“The suite of large format colorful works mark a celebratory return and regeneration through the power of Art-making. She is the Woman at the Threshold; these are her portraits. What is the threshold if not the picture frame, if not a portal to a new life, new place, new time — a woman’s season of change.”

Text by Silverlens
Images courtesy of Silverlens, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, and the artist.
March 8, 2023

Silverlens is delighted to present As Wild As We Come by Wawi Navarroza, opening at their Manila gallery on 2 March 2023.

First exhibited at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London last year, and recently shown at Art Fair Philippines’ Special Exhibitions section, this new body of work marks a transformative phase in the artist’s life and practice, from moving countries to becoming a mother. This vivid collection of self-portraits is a celebration of birth and rebirth for Navarroza—as an artist, as a woman, as a mother.

“The suite of large format colorful works mark a celebratory return and regeneration through the power of Art-making . She is the Woman at the Threshold; these are her portraits . What is the threshold if not the picture frame, if not a portal to a new life, new place, new time — a woman’s season of change.

I unpack the wild through many puertas/entries in my works with the wild as: nature, woman, oriental, other,” says Navarroza.

As Wild As We Come runs from 2 March to 5 April 2023 at Silverlens Manila.

About the Artist

Wawi Navarroza is a Filipino contemporary artist known for her works in photography, actively exhibiting in galleries and museums in the Philippines and internationally. Her images explore Self and Surrounding as seen in her works in contemporary landscape, constructed tableaus and self-portraits. Informed by tropicality within the dynamics of post-colonial dialogue, globalization, and the artist as transnational, her works transmute personal experience to the symbolic while probing materials and studio practice; all perhaps to mirror a path to understanding a deeper sense of place & identity.

She has exhibited widely in the Philippines and internationally, including the National Museum of the Philippines, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Singapore Art Museum 8Q, Hangaram Museum (Korea), National Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan), Yogyakarta National Museum (Indonesia), Fries Museum of Contemporary Art & Museum Belvedere (Netherlands), Danubiana Museum (Slovakia), and in galleries in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, London, Spain, Italy, and Russia; with continued participation in international photography festivals and art fairs such as Art Basel HK.

She currently lives in Manila and is represented by Silverlens and Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery.

About SILVERLENS
Silverlens is an international gallery with locations in both Manila and New York. Through its artist representation, institutional partnerships, art consultancy, and exhibition programming including art fairs and gallery collaborations, Silverlens aims to place its artists within the broader framework of the contemporary art dialogue. Its continuing efforts to transcend borders across art communities in Asia have earned its recognition as one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Southeast Asia. Silverlens was founded in Manila by Isa Lorenzo in 2004, and in 2007 she was joined by co-director Rachel Rillo. In September 2022, the gallery opened its doors in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, broadening its international scope and bringing its diverse roster of artists to a new global audience.

Gallery Hours
Silverlens Manila is open for walk-ins from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM.