Wherever light shines, there is sure to be color. But in the mind and world of Arnel Villegas, the world as he knows it is made of emphatic black squiggles, minuscule dots, and meticulously rendered lines.
Born in Manila and raised in Davao City, Arnel started his art journey through photography. As a founding member of the Camera Club of Davao (CCD) he was active in the photo documentation of Davao City life from during the 80’s and 90s and was also fortunate to document the final years of the late national artist in painting and the father of the Philippine modern painting, Victorio C. Edades.
“Back then, in the 80s, I had always advocated for photographs to be valued as legitimate works of art,” Arnel shared. “You can say that it was because of this frustration that I started doing artwork in pen and ink that, at a glance look like black and white photographs, but upon closer inspection are made of countless lines in ink.”
Having done the exhibits in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iligan, Baguio, Manila, New York City, Busan and Paris, Arnel brings his works back to Davao with the opening of his 17th solo exhibition Forest Images 6 at Cafe Verdania.
Forest Images 6 features a collection of pen-and-ink drawings, where Arnel carefully reflects on observations, nostalgic glimpses and memories of lush and fleeting natural beauty. “For me, working on my pieces serve as a way for me to meditate and think of what can be done to save and preserve our natural world” says Arnel. “Every stroke of my pen is a thought and reflection on nature and what we can do to preserve it.”
Eschewing color and embracing his love for the black and white noir photograph aesthetic, Arnel depicts forest and rural scenes that are fast becoming memories due to the ravages of logging, mining and land development.
Arnel’s works feature idyllic scenes of the forest and it’s undergrowth, where trees spread their leaves across the canvas, and tangled roots interplay with vines and stones. Rather than giving a brooding or melancholy feeling, Arnel’s works are energetic with a hint of fantasy and whimsy, shifting and moving as one gazes into and around the canvas.
Forest Images 6 by Arnel Villegas runs until the end of December at Cafe Verdania located along Rimas Street, Jereza Subdivision, Agdao, Davao City.