Line Never Lies

Gus Albor
18 January 17 February 2010 GF Lobby and West Wing Gallery About the exhibition Featuring selected works from 1974 to 2009, the exhibition takes us into Gus Albors journey in exploring various media to depict perceived reality as well as express his inner thoughts and emotions: things out there and those merely intuited. This is a gathering of time-honored subjects such as figure, landmark, landscape, and object, but articulated in a variety of materials and surfaces, recast by the manifold manner in which they mark presence in the world. In this process, the artist seeks to challenge the customs of the discipline and devotion of drawing. Going beyond the limits of ink and paper, the drawings in this exhibition offer more possibilities about their facture: crayon, watercolor, and charcoal on wood, metal, sand, earth, and concrete. Themes Representation and expression in the arts Abstraction / non-representational / non-figurative art Abstraction in Philippine art history

Guide Questions 1. How does abstraction confront the idea of representing reality in the arts? What specific issues and philosophies in representational art does abstraction seek to challenge? 2. What is the significance of the statement Line Never Lies in the exhibition in relation to Gus Albors use of the abstract technique and minimalist rendering of forms? 3. How is Gus Albor situated in Philippine art history? What particular development does Gus Albor represent and how does his temperament differ from that of his contemporaries? Activity Students will view the Line Never Lies exhibit with the guide questions in mind. At the end of the visit, a class discussion will be facilitated to discuss the students insights into the questions. Students can focus on a particular artwork that catches their attention. After the visit, students can write a review of the Line Never Lies exhibition or an analysis of a particular artwork. They can also be asked to come up with a drawing or any artwork in which a reality of their choice is abstracted.

Glossary Abstraction A technique in the visual arts in which the natural likeness of the subject matter is altered or transformed to give more emphasis to elements such as lines, shapes, and colors; can also mean the removal of subject matter altogether. Minimalism Refers to the reduction of art and design into their fundamental features, utilizing only basic or essential elements as opposed to excessive ornamentation. Representation Describes the use of a particular medium to make something stand for something else. In the visual arts, a work is said to be representational if it depicts a subject that can easily be recognized from the visible world.
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