Mario V. Fernandez grew up with art, not just drawing on every piece of paper he found, but surrounded by fellow creative people, most of them with backgrounds in theater. While he didn’t try out acting, a life in the arts was the only thing he knew. His parents let him be, and soon enough, he was winning school competitions.“Art is my life-saver, mentally and socially,” says Fernandez, focusing on how he can constantly be creative.
When he and his family moved to the United States when he was 10, the transition from the “bukid” to the city (New York) was drastic. “I only love New York when I am not there,” Fernandez discloses. The 1970s New York he knew as a youth was an urban jungle where everybody struggled to survive hard times. Yet he is thankful that he was exposed to good art programs and had access to different art materials early on in school. “I was discovering the vitality of colors and going to art museums, finding about 18th and 19th century painters and other cultures. It opened me up to interact with other cultures.”
Fernandez did explore many cultures, especially when he stayed in Europe. Then an artist and an artist’s assistant/apprentice, he learned about centuries-old art techniques, while living in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Spain. He even learned a thing or two about restoring contemporary artworks. Asked to compare living on both sides of the Atlantic, Fernandez says Europe has a richer culture, and relaxed compared to the hyped up U.S.“In Europe, you can see more art and more history. There, I felt freer and more connected. In the U.S., I felt alienated, isolated for some reason.”
His exposure to Western art and culture was extensive. Not only did he read about it in books, but saw the works themselves in museums. He knows that you can find anything in the Internet nowadays, but also thinks that “you should know what you’re looking, what artworks [you need to see.]”
Still, with all the traveling he’s done over the years, he realized, “I didn’t know anything about the Philippines.” This spurred him to go back to his home country in 2000, after visiting another Asian country. “I went to India, and loved it there, the culture, the geography, the architecture, and the social and economic differences. I felt very connected.”
| Since last year, Fernandez has made the Philippines his home, settling in Pangasinan, where he can be closer to nature, his favorite subject matter. “I felt that my artwork here is more vivid. And it has more meaning for me.” Fernandez finds he has more time for art in Pangasinan and the surroundings inspire him. “I like listening to strange bird calls and taking walks in the afternoon, connecting with the landscape. I’ve seen a snake, and we just stared at each other.” He is re-discovering nature and Philippine culture, in general. Fernandez recalls how little he knew of what it’s like being a Filipino, especially when his European colleagues asked him. This curiosity drove him to read books about Filipinos and other Asians living in the US, particularly author Carlos Bulosan. | He knew what the author was talking about, including immigrant struggles against racism. Soon enough, he discovered, naturally, that the best way to discover what it’s like being a Filipino is to live in the Philippines. Sure, he misses the comforts of having hot water on his tap, snow, and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, but he doesn’t dwell on that, and instead redirects his energies to painting.“I do not paint with an audience in mind. I just paint to bring things out of me. It calms me down … I paint every day, and every time, it moves me closer to who I am, what I am, and what I am looking for. [My works] are also a reflection of my time, of what I see around me…When I’m not painting, I’m ‘looking.’ Looking is also doing, observing things, people, rituals, as well as reading books and poetry. “I have become more interested in botany, and the variety in nature. I incorporate them in my works,” says Fernandez, feeling the need to paint what he is seeing now as nature gets pushed further out by urban development. |
| He adds that his subjects are a part of him, and to be around them in a farm is exciting. “Plants give me energy and life,” says Fernandez, acknowledging how nature is so powerful and diverse. “That’s why I understand how the ancient peoples believed in the powers of trees.” In “Butterfly in Barong,” a 40” x 40” painting done in oil on canvas, Fernandez recalls how the project began as a commissioned portrait while he was still in New York, but eventually ended being an individual art piece on its own when he finished it here some two years later. Fernandez covered the face with butterflies, making only the subject’s eyes visible, as if peeking through the profusion of fluttering wings. Covering the subject’s face with butterflies was spontaneous. “I’ve always been crazy about them,” he said, noting that the butterflies completed the composition. “My ideas for my works change. That’s what I love about them. The changes surprise me.” | His proximity to his main subject matter is also a great motivating factor. “Being closer to my subjects, I strongly feel a connection with the sun, the weather, and nature. I’m never satisfied, though. I like improving on my work, and myself, learning more about the things I paint. For example, there are different types of bamboo trees, varying in color and size, but they are all beautiful. I’m still learning. It’s the challenge I face every day.” Fernandez has also dabbled in sculpture, collages, and photography. He says that he likes working with different materials, especially developing his own way of communicating with his audience. “You develop your own voice. Sometimes it takes a long time to find that. I see the images as parts or fragments that come together in my head. Trying to get that special feeling, translating or describing it can be the most difficult part of the process.” He sometimes adds fantasy or exaggerated elements into the mix, “to articulate it in a way I’m comfortable with.” “I can’t copy nature. I translate it in my own way of looking at things.” When asked what he would tell younger artists today, Fernandez replies: “Look at everything without prejudice. Look at our culture, and see where they are coming from, and look at other cultures, too. And look at the past. Do not forget or bury it.” |
Tags: Home At Last
