The Ayala Museum proudly presents its Director’s Choice for 2008, AZOOL, an exhibition of the latest works by Romulo Olazo, one of the country’s most respected visual artists. The exhibition, which will run from 12 to 25 August 2008, showcases Olazo’s recent “Diaphanous” paintings.
The Director's Choice is a special exhibition held once a year within the ArtistSpace calendar at the Ayala Museum. Artists selected range from National Artists to artists exhibiting unusual promise. Past Director's Choice artists include photographer Victor Sollorano (2007), renowned glass sculptor Ramon Orlina (2006) and National Artist Arturo Luz (2005).
The exhibition title, AZOOL, is an anagram of O-L-A-Z-O and it spins off from the colloquial terminology of blue. These whimsical platforms are the jump-off points for Romulo Olazo’s latest Diaphanous versions. AZOOL is a unique exploration of Olazo’s formal concerns as it expands the artist’s oeuvre; a departure from his popular black and white Diaphanous works.
Olazo began his career as an artist in the late 1960s, when modernism was a popular medium of expression for young Filipino artists. He gained recognition as a printmaker in 1979 when his works gained an honorable mention in the 11th International Biennial Exhibition of Prints in Tokyo back. Olazo successfully held 35 individual shows here and abroad and participated in various major international shows, including painting exhibits in Singapore, Guam, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. His paintings are also well represented in internationally-renowned auction houses, like Christie’s in Hong Kong, where one of his Permutation series had a “hammer price” that was double the estimated market value.
In recent years, Olazo has focused mainly on a series of mostly large-scale paintings collectively entitled Diaphanous, which have been hailed as “a visual ballet of abstraction”. He is also widely known for figure drawings, landscapes, and still life.
ArtistSpace is located on the 2nd Floor, Glass Wing of the Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner De la Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
For more information, please contact Tenten Mina at 757-7117 to 21 local 33 or email her at mina.ma@ayalafoundation.org.
For inquiries on AZOOL paintings, contact Lhorie Chan of Paseo Gallery at telephone numbers: 666-0117; 0922-8872736 (0922-88-PASEO).
