The light and form of Edgardo Lantin
Master portraitist and realist Edgardo “Ed” Lantin is making the most of his time in the Philippines this year by exhibiting his masterpieces in three different locations in Metro Manila.
A product of the University of Santo Tomas, Art Students League in New York, and New York Academy of Art, Lantin spends the first few months of the year in the Philippines and the rest in Canada, his other country of residence.
In Canada, he periodically does plein air paintings and commissioned work just for the love of it.
He also paints in his compact studio in Quezon City. He usually exhibits the output in solo and group shows in galleries around the metro.
Learning from his mentors, notably Sofronio Y. Mendoza, popularly known as SYM, Lantin has developed his craft with impressive pieces done in his own approach, treatment, and style. He could be considered a Filipino Canadian master who bridges both cultures through his art.
More than 30 of his plein air works in Canada are currently on exhibit at the VMeme Contemporary Art Gallery, Estancia Mall in Pasig, while over a dozen Philippine-themed works are on show at the gallery’s Alabang branch.
“Lantin,” the two-venue show which presents his expression of the beauty of nature, and the beauty of the creation of the divine, runs until April 30.
Its opening at Estancia was graced by former Philippine Consul General to Canada Arlene Magno, former tourism secretary and heritage warrior Gemma Cruz Araneta, basketball icon and visual artist Dante Silverio, and master printmaker Lenore R.S. Lim.
Master of light
Most of the works in Pasig showcase images captured in Canada at different times of the day, with subjects illuminated by natural lighting. Being a master of light, Lantin captures the essence of his subjects through the exemplary positioning of a scene, which he translates to works comparable to those of the greats of visual art.
His works in Alabang are inspired by and based on his travels to different parts of the Philippines, showing vignettes of daily life and idyllic scenes encountered along the way.
These works are manifestations of his values anchored upon truth, goodness, and beauty—an ethos reflected in all of his other works, including his anatomical masterpieces, which are on view at the “Flesh and Form” exhibit at The Crucible Gallery in Mandaluyong.
More than two dozen of these works in this gallery showcase his renditions of the perfections and imperfections of the human body.
He developed this innate skill in portraiture and anatomic painting at the New York schools, where he studied under the tutelage of famed American experts from the field. This Crucible exhibit ran until yesterday.
In March, Lantin was part of a group show titled “Sulyap” at VMeme that included fellow artists Lenore R.S. Lim, Aze Ong, Avie Felix, Rico Lascano, and Esmie Gayo McLaren.
VMeme Contemporary Gallery is at 3/F Estancia Mall East Wing, Capitol Commons, Pasig, while its Alabang branch is at 2/F Commercenter Building B, Filinvest City.
