SPELLBOUND: Walking Past the Gallery of a New Master of Fragmented Light, JEFF CABLOG

Spellbound.

That's how i was....

While I leisurely walk past the galleries at the 4th level of SM Megamall then my eyes locked into this piece: black & white, a northern woman struck by light...or shadow, was it excruciating pain? Or painful relief? The piece is titled Resuscitate. Pain...and relief uniquely at the same time. Chills! First time an artwork gave me chills.

The gallery was a showcase of Jeff Cablog, a Bagiuo-based visual artist and a native of the Cordilleras. According to his profile, Cablog is known in the art circle for his layered portraits and landscapes featuring the myths and sights in the cordilleras. 

He uses a palette knife instead of a brush to layer oil on canvass achieving a "highly textured complex interlude of colors and textures". His works showed a mature drafting technique, inspired by tranparent cubism reminiscent of Manansala but showed a unique mastery of fragmented light.

"Downstream"

"Chapor"

Cablog was twice semi finalist of the Metrobank Art Competition and has been profiled by the US-based quarterly art magazine Blue Canvass. Galerie Francesca hosted his first solo exhibit and has since then held exhibits throughout the country and in Hongkong.

Uniquely talented and accomplished at his age. Though his profile did not mention this, he looked quite young. I now have a deep interest on local art pieces particularly of upcoming artists such as Cablog. Hope to see more galleries filled with his works and those of his contemporaries.