Oil on canvas

114.6 × 101.6 cm. 45 1/8 × 40 in.

Signed in English and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2016, The Road Not Taken, Mind Set Art Center, Taipei, p. 48, 54-55
2017, Marina Cruz: Breathing Patterns, Distanz Publishing, Berlin, p. 19
EXHIBITED
23 Apr-31 May 2016, The Road Not Taken Ch.2, Mind Set Art Center, Taipei
25 Nov 2016-3 Mar 2017, Mend and Amends, A3 Arndt Art Agency, Berlin

PROVENANCE
Mind Set Art Center, Taipei
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Taipei Mind Set Arts Center with signature from the artist

When Creases Holds onto Timeless Memories
The Fabrics Dialogue of Marina Cruz

“I can show happiness and delight when depicting the dresses, through the lively colours and patterns of the fabric, I like depicting the imperfections though because it shows how human we are. And it is through the hardships and not so ‘delightful stories' that makes the happy stories more vibrant.”

――Marina Cruz

Filipino contemporary artist Marina Cruz is known for painting fabrics and clothes as her visual response to encapsulate endearing traces and memories of life. With specific patterns, each painting is an homage to her Filipino heritage and upbringing, as well as a display of the role and impact of female empowerment in Philippine society. Since her graduation from The University of the Philippines' Fine Art degree in 2003, the theme of “clothing” has remained her main visual dialogue in pertaining her mother's impact and legacy in her upbringing. In 2008, Cruz's iconic work, titled Embroidered Landscape of My Mother's Life: A Biography was awarded the Ateneo Art Awards. In the same year, Cruz was also awarded with a grand prize at the Philippine Art Awards, and the Philip Morris Awards. Across her oeuvre, she has held many international exhibitions, such as in Germany, France, Australia, Beijing, Singapore and Taiwan. In 2021, Cruz's largest solo exhibition in Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, titled Tide Table not only displayed over 100 works, but unveiled and celebrated her creative transitions over 20 years of artistic practice.

Clothing and fabric has always been an integral part of Cruz's artistic and emotional expression. It originated from a discovery of over 100 hand-sewed miniature suits by Cruz's maternal grandmother in 2002. The accidental discovery ignited the artist's inspiration to study each thread, lining and materials in fabrics. Each study is documented and sketched as an extend to preserve and recapture past times, and soon, it became known as Cruz's representational theme in her artistic journey. While fabrics and patterns are diverse, Cruz's magnified study on the colour, texture, and composition in clothing allowed an expression breakthrough in her oeuvre. As such, an iconic work titled White Lines on Red Horizontals unequivocally depicts an abstracted composition, while detailed and intricate depiction of texture, threads and depth implies a strong emotional and psychological dialogue between the artist and its viewers.

Speckles of a Good Time

As a comprehensive painting, stripes of earth-red runs from top to bottom, filling the entire surface of the painting. Paired with notes of pearl-white to represent the red fabric inner lining, such abstracted composition evokes layered movement that is seen in gestures of nature. In White Lines on Red Horizontals, Cruz intentionally deconstructed our preconceived notion of a sleeve in clothing by presenting a magnified version of the fabric, in which redirects our vision on each individual texture. The detailed painting enhances the aesthetic in abstracted compositions, as well as the dexterity it takes to create this item of clothing. Through gradients of red, the layers, shadows and threads highlight the tailor's decision in cutting, dyeing, and methods of sewing. In addition, Cruz's brushwork represents the last stage of fabrication, in which stains confirm a passing of time that it took to complete the dyeing process. Each fiber encompasses an unique memory, as each strain was handled by multiple hands and experience. As long as the product exists, it will continue to accumulate memories, as time is written across each fiber and fabric.

Alike Japanese contemporary artist Chiharu Shiota, who uses fabrics to encapsulate physical clothing and shoes as a metaphor on memory conservation, Cruz's delicate, abstracted yet realistic depiction of clothing evokes warm-hearted memories that is shared across generations. While subject of clothing may perceived as mundane, it is layers of the depicted that recalls and response with the viewer's personal experience with family, history, time and exploration. Each item created, gifted and painted is a symbol of love, an in-depth experience and expression that is instilled in each individual. Similar to shared memories that is often discussed in countless context, a piece of clothing is often folded and unfolded, used and unused, as a means to accumulate important memories that can be reviewed in detail in the near future.

Price estimate:
HKD: 120,000 - 180,000
USD: 15,300 - 22,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 264,000