In Tony Perez’s ‘Ambiguous,’ each painting has a role to play

Tony Perez gained fame from many things: being a playwright (“Sa North Diversion Road”) and a fictionist (the “Cubao” series and over 50 other books); his founding of the Spirit Questors, psychics called to assist those with paranormal concerns; his writing workshops and university teaching stints, among them. Now 72, he continues to be a creative writer and a visual artist.

He was inspired last year to create a series of paintings, all following a theme. The result is 14 thought-provoking oil paintings on mixed media that comprise “Ambiguous,” a two-part show held last June 24 to June 30 at Gallery 928. Half of Perez’s art pieces were exhibited in Gallery 928 at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, the other half at their second gallery inside AYSN Building in Cubao. Visitors made an “art trek” from one gallery to another for a complete experience of “Ambiguous.”

Unique concept

Perez explains the show’s unique concept in his notes: “The narrative of this exhibit is comprised of 14 different renditions of night. The prologue piece is ‘Portrait of Joel Cruz as The Magician,’ setting the tone for the exhibit and heralding the succession of 14 paintings that follow. [It] is the one painting that contains all of the techniques employed in the body of works that comprise the exhibit: measurements and composition, brushwork, light-and-shadowing, color sense, use of contrast and double-entendres, and the utilization of at least four shades of color in a single work.”

When viewed in the correct sequence, each of the paintings—like characters in a play—contribute to the narrative. Says Perez: “The first painting is ‘That Evening, in the Professor’s Study,’ a simulated panel from ‘The Spirit Questors Komiks.’ In his dialogue bubble the professor announces the secret to traveling between enchanted trees via astral railways, like those of elevated trains. One such railway is in the next painting, ‘Night Ocean (Diptych),’ hovering over land and the sea of the Unconscious.”

Dream states

While the first part uses night as a motif, the second takes the viewer into actual dream states, beginning with the artist’s “Self-Portrait as Gorgon,” an oil painting on a metal roasting tray that serves as the transition painting from the first half of the exhibit to the next.“I love ambiguity. It opens doors to different interpretations,” Perez replies when asked about his show’s title. His last public art exhibit was a retrospective of his own paintings to accompany Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Tatlong Tabing: Tatlong Dula ni Tony Perez” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Little Theater Lobby, in 2011. Since then, he has been accepting private commissions and doing paintings of and for friends.

Ambiguous is not a word for Perez himself; he has always known what he wants to do next. “I am a Maryhill School of Theology alumnus. I want to leave a legacy of religious art at Maryhill School of Theology,” he says. “It is a 40-painting project, and I am halfway through.” Tony Perez is living proof that when creativity and self-determination abound, there are no limits to the roles we can play. —CONTRIBUTED

The works in “Ambiguous” may be viewed at tonyperezphilippines.blogspot.com/2023/06/blog-post.html?m=1