Nona Garcia to artists who inspire her: ‘I come after you’
Nona Garcia could have, would have, might have been a doctor.
Both her parents are doctors, and she grew up spending a lot of time in the small Marikina hospital they own.
“My mom’s an OB-GYN, my dad’s an anesthesiologist. When I was young, I would watch operations. It was like my hobby. I wasn’t scared at all. I watched a lot of women give birth,” she told Lifestyle.
But as early as then, she was already showing a propensity for art, something that was nurtured at the Philippine High School for the Arts. “When I went to Makiling, that was the time I realized that, oh my gosh, you can actually live as an artist. I was really naive. I didn’t have any relatives who were artists so I didn’t have an example.”
Makiling was eye-opening for the young artist. There, she met people like National Artist Kidlat Tahimik (and studied there at the same time as his son, artist Kawayan De Guia, who is now Garcia’s partner) and had practicing artists as teachers, helping her see that “pwede pala na ganun ’yung path.” “By the end of high school, naisip ko I want to be a painter.”
But her parents were concerned about the stability and security of an artist’s life and so Garcia did what they wanted—she took up premed. “I understand it, especially during that time [when] the art scene was still so different. They were just scared.”
She studied Human Biology at De La Salle University. “First sem pa lang, I already knew that it’s really not for me.”
They compromised. She finished the year and then applied to go where she really wanted: the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Fine Arts, where she would study painting. “I took the talent test and, thankfully, I got in. It wasn’t an issue na after.”
Pat on the back
Right after graduating, upon the encouragement of friends, she joined the Philip Morris Asean Art Awards in Manila and won. She went on to represent the country in the Asean leg of the competition and won again, in Singapore, making history as the first female and Filipina to win it. Back when she won, she told Lifestyle, “I felt it was a sign for me to stay and create more art.”
And that’s exactly what she’s done since that day over 20 years ago. The artist, known for her highly realistic paintings, told us, “Life and art practice aren’t really a competition, but I think that came at the right time, when I still didn’t know what my path would be. Small things like that were a big pat on the back, telling me that I was going in the right direction. They’re little signs from the universe or the cosmos that encourage you to go on. In the same way, since I just graduated then, to my parents, it was also the universe telling them that my decision wasn’t a mistake.”
Since then, art has been her life, and she’s had group and solo exhibitions in the Philippines and in different parts of the world.
This time, in a solo exhibition that will open this week in Baguio, Garcia pays homage to the artists who shaped her. “This is a series of works I did in 2019,” she said. “They’re artist portraits of my mentors, friends and fellow artists. It’s like a tribute show to them who have, in one way or another, really inspired me or really influenced me in my life and in my art.”
The exhibit will feature the 14 portraits: Kidlat Tahimik, Roberto Chabet, Bencab, Alfredo Aquilizan, Kawayan de Guia, Louie Cordero, Mm Yu, Poklong Anading, Geraldine Javier, Yasmin Sison, Patricia Eustaquio, Maria Taniguchi, Gary-Ross Pastrana, and Jojo Legaspi.
“The people here are really mentors, friends, artists that I work closely with, artists that I admire. Some of them I started my art practice with. Some of them were my teachers… That’s why I became an artist. Maria and Patty were my housemates when we just graduated from university… people from different points of my life.”
The usually publicity-shy Garcia added, “I think that’s what makes this show special for me. Usually, I really don’t like being featured or interviewed, but this show feels like a tribute.”
She calls them back portraits—because her subjects have their backs turned. “In art history, when your work is inspired by another artist’s work, after the title, you put ‘after blank,’ like ‘after Caravaggio’ or ‘after Juan Luna.’ For me, it’s really recognizing that because I’m inspired by or I admire these artists, it’s literally saying I come after you. Kaya nakatalikod.”
She added, “I can also imagine, because, as artists or painters, when you start, you’re always facing a black canvas. That’s how I imagine it because the background is blank and it’s actually just plain canvas, it’s not even painted on. An artist looking at an empty canvas, the start of an idea or an idea of an idea.”
Looking in the mirror
She also mentioned Rene Magritte’s “La reproduction interdite (Reproduction forbidden),” a portrait that was commissioned by surrealist collector Edward James in 1937. “I really like Magritte. It’s a painting of a man facing a mirror, but yung reflection nya nakatalikod din so parang, every time I was painting these, I was thinking, it’s almost like looking in the mirror, looking at your reflection, because I painted these life-sized and I paint very near the canvas. That’s how I felt while I was doing it.”
Garcia’s “After Artists” series of portraits are painted with oil on canvas paper. “All these portraits are based on photographs that I took of them or photographs that were shot by my friend Mm Yu. She really shoots for me. For me, the quality of these paintings look more like drawings—I mean, in my head ha. Iba siya, they’re monochromatic. Even if they’re paintings, the approach is like drawing.”
These aren’t the first back portraits painted by Garcia. In 2006 and 2007, she painted big, 6’ x 8’ back portraits of her parents and two friends. She also did a series of back portraits of a young girl, painting her every two years from 2007 to 2013. “If you see them all, you’ll see that the little girl is growing up.”
She added, “I used to make them big but for this series, it made more sense to have them life-sized.”
There are really recurring themes in her work, said Garcia. “I can’t pinpoint a theme I stick to. It’s the process, it’s the painting process that’s constant. Even if the subject matter varies, there are really recurring themes in my works. Like this, I started it in 2006. Maybe that’s why I did the earlier ones, to figure out that I wanted to do this series.”
This is the first time the “After Artists” portraits will be shown in the country. The first 10 portraits were exhibited at a museum in Slovakia, while some subsequent pieces were shown in a gallery in New York.
“The last time I’ve seen them hung was when I painted them,” said Garcia. “After that, I kept them in storage. So this will actually be the first time for me to see them shown all together.”
Many of the people she painted will also be seeing their portraits for the first time when the exhibit opens in Vocas Gallery in Baguio on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. “It’s Kidlat Tahimik’s space, and Kaw and I have been organizing the shows there for the past year…It’s appropriate for the show. I feel that this show is really my personal project and not all shows are like that. It’s good to show these works here in Baguio where I am now in my practice.”
Baguio move
Garcia moved to Baguio 11 years ago. She used to just go for regular visits, but that changed when she realized how much she enjoyed painting there. “I really liked the pace. You feel more secluded and the house I was renting had trees around… It was a very different environment from the house I was renting in Manila. It was in the middle of Kamias, on a really busy street. I didn’t even realize how noisy it was because I had gotten used to it.”
After spending time painting in Baguio, when she returned to Manila, “I realized, oh my gosh, sobrang ingay pala nung bahay na ‘yun. Here I felt more at peace in a way. At night, you can hear the frogs, the crickets. It’s a big thing to be surrounded by nature.”
We asked how Baguio has changed her as an artist. “I think it’s really the environment. My surroundings really affected even the subject matter of my paintings. The connection with nature… here, you get to see it and appreciate it. The mindset also. Before, there was so much noise, ang gulo… And the weather, here it’s so nice to work, It’s a lot more comfortable to work here.”
The environment is just one thing. “Iba yung mindset ng mga tao dito about art. It’s refreshing. It’s an energy. Swerte din na I’m with this family, this very special family, and our friends here who are also our family. I’m surrounded by very special people.”
Garcia may have turned her back on medicine, but there are still traces of that little girl who loved spending time in the hospital. “My studio is usually very clean. They always say I paint like a doctor. Even the way I work, even ‘yung lalagyan ko ng palette, pang-doctor eh. Very organized. May order ‘yung paints.”
It’s in stark contrast to her partner’s working style, she said. “Sobrang opposite. If you see our art process, our studios… Kaw likes it dark, while I need white walls. When Kaw starts working, he will dig through his materials and take everything out while I would organize things.”
Garcia likes listening to podcasts and movies while she works. “It used to be music, but songs are three to five minutes long, parang naka-cut. If it’s a story, I could sit there for hours.”
Garcia is also part of an all-Filipino exhibit that opened last Saturday in Jakarta. “I painted my grandfather’s abandoned house in Marikina. It’s so big, it’s life-sized so maganda ‘yung relationship between the viewer and the work spatial-wise.”
The piece is called “Last Sunday.”
In September, Garcia will be part of a show in Singapore that will feature Baguio artists.
And she also hopes to add to her “After Artists” series. “I’d like for it to be a continuing project. I think it’s a good personal project. There are really a lot more artists that I want to include. If I have time to do this again, I would gladly do it.”
“After Artists” opens on Aug. 16, 6 p.m., at Vocas, 5th floor La Azotea Bldg, 108 Session Road, Baguio City.
