Fitz Ocampo
“All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography”
– Federico Fellini
Filipino visual artist Fitz Ocampo paints from deep-seated emotion and presents the intimate details of her life through banal yet extremely poignant imagery in “Promises”, her 5th solo art exhibition at the ArtistSpace of the Ayala Museum.
The Works
In the exhibition, Ocampo’s paintings reveal uncanny tableaus of wedding garments and articles, stuffed toys and flowers – objects associated with relationships and motherhood. While these objects are often used to portray bliss from love or innocence, Ocampo sets these familiar subject matter against stark canvasses and harsh lighting, to deliberately bring out the shadows and to ultimately tell her story – the story of a woman who has endured the pain of broken promises (hence the title) and how new promises – the commitment of a mother to her daughter and her renewed commitment to her Faith – were borne to give way to a more colorful life. Her images are very telling: A torn wedding gown, wedding shoes thrown in the waste basket, a set of forlorn stuffed mother, and child teddy bears. The face of the artist’s daughter, which is the only bright image among her works. The artist’s life unravels from the works by simply looking at them.
Technique
The artist’s approach to painting carries a semblance of the European art style Expressionism which appears in the way the artist distorts reality to evoke moods or ideas and her use of strong contrasts and shadows. On the other hand, her up-close-and-personal slant to creating artworks, which she relates is her way of healing, bring to mind works of Frida Kahlo, who narrated her life through the use of perplexing symbols in her paintings. Ocampo is quoted saying: “Now, I paint again as a form of healing. I paint again to celebrate my daughter and our life together. Painting is my life journey towards my own healing.”
About the Artist
Ocampo began painting at the young age of eleven. She dreamt of pursuing a career in the arts but was compelled to take a degree in business due to circumstances. After earning a degree in Management at Ateneo de Manila University, she spent years helping out in the family business but felt the need to follow her dream of being a painter. From 2006 to 2012, she enrolled at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, USA and took several drawing and painting classes through the school’s overseas online Fine Arts program. Since then and through the help of family and friends, she has joined in group shows, mounted a number of solo shows and won various recognitions for her talent, an honorable mention from an art contest sponsored by the IAF International Art Festival in New York and a finalist of The Artist’s Magazine 31st Annual Art Competition 2014.
ADMISSION IS FREE.
Exhibition runs from April 24 to May 6, 2015.