On view from May 12 to June 18, “Light in the Darkness” is the first of the museum’s series of Choices: Collections of the Personal exhibitions
Yuchengco Museum is launching a new exhibitions program that showcases rarely seen artworks from the private collections of esteemed art collectors, artists, and creative personalities. Called the Choices: Collections of the Personal exhibition series, the program draws from personal collections and art pieces, allowing patrons to select works of art from their own collections and to share their passion for art and the stories behind each piece. Through a series of special displays throughout 2016 to 2017, the museum will explore how and why collectors, artists, and creative personalities collect art.
The first exhibition in the Choices series, entitled Light in the Darkness, features paintings and drawings by Danilo Arriola from the collection of the artist and his first collector and patron, Architect Dan Lichauco. Light in the Darkness also includes a site-specific installation of Arriola’s atelier, with curio cabinets of objects he uses in his artworks. The exhibition will be on view at Yuchengco Museum from May 12 to June 18, 2016.
About the artist and his art
Painter Danilo Angeles Arriola, Jr. lives a life full of creative zest, despite a debilitating illness that reduces him to a wheelchair and renders him color-blind. He paints from life and explores the time-tested techniques of classical European painters such as Caravaggio, Chardin, and Bouguereau. Arriola pursued architecture at University of Santo Tomas (UST); but he was strongly influenced by his classical training from the Florence Academy of Art (FAA), where he studied drawing and painting with financial support from then Senator Jamby Madrigal, the Sharon Cuneta Foundation, the Tan Yan Kee Foundation, and FAA.
Arriola paints striking images of everyday objects: the unnoticeable is made majestic and timeless with presence. Using the technique of chiaroscuro that creates intense light and shadows on the objects, his paintings are somber reflections of life, death, presence, and mood. He shares with us the piercing beauty of objective subtly touched by light and always seen from the perspective of shadows.
About the collector
Danilo Arriola’s first collector is Architect Dan Lichauco, the Principal Partner of Archion Architects. Like Arriola, Lichauco pursued architecture at UST and has a love for classical images. Lichauco has collected Arriola’s work since the artist was a student at FAA.
Light in the Darkness is on view at Yuchengco Museum from May 12 to June 18, 2016. The museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (632) 889-1234 or visit www.yuchengcomuseum.org.
