PUSO + DAGA

Puso + Daga is Brooklyn-based artist Ernest Concepcion’s first solo show in the Philippines. He graduated with a BFA in painting at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. For the past ten years, he practiced art in New York, doing large-scale ink illustrations and murals for numerous projects and exhibitions.For this exhibit at West Gallery, the artist picks up where he left off using enamel as medium. During college, Ernest dealt with Pinoy pop culture, using kitschy references like jeepney stickers and street art to make witty, acerbic statements for his junior thesis. He chose enamel to replicate the vinyl-like texture and saccharine colors of the jeepney sticker-aesthetic.Still highly evident in these new works is Ernest’s fondness for visual puns. For instance, his BRB Christ painting, an offshoot of his previous work OMG Christ, is directly inspired by chat-speak yet draws largely on traditional religious paintings for visual reference.The exhibit will feature a dozen enamel on canvas paintings of varying dimensions. The artist continues to draw inspiration from Filipino culture including religious icons and product labels. Ernest further explores the materiality of enamel paint by pouring it directly on a stretched canvas laid flat. The spills and drips and textures created using this painting technique may seem arbitrary, but the way the artist “herds” the paint without using traditional paint brushes to conform to the images on canvas is nothing short of impressive.