Katrina Cuenca's Latest Exhibition Reflects the Great 'Unfurling' of the Times
Much has been said about the great unfurling in our post-pandemic lives, marked by change, progress, and transition. But even before all this, Katrina Cuenca's brand of abstraction has long been suspended in this kind of cool unraveling. Her work is characterized by their sense of movement and flow. Her shapes are steady and graceful, occupying a natural rhythm in spaces that could best be described as figures caught in their own gradual awakenings.
In her latest exhibit with Galerie Joaquin, Slowly We Unfurl, we see her signature styles as flower-like forms. We can observe that they are on the cusp of bloom, figuratively. Cuenca renders their undulating petals rendered in muted, soothing shades, exuding a reassuring zen energy to them. Each of the elements of the paintings and sculptures, from their lines and texture in their surfaces to the harmony and pace in their direction, exhibit a poised collectedness to them.
"Woven in the Silence of Time" (2022) by Katrina Cuenca, Oil on Canvas.
"To Become the Dew that Quenches the Land" (2022) by Katrina Cuenca, Copper.
“I wanted to somehow depict how humanity is ‘re-blossoming’ after all the quarantines and lockdowns,” Cuenca explains. “Although I know the pandemic isn’t over, I am happy to see how people are re-emerging into society and how we are learning to adapt to our current situation. I can see that we all have learned a lot about ourselves and how much we can endure and it seems we are coming out of this stronger and more hopeful.”
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Progress is marked by a process of experimentation. Cuenca says she worked with different materials for this showcase. There is a dramatic shift from midnight to dawn. Notice how her sculptures have gone from metallic and jet-black tones to illuminated shades on white bases.
"The Goddess Descends from the Sky" (2022) by Katrina Cuenca, Oil and Goldleaf on Canvas.
"Ripples Form on the Water's Surface" (2022) by Katrina Cuenca, Copper.
This is best seen in the special light-absorbing black paint she used for both the sculptures and paintings. This paint absorbs 99.8 percent of light, in fact, resulting in a very matte, dark finish, adding a delicate balance to the vibrancy of it all. “For some of my pieces, I attach a prismatic dichroic film onto an acrylic box which I then use to cover the artwork, to add another dimension to the piece, when the light hits the film and projects a holographic pattern on the painting or sculpture."
She adds: “I like to think that light is sort of an external medium for my art. I like to play with different finishes and textures and materials that react differently to light. I find it fascinating how we perceive and experience things differently, with just a subtle change of atmosphere."
"Wings of Light Spread Afar" (2022) by Katrina Cuenca, Oil and Goldleaf on Canvas.
Cuenca's figuration and abstraction is most spontaneous and celebratory in the way they unravel. The motions and gestures here are calm, precise, and handled with care. Each of her pieces feel like ripples amidst a cesspool of isolation. They posses an ethereal, transitional quality to them that, in a sense, captures the quiet anguish and silent optimism of this particular passage in our lives.
Slowly We Unfurl runts until November 25, 2022 at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell.
