Thriving in the Grey Area with RV Basco

Counting the days before MoCAF, visual artist RV Basco gives a sneak peak of his special exhibition as he recalls the difficult transition from being a company worker to a full-time artist.

Words Chariza Crudo
Photography Santi Albalate
June 26, 2024

RV Basco at his studio. Photo by Santi Albalate

Life is too short to refrain from pursuing what our hearts truly desire. For visual artist RV Basco, entering the art scene during his mid-40s was the best risk he took.

As a former established furniture designer, Basco felt like his work was restricting him from expressing himself. So, he decided to put some color in the grey area he lives in. “There are limitations when it comes to those things, but with art… art is unlimited.” Fast forward to almost 10 years later, Basco is thriving in the art industry as he holds several exhibitions with galleries, including the upcoming Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF). 

However, all victories come with sacrifices. Before reaching this success, Basco admits he had to give up on a lot of things to become a full-time artist.

“The goal was to become a visual artist in five years time. It wasn’t easy because my son was already going to college, so we had to lower our lifestyle, we had to give up a lot of things. We discussed it with my family, ‘we’ll just do this for five years, no vacation, no going out for dinners’, then once we get there, then we’ll continue where we left off,” he recounts. 

Basco may have started late based on societal norms, but his roots as an artist go way back when he was in high school. When a friend of his introduced him to some European magazines and comic books, the political and realistic themes mixed with fantasy piqued his interest. The creators behind the magazines he read, namely British illustrator Ian Miller and French artists Enki Bilal and Moebius, were the ones who deeply influenced his paintings.

Like many aspiring artists, Basco explored different mediums, themes, and styles before, switching from watercolor to oil and experimenting between social realism and children’s book illustration style. He also tried copying his “heroes” (the artists he admire), but he felt like his skills were not at par. “I tried to copy them but they were probably just too good that I couldn’t copy them and eventually started to develop my own style.”

It was in the middle of his journey as an artist when he encountered a tragedy he quotes “something that happens only in the movies”. He did not know how to process the grief he went through after the death of his two beloved sisters, so he took refuge in doing art. That profound experience led him to discover the link that connects social realism and his children’s book illustration style.

When asked about the reason behind the recurring image of kids seen in his works, Basco explains: “Choosing the kids, boy and the girl (as subjects) is really (about) innocence. And I’m trying to project them being prepared in this grey area– because we live in a grey area, it’s not black and white. It’s impossible to develop empathy if everyone’s just happy.” He adds that whenever he paints, his sisters both live in his subconscious. The children that typically appear in his works may also represent his sisters.

Now that he is an established artist, Basco remains grounded as he retraces the challenges he overcame. 

“If you can imagine yourself being successful in times of extreme hardship, then nobody can stop you from achieving what you want,” Basco states, addressing aspiring artists.

In this year’s MoCAF, Basco admits that he himself does not understand his paintings– only his subconscious does. His special exhibition will focus more on how his paintings will affect the audience and less on his interpretation. It is a continuation of his exhibition last year with Galerie Joaquin, but this time more poetic and mature.