Why Beauty Gonzalez doesn’t like ‘pretty art’
As an art collector, Beauty Gonzalez rarely goes for the conventionally beautiful.
“I like something that has some darkness to it. I don’t like pretty art, or stuff that looks like they just popped out of Pinterest. They can be nice to look at, but I quickly grow tired of them,” she told Lifestyle.
As such, her home is replete with paintings that are sallow and grotesque; pieces that disturb and unnerve; and evocative depictions of tragedy and despair. And these themes and sensibilities she finds in the works of artists like Dennis Occeña, Gene Paul Martin, Ian Fabro, Louie Cordero, Tatong Torres, Kiko Escora, Ryan Jara, Jigger Cruz and more.
“Some people may see them as morbid. But I don’t. It’s up to us and what we see. And I love what I see when I go around the house. They make me think and feel different things,” Gonzalez said.
And for the actress, that’s precisely what art is all about. They’re not mere accessories to spruce up a home, or create visual interest in a space—they’re incendiaries that ignite something in us.
“I believe art is vital in our lives. It gives us more substance,” she said. “They can also remind us of something from our past, or give us a peek into something that could happen in the future.”
Antique furniture
Aside from paintings, Gonzalez, 33, is also fond of sculptures, antique furniture, and other trinkets like Filipino amulet shirts and medallions. And after more than 15 years of collecting art, her home has inevitably turned into a gallery of sorts that could only be described as eclectic—a place where aesthetics and functionality meet; where everything is mixed, but not matched.
A repurposed old altar table serves as a console. Her kitchen cabinets double as book shelves. Sculptures sit atop the range hood. And on her countertops, curiosities mingle with random cutlery and dishware. Her walls don’t stay the same color for too long; so do the paintings that hang on them.
“The color of my walls are different and I change them often, depending on my mood—they can be pink, blue red, whatever. I also don’t hang all my paintings at once. Ayoko na punong-puno. I want them well-curated. I put some of them in a storage room, and put them on rotation when I feel like it. I also love mixing antiques and old furniture with modern ones,” she said.
Many of the pieces she owns she sought and chanced upon in her travels in the Philippines and around the world. But mainly, Gonzalez draws inspiration and finds new gems in her usual jaunts to local galleries, fairs and museums.
“I love Artinformal, Kalawakan Spacetime, Kaida Contemporary, West Gallery and many more. I’m a fan of new artists. And more than anything else, I love getting to know them. I talk to them,” she said. “There are also nice collections of antiques in Intramuros. And a trip to the National Museum is something you can’t go wrong with.”
And she makes sure to bring her 8-year-old daughter, Olivia, with her as often as possible. “We start them young!” said Gonzalez, who also paints, but mostly for fun. “I have nothing to say! I would cringe if I have to talk about my paintings.”
Same taste
Gonzalez is married to art curator Norman Crisologo, who—thankfully, she admitted—helped her make her collection more polished and better informed. “He’s obviously more knowledgeable and experienced, so he was able to weed out stuff that weren’t so good. It’s nice that we have the same taste, so we don’t clash. Of course, it’s fun doing all these things together,” she said.
But that’s something budding art collectors shouldn’t obsess over—at least not so early in their journeys. “Just go ahead. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying something small or inexpensive. As long as you’re happy looking at it, then that’s all that matters,” she pointed out. “That’s how I started out, too.”
Of course, she would love to own works by the Filipino masters—“if only I could afford them.” But there’s not a single or specific artwork that she desperately covets. “I just want to keep on buying art. I don’t get overly attached to a piece. And I would be happy to let go of some if I find new, nicer ones,” she said.
While she loves gifting art and showing off her treasure trove to visitors, there’s a part of her collection that’s for her and husband’s eyes only—an exhibit “strictly for the bedroom.”
“I have a lot of nude paintings and photographs, commissioned by Norman for me, as presents. I don’t mind. If I have a body like this, why not!” she said, jokingly, but not really. “I won’t look the same 20, 30 years from now. So I might as well do it!”
Besides, she doesn’t feel awkward having nude portraits of her taken or painted. “Because my poses don’t say, ‘F–k me,’ but, ‘F–k you!’ quipped the no-nonsense Gonzalez, whom you can always count on to tell it like it is. “I don’t feel self-conscious about it because I know it’s art.”
Sagada vacation
Gonzalez had just come from a vacation in Sagada, one of her favorite places to unwind. She especially adores the weekend markets, where local and neighboring craftspeople sell their arts and wares. And as embarrassing as it was to admit, she said, the cold weather was one of the biggest draws, because she had bought a jacket from an Amsterdam-based brand called Zazi Vintage.
“It’s really thick and I just wanted to wear it there!” she said, laughing. “Bakit ba!”
Now, Gonzalez is back to the grind, promoting the third season of the GMA 7 action comedy series “Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis,” which she top-bills with Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. Based on a 1994 movie of the same title, the Sunday evening sitcom has the actress playing the feisty housewife, Gloria.
To set her portrayal apart from the original, Gonzalez put her own “Bisaya twist” to the role. “I wanted to speak Bisaya and incorporate my culture,” said the actress, who hails from Dumaguete, Negros Oriental. “It makes me so happy because whenever I visit the Visayas, like in Cebu, for instance, people would tell me, ‘Beauty, proud kami nagsalita ka ng Bisaya sa TV!’”
Gonzalez also does her own stunts, like that one “buwis-buhay” scene where she had to act while trapped in a vehicle submerged in the sea. While she’s a certified diver, and there were safety divers on standby, one can never be too careful.
“You have to have presence of mind. You have to do what you’re instructed to do and not hurt yourself. I didn’t want to read headlines about me of me saying, ‘Beauty Gonzalez, nalunod.’ Ang chaka! Giatay!” she said.
The scene took about four hours, and by the time it was finished, Gonzalez’s hands had turned all pruny. It was all worth it. After all, her life motto is, “Make memories, not dreams.”
“I had so much fun. The adrenaline rush washed over my initial worries and exhaustion,” she said. “I’m glad I did it; that I have experiences like this to look back on when I’m old.”
Gonzalez doesn’t feel the need to get an insurance plan before jumping straight into risky scenes like that; she doesn’t believe in the practice. “I don’t have one. If I die, I die.” Simple as that. But there’s one thing her husband can probably do, she said—knock on wood—in the event something bad happens.
“He can sell all my paintings!”
