective to each person but especially the opportunity to be “right” no matter how they viewed the art work.

The centennial year, 2006, celebrating the 100 years that the Filipinos have been in the United States, Julian went back to basics and chose to create traditional paintings portraying scenes reminiscent of his child hood and the life of the present Filipino-Americans living in the United States. His travels to Hawaii helped him connect to the entry point where the first Filipinos, Sekadas, landed. From there he captured images of every day life and objects to create a series of paintings illustrating the passage of time. These paintings are displayed in frames Julian created and built to simulate a film clip capturing a moment in the time. This series depicting moments frozen in time was entitled “Time Frames”.

The Julian and Victor show, represents very different motivations and manifestations of artistic expression. This exhibit connects philosophically and spiritually: two minds, two individual styles, two generations, two different time frames, two different means of expression that combine to support one goal. That goal is to celebrate eternal life by sharing beauty, color, love, harmony, innovation, creativity, passion, strength, joy, evolution, and originality through art.

Information: Julian Oteyza . joteyza@verizon.net .
(703) 969-5469
www.guitaround.com . http://julianoteyzaart.blogspot.com/
http://victoroteyza.blogspot.com/