The Dynamic and Spiritual Works of Arce

Written by Mara Fabella
January 30, 2023

Abstract art can elicit a myriad of feelings in viewers: awe, joy, anger, calm, sorrow. Perhaps one of the most immediate reactions stems from the deep-seated instinct to explain the unexplainable: What does it all mean? Beyond layers upon layers of paint, inscrutable masses of form, and cryptically formulated titles, one wonders what semblance of order unites such harmonious chaos. 

Skillfully tapping into such chaos are the mindbending, surface-warping works of Arce. His strikingly massive works, overflowing with detail, provoke the entire gamut of feelings toward abstraction, among them the search for meaning. Yet Arce eludes such attention. With a young but already thriving artistic career, he chooses to evade the spotlight, leaving whatever words he could say up to his artworks—and indeed, they have stories in abundance to tell.

Among a sea of other artworks, Arce’s visually arresting pieces quickly stand out. The artist’s own manner of abstraction, which he calls “Arceism,” is a channel for expressing sentiments difficult to capture through words alone. Each thick application of paint, each carefully sculpted mound of texture, and each departure of color from the canvas edge evoke a call to emotion that could only be ignited by the visual. 

But what really captures the eye when it comes to an Arce work is his manipulation of the canvas altogether. Allowing the emotions that guide him to transcend pictorial boundaries, his canvases and the frames themselves curve, warp, bend, and fold in on themselves like lyrical snapshots of an implosion of sorts. Preservation is the usual habit when it comes to keeping fine art pieces. Yet in the works of Arce, one discovers an enigmatic beauty in their destruction.

Arce is an artist who likes to cloak himself in anonymity. Like his subversion of the canvas plane, he chooses not to go the expected route of showing himself with his own works. Instead, images feature him with his back turned to the camera, and the focus is turned onto the works and what mysterious sense one gets from the man who looks upon them. This shirking away from the spotlight nevertheless suggests an artist with a fervent passion for his work. 

Arce’s passion for the arts can be traced to an early love for drawing which only grew as he went on to study Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas. It was there that his penchant for the arts grew as he worked as an editorial cartoonist. Joining national student art competitions like the PLDT Visual Arts Competition only made him more eager to grow in his craft. Through cartooning, he built foundational skills for drawing and constructing narrative in his works. Then he would move on to experimentation. 

The evolution of Arce’s practice from cartooning to a studio intensive one was gradual. His work as a cartoonist instilled within him the belief that “lahat ng elements may kwento.” (All elements tell a story.) Arce’s journey into other mediums was an attempt to find these stories. From working with realism, he began experimenting with painting textures, working with larger and more expressive layers of paint. He hit his experimental stride when he started melting his mediums and working with the ensuing dripping effects on his canvases. This playfulness and fluid spontaneity would seep into the essence of his practice. During this period, he studied closely the works of Jose Joya, Fernando Amorsolo, Anselm Kiefer, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Valerie Hegarty, and Antoni Tapies. Fellow cartoonists like Anthony Tapiz and Jess Abrera similarly remained some of his greatest influences. This frenetic brand of abstraction was not novel among local artists, but Arce, always looking to take risks, sought to breed a creature of his own. His art as it is known today was the fruit of not just learning more about his art, but about himself as well. Constantly asking himself what he wants and what makes him content, he finds the process to be a matter of finding himself.

While some relish in minimalist abstraction, Arce’s works are a testament to the power of detail in multitude. From afar, one sees thick, undulating hues. Yet Arce’s meticulous handle of color and form beckons to come near, enticing them to more closely explore the dense thickets of painted overgrowth. In the artist’s words, his works at a distance give the effect of appearing calm. Their evocation of the floral and ornate expression casts an aura of dignified refinement. Only up close does one see the chaos—the unpredictability of the paint, the turbulence across the surface, and the mess of color that yields an optically mixed, rich palette. Arce’s skill with his mediums prompts one to become intimate with surface qualities that are often overlooked amidst the visual cacophony. Visually, they prompt the eye to travel across the canvas. On another level, they take viewers on the journey to discover, as Arce did, each element’s story.

Viewing the distorted forms of Arce’s pieces, one wonders where order and chaos begin and end. Are they separate forces clashing within the work, or do they co-exist as two sides of the same balanced whole? With the artist’s deft manipulation of material, one cannot say for sure, as both forces blend seamlessly so that neither seems to intervene against the other. In effect, such a fusion also presents a meeting of the classical and the modern. Arce’s ornate and finely decorated frames recall the elegant classical period one might see preserved in Victorian homes. Meanwhile, his experimental mediations are pulled straight from the modern practice of breaking tradition and finding new perspectives. This joining of order and chaos, of the new and old, was not a deliberate choice on Arce’s part. “Nanganak lang siya,” the artist shares. One might be tempted to make a deep analysis of such aspects of the works. While Arce may not entertain such inquiry himself, he encourages his viewers to continue to delve into such questions and learn more about what they see and how they see through his art.

Arce’s first solo exhibit was entitled RUE: Resisting the Urge to Explain, held at Art Underground in August of 2020. Despite his presence as an artist having mostly been online prior, the show was a success, and to the artist’s surprise, quickly sold out. This marked a humble beginning for Arce as not only was he expecting minimal attention, but the show opened during the height of the pandemic, where the usual exhibit turnout would not have been possible. Yet staying true to his devotional roots, he dedicated the show in service to others, donating proceeds from his sales directly to medical frontliners. In abandoning such an urge to explain, to rationalize, or to substantiate his works, Arce instead gives in fully to the experience of encountering and creating art.

(ABOVE FROM LEFT) “Even the Innocent Mind Sees True Beauty That Pierces the Soul,” 2022, 36 x 29 inches, Oil on canvas wrapped by handmade brass; “As Dusk Enshrouds the Blooms in Night,” His Lunar Face Gives Hope and Light”, 2022, 61 x 50 inches, Oil on canvas. Images from Art Underground.

He likens his studio practice to a prayer. From preparing wooden frames, to conceptualizing pieces, to making freehand sketches on canvases and finally applying paint, he diligently fulfills his duties as an artist, all in the name of faith. He performs these staples of his practice in a state of reverence, often while listening to songs of worship. It is in this state that the titles of his works, often long and poetic reflections, come to him, as extensions of both himself and his state of mind during the process. 

For however successful Arce has become in nurturing his own artistic “breed,” he places genuineness and sincerity over any kind of status or wealth. 

Guided by spiritual intervention, he continues to carry his prayer in and out of the studio.

His show, ROPED: The Reflections of Our Past, The Enlightenment of Our Destiny, last December at the Almacenes Reales Fort Santiago, Intramuros, was dedicated to the practice of the novena. The ruins of Intramuros have been decorated in the hope of enlivening the area and showing how faith and beauty were delicately intertwined.

Juggling the question of what abstraction in art means, Arce reframes the question and throws it back to the viewer. Instead of satiating the intrigue, he asks: What was intriguing in the first place? What draws one to the obscurity of the abstract artwork and why does one feel the need to ascribe meaning to it? Arce has described abstraction as ineffable. In the larger context, perhaps the meaning behind each flourish of paint, each intuitive combination of color, is one that cannot be anchored by absolute meaning. Nor should they be, as they leave the dialogue between curious viewer and curious artwork open to continue and evolve. 

Amidst chaos and stillness, order and disorder, the intentional and unintentional, lies a symbol of faith. Arce finds the presence of God despite stormy and inexplicable times. His art, whether expressed through delicate floral tendrils or expressively shaped frames, are an outpouring of consciousness. They are an extension of himself, his beliefs and emotions, and thus, it seems natural they would appear indecipherable to another’s eye. The experience of the ineffable in art remains an ongoing one, in which the mysterious, personal, collective, and spiritual meet in an unpredictable splash of color.