Lines and stars align at Paulina Luz Sotto’s exhibit at The Crucible

MANILA, Philippines - Paulina Luz Sotto began with the line — an extension of her love of calligraphy.

“Lines are so simple but you can do so much with them,” she explains.

Paulina always grew up around art. She lived in the same house as her lolo, National Artist Arturo Luz, all her life, but never imagined they would walk down the same path. “Art was always second nature to me.” says Paulina, the sporty daughter of Vic Sotto and Angela Luz. She is a self-confessed extrovert who is into theater. She is also a winning golfer, but she’s an introspective artist as well.

(Paulina was named after Angela’s older sister, Paola Luz the singer. Paulina was born a few months after Paola died of cancer. )

“My parents are super-supportive. My dad is in showbiz, but he always encourages whatever it is I want to pursue. And my lolo, who is in the hospital right now, has been a huge influence. I’m 24 now, and I’ve lived with him for 23 of those years. His paintings are everywhere, and subconsciously I’ve absorbed everything from him.”

Paulina’s paintings, say her friends, have the same vibe as Arturo’s.

“We discuss my works. He asks me how do I paint my lines — vertical or horizontal. It’s very technical. He’d say, ‘I’m curious. Which was the first line you drew?’ We have the same mindset. We think that less is more.”

When, just a little over a month ago, the 24-year-old cum laude graduate from Ateneo de Manila University, started sketching on her notebooks. She was drawn to the line — the beauty of it, what could be made by putting two and two together. And then she made her first piece: a minimalist painting in black, red, orange and yellow. A quick snap of this piece, and a quick post of it on Instagram later would jumpstart her artistic journey. Shortly after she had posted the photo, someone had inquired if it was on sale.

Since that day, Paulina has sold about 50 pieces, mostly publicized through her social media accounts. While most of the pieces she shares online are already reserved, Paulina keeps busy creating work for a waiting list of people eager to buy her art, and this list continues to grow.

Today, she has devoted all her time to painting in her lolo’s studio, producing a series of work that is both inspired but independent from the National Artist’s influence.

In her first solo exhibit “New Abstractions,” Paulina utilizes line and color to create minimalist abstractions. She shows control over the canvas, able to make it come to life with the simplest elements.

Art critic Cid Reyes wrote: “The fact is that Paulina’s works do not carry specific titles, and that the show is titled simply ‘New Abstractions,’ depriving the audience of any anchor and denying the impulse to associate her works with subject matter that can be rendered in a representational manner: all this carries the intriguing possibilities still open to Paulina.

“Recall that though Arturo Luz has worked in pure abstraction in his paintings, prints, and notably sculptures, he is also celebrated for his linear and stylistic representations of such recognizable images as his classic cyclists, musicians, acrobats and performers, and nudes as well as still lifes of Oriental vessels, shells, stringed instruments, Asian temples, palaces, and fortresses. Would Paulina, in the future, recognize within herself the desire to follow suit? Or would she remain as determined in her pursuit of pure painting and lead it to sites and heights heretofore unforeseen? While it is not anyone’s duty to fulfill a prophetic role, no one is inured from the excitement that the possibilities of an inexhaustible art can offer.”

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Paulina Luz Sotto’s “New Abstractions” exhibit is ongoing until Feb. 28 at The Crucible Gallery, fourth floor, SM Megamall A, Mandaluyong City.