Celebrate life with Karen Concepcion!

If you pass by Ayala Museum and you get wet from a school of koi splashing here and there, blame Karen Fabie Concepcion and her ongoing exhibit titled Celebration. Boy, her paintings of koi are so alive you would think the canvasses were ponds populated by fish swimming playfully. It is Karen’s 17th one-woman painting exhibition. It will run until tomorrow.

Karen’s relationship with nature  or better yet, her fondness of it  is conspicuously interpreted in her colors that are alive, in her lines that are fluid and meandering. Her every brushstroke is pulsating with emotions, full of verve and confidence, and evocative of the simple pursuit for celebrating the most precious gift: life.

The celebration of life is key as to why Karen mounts this exhibit at the Glass Wing on the second floor of the Ayala Museum in Makati City. Her more than 20 artworks are testament to her joie de vivre. Not so long ago, at the height of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan in March, Karen and her family were unwilling witnesses to a catastrophe that wreaked havoc to human life.

“I realized how lucky I am to be here (now) and how short life really can be. We should embrace it even more and be thankful for all that we have today,” she says.

With that life-threatening experience in a foreign land, Karen painted an artwork of hope entitled Kyoto in Autumn. It is her ode to the selflessness of the Japanese people in the days and months that they have been weathering with dignity the triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Karen’s renditions of schools of koi are both ceremonious and celebratory. They swim upward in salutation to the light, the source of life. Some plunge to the left, some to the right, as if discovering new ways how to bring happiness to those who watch them swim. Some retreat to the bottom, perhaps promulgating that even in the depths there’s hope, there’s delight.

Being an equestrienne, Karen is imperatively expected to paint horses. Equus, the horse god, must be very pleased with her paintings of the hooved-animal. The spectator is drawn to the eyes of Karen’s horses  Sting has a soulful look, Boy Toy has a secretive stance, Daylight seems to have a hopeful anticipation of tomorrow, and Royal is ready to be anointed perhaps as the heir apparent of the horse god. In all her horses, Karen shows her skillful mastery of getting into the psyche and temperament of the animal she seems to consider her BFF.

Ah, any celebration devoid of flowers is not a celebration. So, Karen paints flowers, too. Her Off White Cymbidium and Green Cymbidium are so fresh you may be tempted to pluck them from the vases, err, canvasses, and bring them to your loved ones. Her painting titled Violets, despite its vivid colors, is contemplatively quiet. The lines are simple, a testament to the diktat that there’s utmost beauty in simplicity. The violet flowers are beautifully rendered, yet they are unassuming in their existence, a trait of what real elegance is like.

The wanderlust in Karen is unearthed with her travel pieces that arrest the senses. The Market Scene at Lisbon depicts a gathering of people happily going about their lives amid a market in full bloom. Look closer and you would seem to hear their conversations. Are they going to enjoy a Fado night after their day in the market? That’s the beauty of Karen’s artworks, you can communicate with them because, in the first place, they pleasantly talk to you, too.

The Boat at Taupo, New Zealand shows just the midsection of a colorful boat securely bobbing above deep-blue waters. The clouds are reflected on the calm waters. All the elements give the viewer a taste of a life beautifully lived that ought to be shared with others.

Because an artist’s work is subjected to interpretations, the artist becomes a selfless giver of thoughts. Karen is unselfish with her thoughts, even with her experiences. Even her joys and curiosity are mirrored on her paintings of human beings. Perfecting one’s craft rules supreme in Ballet (Isabel and Carina) where two little girls prepare for a dance. Ben thrusts an inquisitive look, wanting to discover what lies ahead. Antonio is an image of bliss, of innocence. And Mischief is indicative of a little boy who seems to poke fun without harm. 

“I feel that I am in constant search for growth not only in my art, but also in my life,” says Karen, who took up Painting at the UP College of Fine Arts. After getting married to Raul Anthony Concepcion (they have five kids namely Mykie, Isabel, Carina, Antonio and Benito), she met fellow artist Stella Rojas who encouraged her to have her first painting exhibit in 1997.

She concludes, “I like to explore and see what’s new. I strive to pick up what’s good. More than helping me become a better artist, I feel that these learnings help me become a better person.”

(“Celebration” runs until tomorrow at the Artist Space of Ayala Museum.)

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com. You may want to follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)