Edwin Wilwayco boldly steps into the ‘now’

Refreshed, reinvigorated and eager to share never-before-seen pieces from four different series comprising his body of work from 2023 to 2025, artist Edwin Wilwayco continues to push the limits of mastery and visual resonance with each canvas as he continues to create a world of motion, rhythm and lived experience.

From his last exhibit at Galerie Joaquin Podium in December 2023, “Octo Gravitas 2,” Wilwayco’s unmistakable signature is still ever apparent in this new collection through a symphony of bold, layered colors and masterful strokes. Yet, each piece showcases a renewed vitality, even sharper contrast and an intuitive command of both harmony and structure.

His Rhapsody in Abstraction series presents a euphoric interplay of cool hues, softened and punctuated by slashes of white and sparks of lighter colors. These works evoke the organic and the cosmic in equal measure, suggesting the bloom of nature, the pull of the tide, or the stirrings of memory.

Bellavia, on the other hand, features explosive compositions rendered in combinations of red, white, gray and black. In contrast to his other abstractions, Bellavia surges with controlled strength and dynamism. Each canvas is inscribed with movement and emotional tension — a collision of sharp, deliberate lines intercut with gestural sweeps and energetic layering.

The third series, Soundscapes in Shape, is music — rhythm and movement — in physical form. Transcending the traditional rectangular canvas, Wilwayco allows color and texture to spill beyond boundaries. Like the ebb and flow of sound waves, his shaped paintings seemingly undulate with movement wherein music is not just referenced but embodied.

Lastly, Wilwayco revisits his Jeepney series (1989 and 2018) via Jeepney Unicus. Here, he not only reminisces scenes of jeepneys in motion and street scenes through flashbacks of memory but also experiments with velocity abstracted into colors and lines.

“Edwin Wilwayco Now,” captures a master challenging the very language he helped define in Philippine abstraction. His works speak of a relentless commitment to painting as experience, of an artist unafraid to continue exploring and reimagining. In these four series, Wilwayco looks back on not only where he has been, but more importantly, where he is now.

Born in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, Wilwayco earned his way into local and international success, elevating the respect from many artists and art-savants then and now. He experienced his maiden brushstrokes at Continental School of Design Studies in Los Angeles, USA. He then continued to sharpen his skills at the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts, majoring in Advertising Arts with a minor in Painting. There, he was under an exceptional faculty, among which he names Jose Joya and Constancio Bernardo as his influential mentors. As a student at UP, he was handpicked, along with Rock Drilon, Benjie Cabangis and Fred Liongoren, by National Artist Josè Joya to assist in the making of the mural “Pagdiriwang” at the lobby of the Philippine International Convention Center. Being under their prime tutelage has immersed him into the beauty of abstractions colors.

Wilwayco’s fervent artistic effort then qualified him to be a scholar for the British Council in England in 1982, training under the curriculum of West Surrey College of Art and Design. In that same year, Wilwayco was also granted by the Italian government another scholarship for painting. Even in his career-building years, the way opportunities openedfor Wilwayco was reflective of how skilled an artist he is. From his first Merit Award Shell on-the-spot painting contest in 1970, to being one the Thirteen Artists Awardees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to having prominent art laureates make books about his works, Wilwayco has produced a career of continuous artistic vigor. Now with over 42 solo exhibitions (since 1973) and group exhibitions held in the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, France, Belgium, and Germany, Wilwayco’s talent has built abstract prefectures of rich and vibrant dribble and stunning compositions.

“Edwin Wilwayco NOW” runs at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell from 6 to 18 July with an Artist Reception on 17 July at 5 p.m. Galerie Joaquin Rockwell is located at the R3 Level of Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati. Call +63 915 4145502 or email galeriejoaquin@gmail.com.