His work is a guessing game for art lovers
“Matapang Ako Sa Dalawa, Takot Sa Isa.” “Dalawang Magkapatid, Nag-aagawan Ng Bait.” “Anong Butiting Retrato Na Kamukhang-Kamukha Mo?”
Those are not just examples of bugtong-bugtong (riddles) but titles of artworks by the late visual artist Lazaro “Aro” Salamat Soriano. More of his representative pieces are featured in the “Palaro ni Aro” exhibit that runs until March 5 at Gallery Genesis in Pasig City.
True to its title, the art show becomes a game when a group of exhibitgoers try to guess the answers to the riddles. That’s exactly what happened during the exhibit’s opening on Feb. 15 held at the art gallery located in Capitol Commons’ Estancia Mall in Ortigas Center.
The guessing game turned out to be challenging because Aro’s paintings reflect his own whimsical interpretation of riddles. So, the guessers had to look closely at each painting and go through the often colorful and sometimes exaggerated figures.
In the end, the guessers spotted the tulay na kawayan (bamboo bridge) as the answer to the first riddle (roughly translated as “I’m brave with two, but scared of one”). Then they figured out that mga paa (feet) matched with the second riddle (roughly translated as “Two siblings, fighting over sanity”). Finally, they thought out that sanggol (infant) fits the bill in the third riddle (roughly translated as “What is a small photograph that looks exactly like you?”).
Playful Aro
“We really wanted this to be an interactive exhibit unlike our previous openings,” Gallery Genesis president Patrice Salas told Lifestyle.
For starters, Salas and her team had to select 25 out of the 55 paintings in the gallery’s vault due to space constraints. They also prioritized those that were not part of the collection exhibited at the Art Fair Philippines in 2022.
“It was really fun for us,” she said. “The pieces are a lot more colorful, unlike our usual muted ones. We didn’t want to just limit it to a certain size, so that we were able to capture the creativity of Aro.”
She added, “I think that the title of this exhibit is very accurate because when I asked my mom how Aro was, she always says he was very funny. He was very witty, had a lot of ideas. He was playful. He wasn’t really scared to experiment.”
Salas’ mom is Araceli “Chichi” Salas, a respected art collector who cofounded Gallery Genesis with her husband Ernesto Salas in 1981. Chichi recalled to us that she first met Aro in the mid-1980s, when the artist had just returned home from his studies in Europe.
“He was quite a happy person,” Chichi said of Aro. “Every time he came to the gallery, ang daming kuwento (he had so many stories). Nakakatuwa (so much fun).”
Chichi said she couldn’t forget her reaction when Aro showed his paintings: “They were very colorful, very Filipino. Nobody was doing it. Well, not the artists who were coming to us. I said, ‘Okay, Aro, I will give you a chance to paint what you want to paint.’”
In 1987, Aro had his first show at Gallery Genesis, then located on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City. Its theme revolved around well-loved Filipino classic and folk songs such as “Mutya ng Pasig,” “Sarungbangi,” “Ati Ku Pung Singsing,” “Paru-parong Bukid,” “Bakya Mo, Neneng,” and “Ugoy sa Duyan.” There was also the “Leron, Leron, Sinta” trio of paintings.
Two years later, Aro had a follow-up with riddles as the theme, and then another exhibit on salawikain (proverbs). His unique artistry didn’t go unnoticed. In 1992, he was selected as among the recipients of the CCP Thirteen Artists Awards. He eventually went into art restoration.
“After some time, he didn’t want to paint,” Chichi said with evident sadness. Aro died in 2020.
Gallery Genesis celebrates the artist and his works with “Palaro ni Aro.” Aside from pieces from his series on riddles, there are some from his proverbs series such as “Di Man Magsabi At Magbadya, Sa Anyo Ay Nakikilala.” There are also a few with political commentaries like “Sa Panahon Ng Halalan,” which underscores his past as a youth activist.
