Text and photos by Leriecka Endico
Inspired by her travel adventures, Carmela Laurin-Geisert commenced her first exhibition of paintings entitled “By Chance” at the German Club Manila. As a novice in the field of visual arts particularly paintings, Geisert successfully showed off her works curated by her friend Jes Evangelista. Her first installation as a visual artist consists of 20 abstract paintings that express her travel whereabouts.
Geisert’s interest for visual arts started in 2016. She began with sketching using pastel crayons and charcoal during flights as a jetsetter. Unlike other excursionist, Geisert has been travelling the globe with crayons and pencils as she doesn’t like to bore herself on her trip. “It was kind of a past time and I don’t want to strain my eyes, so it was like you’re watching TVs, the wifi is on. I don’t want to watch the newsfeed also because sometimes it gives you negative things. I just like to be positive” she said.
On her journey as a newbie in the art scene, the fundamental lesson she learned in art was the interpretation of things. “It depends on the artist which pieces or which ideas he wants to portray, that’s the first one. And then the interpretation of the people especially in abstract” she explained. With a lot of stories and experiences she has on her travels, Geisert chose to paint her memories in a form of abstract as she loves to guide her viewers while looking at her works and share the stories behind each of them at the same time. “It was like a journal in a sort of way” she said.
Despite being a visual art neophyte, Geisert elegantly executed the aqueous attribute of fluid art on her works. “Somehow it’s easy for me but there’s difficulty because of mixing the colors and getting the inspiration from it, how do you put it in an art piece which is only fluid. And then I got myself into the real challenge: how do I make the deep thing?” she explained.
Fascinated by abstract expressionism, her works flow with contrasting colors fused together that visualizes her gentle nudges and control while letting it stream and run. The unpredictable movement of colors envisions her life as a traveller that moves from one place to another, while remaining under control to create a beautiful form of art.
Meanwhile, part of the proceeds from her sold art pieces will be with Steelwings Model Foundation, a non-profit organization. Geisert is also the President of the Asia Grand View Hotel in Coron, Palawan and has been one of the recipients of 2005 Manila’s Best Dressed Awards.
Her art works reminds viewers that traveling is not merely a luxurious leisure time. It is about recreation, reinvention and rediscovering of self and other things that we can actually turn into art. After this debut, she is bound to three countries to explore new things and create more pieces to her visual art course. Her month long exhibit will run until May 8 at the German Club Manila, Philippines.
