It takes the brilliant mind, a compassionate heart and magical hands of a maverick artist like Remo Valenton to awaken us from a deep slumber of complacency to see beyond the façade and find real meaning in the things around us.
He takes us on a thought-provoking journey of self – discovery through the travails of life, mindfully harnessing the power of lowly and old corrugated GI sheets, oftentimes considered trash and transforms them into beautiful and meaningful art pieces that capture the imagination and defy conventional thinking.
Adroitly using the canvas, he conjures powerful and eloquent statements with a mix of vibrant hues and unconventional materials to fashion avant-garde pieces that call attention, shed light and open difficult conversations on today’s more pressing social and environmental issues.
“I want to make people realize that more than a piece of iron, the corrugated iron sheet provided us with the much-needed shelter from the searing heat of the sun and the pouring rain. It symbolizes our personal shield and armor against the trials and tribulations of life,” Remo explains.
“Unfortunately, after being our salvation against the elements, they are replaced with new ones after a few years, and the old, rusty and hole filled one often thrown away and completely forgotten,” he laments
Using his innate artistry, Remo weaves his magic on canvas and using a multitude of often unrelated materials conceives a magical fusion of shape, form line, color and texture in a way that only a Remo Valenton can.
“The colored molded PVC suggests that people’s lives are much like confetti, borne in the wind and carried away to their destiny; the multi-colored dots are the multi-faceted people around us and the monochromatic hues are the people’s characteristics; the three pieces of yellow patches symbolize Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the country’s major islands and fitting salute to my being a proud Filipino; the miniature balisong (native fan knife) embodies my being a Batangueno; the piece of canvas cloth embodies me being a artists and a creative soul; the corrugated carton signifies our struggles in life while the brown color is a nod to our distinct sun-kissed complexion, and colors of the coils represent the colors of the Philippine flag,” Remo Valenton emphasizes.
“REMOISM UNLEASHED, his Second One-Man Show is an exclusive invitation and a privileged peak into the world that the artist Remo Valenton has consciously created. Just like people, our waste materials deserve recognition for the significant roles they play in our lives, and they too deserve a second chance.
It takes a great deal of creativity and a degree of technique to work with these materials; requiring many hours of exploring and experimenting with the materials and their possibilities, as well as time to collect the waste.
Come, experience and see the world through the eyes and body of work that Remo Valenton has amassed through the years. Each piece is a labor of love. Every canvas an important chapter in his evolution as an individual and a consummate artist where he with the combination of a brilliantly creative mind and creative gifted hands, he weaves his magic, transforming abstract concepts into captivating tangible reality.
REMOISM UNLEASHED is yet another attempt to shatter convention and showcase his unique point-of-view in bringing order in a seemingly disorderly world.
