Where The Brush Leads Ron Lopez Davis
From Manila to San Francisco, Filipino-American artist Ron Lopez Davis turns fragments of memory, places, and observation into paintings guided by intuition rather than intention in his latest collection, Splendeur en Couleur.
Words Niña Marrize Olaso
Photos courtesy of Ron Lopez Davis
September 16, 2026
Kinder Garden, 2026 by Ron Lopez Davis
Splendeur en Couleur’s collection speaks like the guests at its vernissage: a night filled with vibrant colors. Across the canvases, Filipino-American artist Ron Lopez Davis translates years of travel, observation, and memory into a visual language where intuition leads.
Born in Manila and raised in San Francisco, Davis paints between two cities, reflecting a transpacific identity, bridging the experiences and memories in between. His visual language expresses abstraction, architectural structure, and personal memory converging.
The Night Thief (Barcelona) by Ron Lopez Davis
Davis began the collection having no idea where his brushes will lead him.
“I may begin with a color, a line, or a shape that catches my attention, but I rarely know where the painting will end,” he said.
Abstraction for him is having freedom from the obligation to name things, but he doesn’t believe it is detached from the world, as his works are fragments of places he lived in, people he has known, memories, architecture, landscapes, and sometimes it’s simply paint.
Nude Reclining by Ron Lopez Davis
Shaped by years of travel and observation, Davis allows intuition to steer his practice, often beyond the boundaries of intention.
“My paintings are not puzzles to be solved. They are spaces to inhabit. I hope the viewer brings their own experiences into the work, allowing the forms and colors to create associations that are personal rather than prescribed. If the painting continues to change in someone's memory after they have walked away, then it has done what I hoped it would do,” he said.
Painting for him is an act of curiosity, rather than treating each finished canvas as a definitive answer, he sees it as an invitation to keep looking.
More than direct illustration, Davis allows the canvas to find its course through gesture, revision, and spontaneity.
His craft will soon take him beyond Manila, as he is invited to join Art Fair Asia Fukuoka (AFAF) 2026 in Japan. The art fair is in its 11th edition, running from October 2 to 4, with a VIP preview on October 1, alongside a line-up of artists at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center.
The art exhibit runs until September 26, 2026, located at Alliance Française de Manille, 209 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel Air II, Makati.
