How many of us look to the heavens for our fortune and fate? Do the stars hold secrets to our future and perhaps, more importantly, insights into ourselves that we previously didn't know of or believe in?
Visual artist Monnar Daelo Baldemor elucidates on this theory on canvas, and expounds on the implications of a zodiac mentality on what defines us as human beings - our complex social interactions with the world at large.
On The Water-bearer, Monnar interprets his own personal ties with his wife Che (he's Aquarius; she a Libra). The water bearer and the Scales of Justice meet in a diorama of plenty and happiness.
Instead of going for the obvious, sometimes divisive nature of the zodiac and the horoscope predictions derived from it, Monnar sees “Constellations” as a celebration of togetherness. Uniqueness in unity, so to speak.
“Our zodiac signs should be used to distinguish us; not to keep us apart. In the end, no one deserves to be alone - seeming zodiac incompatibility notwithstanding,” says Baldemor.
Monnar is the son of prolific, internationally known painter Manuel D. Baldemor. He shares the talent for visual arts, yet father and son forge divergent styles. Monnar's creations are akin to the distorted figures of Spain's Salvador Dali, rendered with the same laboriously detailed strokes of Germany's Ernst Degasperi and anatomical disfigurations of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. What the elder and younger Baldemors share is a preference for, and affinity with, bright pastel colors.
Presently the design director for the weekly magazine Women's Journal, Monnar has earned five Jurors' Choice nods in the prestigious yearly art tilt of the Artist Association of the Philippines. He was also chosen as finalist in the Phillip Morris Group of Companies Philippine Art Awards. Baldemor has worked in the publishing field for almost two decades and maintained cartoon strips for various publications such as Sun Star Manila, Diyaryo Filipino, Manila Times, and Malaya.
Monnar is a member of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), Samahan ng mga Kartonista sa Pilipinas (SKP), and the Pinsel Artist Group of UE Caloocan. He has participated in more than a dozen group exhibitions.
“Constellations” is Monnar's fifth solo exhibit. ”Constellations" opens on July 17 2010 and shall run until July 31, 2010 at the Sigwada Art Gallery located at 1921 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila, Philippines.
