A work of art is not radical simply because it portrays the experience of ordinary people. It is sometimes felt that the kind of realism which takes the lid off poverty and squalor, revealing the horrors of the social underworld to a sheltered middle class, is necessarily disruptive. But this assumes that people are insensitive to social deprivation only because they are unaware of it, which is far too charitable a view of them. Realism in the sense of verisimilitude – truth to life – is not necessarily revolutionary. As Bertolt Brecht remarked, putting a factory on stage will tell you nothing about capitalism.
-Terry Eagleton
Prudent and motivated, Carlo “Caloy” Gernale continues to explore the use and application of industrial techniques in art-making as he paints about his critical and progressive investigation of the interrelated socio-political and economic issues plaguing his homeland, the Philippines.
As a mid-career artist who has been in the field since 2001, Gernale fully understands that what makes a work of art good is both form and content. He believes that the skill you have and the method you impose should be just as potent as the message you aim to communicate. In order to convey the idea in the least cerebral manner, you cannot simply mirror the reality, you have to present and represent it in the most progressive manner—in a way so concrete that the viewer can actually taste, chew, and digest both the image and the message by looking at and into the work, in a way that would potentially reconnect him/her to the shared aspirations of the rest of the disenfranchised.
From initially using traditional painting means, Gernale gradually shifted to using industrial airbrush and spray painting methods. He spent the last 10 years of his career developing his airbrush painting skills. He also has been experimenting on applying the technique on various surfaces like galvanized iron, stainless metal, denim, and polymethyl methacrylate, other than canvas. Inspired by both indigenous and post-colonial literature, Gernale aims to compose a complex yet intelligible universe of metaphors that articulate the fundamental contradictions that make up a nation struggling to survive despite neocolonial threats. He also works hard to use his art not just to show but essentially to question and critique, and hopefully, to propose solutions in line with the people’s protracted revolution. As he continues to sharpen his skills, he also devotes time to study more about the semi-feudal and semi-colonial features of contemporary Philippines, and the place of the plebeian-dictated revolution in popular history.
-Terry Eagleton
Prudent and motivated, Carlo “Caloy” Gernale continues to explore the use and application of industrial techniques in art-making as he paints about his critical and progressive investigation of the interrelated socio-political and economic issues plaguing his homeland, the Philippines.
As a mid-career artist who has been in the field since 2001, Gernale fully understands that what makes a work of art good is both form and content. He believes that the skill you have and the method you impose should be just as potent as the message you aim to communicate. In order to convey the idea in the least cerebral manner, you cannot simply mirror the reality, you have to present and represent it in the most progressive manner—in a way so concrete that the viewer can actually taste, chew, and digest both the image and the message by looking at and into the work, in a way that would potentially reconnect him/her to the shared aspirations of the rest of the disenfranchised.
From initially using traditional painting means, Gernale gradually shifted to using industrial airbrush and spray painting methods. He spent the last 10 years of his career developing his airbrush painting skills. He also has been experimenting on applying the technique on various surfaces like galvanized iron, stainless metal, denim, and polymethyl methacrylate, other than canvas. Inspired by both indigenous and post-colonial literature, Gernale aims to compose a complex yet intelligible universe of metaphors that articulate the fundamental contradictions that make up a nation struggling to survive despite neocolonial threats. He also works hard to use his art not just to show but essentially to question and critique, and hopefully, to propose solutions in line with the people’s protracted revolution. As he continues to sharpen his skills, he also devotes time to study more about the semi-feudal and semi-colonial features of contemporary Philippines, and the place of the plebeian-dictated revolution in popular history.