STEPH LOPEZ ART

“Where We Start and End”. Artwork for Pinto’s 2024 yearend exhibit, colors of Chagall.

Title: Where We Start and End
Materials: Mixed Media (Wood, rotating base, Epoxy, Acrylic; Painted wire flowers, some with beads)
Size: For wood: 14-in diameter; with flowers: variable. Picture shown is on a 20×20-in surface.
Year: 2024
Some of my thoughts on the piece:

1. Theirs is a story that starts and ends with the offering of flowers. On both occasions, as gestures
   of love.
2. Between the two gestures is a space that suggests a grave, the earth. “From earth/ dust we came and to earth/ dust we shall return” is how all our stories go.
3. In time, new life springs from the earth where the grave lies. Grass, flowers…to be picked up and offered as a gesture of love…and so another cycle starts.

Go here to see a video of the piece rotating.

Exhibit notes:

In its tradition of honoring the contributions of classical visual art masters, Pintô Art Museum and Arboretum dedicates its year-end show to the luminary Marc Chagall—an artist whose work shimmered with fantastical visions and a profound love for life. The exhibition, titled “Colors of Chagall,” opens on Sunday, December 15, at Ilustrado 1 in Gallery 7. Bringing together the works of over 100 artists, the show explores the myriad ways Chagall’s art continues to inspire, infusing the present with echoes of his rich, dreamlike legacy.

Curated by Ferdie Montemayor, “Colors of Chagall” extends an invitation to contemporary artists to engage in playful experimentation, much like Chagall’s ethereal figures that defy gravity. While some artists are drawn to his intoxicating palette, others resonate with the flowing exuberance of his forms. Regardless of approach, each artwork reflects the individuality of its creator while paying homage to the master’s vision.

The exhibition aligns with the philosophy of Pintô founder Dr. Joven Cuanang, who believes that “art and nature heal.” Chagall’s work, teeming with a life-affirming energy and a vibrant lust for existence, mirrors the same restorative power found in nature. As the artist himself once said, “Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music, everything is vibration.”

The exhibition will run until January 28, 2025, offering visitors a chance to bask in the luminous vibrations of color, form, and imagination that pay homage to one of art’s greatest dreamers.

-Carlomar Arcangel Daoana