IN 2014, the Santos family — husband and wife, Soler and Mona, and their three children, Luis Antonio, Carina, and Isabel — showed their work collectively at Silverlens, in their previous site, along the same road. At this point, Soler and Mona had been working on their practice for decades, while their children were newly exploring their own expressions, coming from studies and professions decidedly removed from the fine art background they grew up around.
In “Gathered Narratives,” both Soler and Mona created large scale paintings drawing from nature, with Soler refiguring flora and detritus into geometric abstractions and Mona recreating the same chiaroscuro effect of her carefully painted flowers in the still life of a bed and rest. Luis Antonio’s photorealistic oil paintings of skulls were at the forefront of his artistic practice at this time, but the inclusion of galvanized iron sheets (painted in perfect precision) and photographic impressions on non-traditional materials are early indications of where his interests are currently and have continued to move towards. At this time, Carina’s work was less painterly, only working with found materials, mixed media, and personal ephemera to reference references. Isabel began developing her visual language, populating this personal alphabet with distinct imagery and text that she still employs in her work today.
Ten years later, the Santoses are returning to Silverlens for their only group exhibit since then, occupying the entirety of Silverlens’ new site, with new work that encompasses all their current practices, a catalogue of their individual progressions in the last decade. “To See A Landscape As It Is” provides a view of the five artists’ different trajectories — with 2014’s “Gathered Narratives” as the last save point — and the ways in which these particular oscillations between mediums and genres provide markedly different expressions which are often expansions of their initial curiosities.
The five artists’ work move in different directions, engaging with one another, in less visible ways, as most communication between families goes, creating a singular language that eludes complete comprehension.
“To See A Landscape As It Is,” curated by Nilo Ilarde, will be on view from November 21 through December 21, 2024 at Silverlens Manila.
