“Backtoback”

CEBU, Philippines - As Cebu approaches the heart of everyone’s favorite season of the year, two visual artists have taken it upon themselves to pan out summer’s unmistakable markers.

Framing the season as one which basks in the elemental fulcrum of life’s ups and downs, the works of Cebuano artists Darby Vincent Alcoseba and Jess Dinglasa are currently on display at the third level Paseo Marina of Ayala Center Cebu.

Titled “BACKTOBACK” and ongoing until the end of the month, the two-man exhibit highlights medium-scale artworks rendered in either oil, acrylic or watercolor. It features

landscapes and life-in-the-countryside montages, the masterfully executed scenes eliciting fond summer memories – or mixed emotions – in the audience. 

Mostly curated with ‘en plein air’ (made on the spot or on site) pieces, “BACKTOBACK” stands apart from other summer-themed exhibits in the sense that its presented artworks are ‘incomplete’; it is upon the viewer to complete a given scene by putting oneself into the places rendered by the exhibiting artists. The show adheres to the constitutional raison d'être in fine-art making – that is, to capture beauty as it is; to enjoin a viewer out oneself in the picture.

The exhibit is presented by Cebu Artists Inc. and the Ayala Center Cebu. The title “BACKTOBACK” may be a play on the fact that it’s a two-man show, but it actually refers to a basic principle in art appreciation: appreciating art is a relationship, a back-to-back communion between the artist’s work and the viewer’s sentiments and sensibilities. (FREEMAN)