Katrina Cuenca depicts the re-blossoming of humanity in her recent exhibition.

Image courtesy of Willy Saw.
January 30, 2023

This year has seen Filipinos slowly but surely return to a semblance of normal life. This gradual re-emergence is what painter and sculptor Katrina Cuenca seeks to convey in her show, Slowly We Unfurl.

Running from November 14 to 25, 2022 at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell, the exhibition featured paintings and sculptures of flower-like forms on the cusp of blossoming, their undulating petals rendered in mute, soothing shades. There is a sense of steady, graceful movement, with all these elements coming together to evoke the gradual awakening of spring.

“I wanted to somehow depict how humanity is ‘re-blossoming’ after all the quarantines and lockdowns,” Cuenca explains. “Although I know the pandemic isn’t over, I am happy to see how people are re-emerging into society and how we are learning to adapt to our current situation. I can see that we all have learned a lot about ourselves and how much we can endure and it seems we are coming out of this stronger and more hopeful.”

The series retains elements of Cuenca’s signature style. There is the sense of movement and flow, along with the use of gold leaf for the paintings. At the same time, the series marks a departure from Cuenca’s previous work. In keeping with the hopeful theme of the collection, she uses lighter pigments for her paintings, as if to signal brighter days ahead. Like the shift from midnight to dawn, her sculptures have gone from metallic and jet black tones to illuminated shades on white bases.

“I really enjoyed the shift in mindset I had while working on the pieces for this exhibit,” Cuenca says. “For the paintings, the composition is very different from my past works. As for the sculptures, the color palette as well as the flow and shape of the figures are different as well. As an abstract artist, it is very important to explore new things and I’m really happy this exhibit paved the way for that exercise.”