Bougainvillea At Iba Pa
Melissa Villaseñor
Art Lounge Manila: Podium, November 1 to 10, 2022

It is often said that life imitates art. But in the case of Melissa Villaseñor, art most definitely imitates life. As one steps into her Antipolo home one is immediately transported to an a dreamlike idyll where a carpet of dried Bougainvillea’s greet you on your path. And the view from the homes wide windows are framed by lush bougainvillea’s of every color and variety.

Because of this, it is no surprise that the artist is so inspired by these beautiful flora. Melissa Villaseñor captures the dreamlike and ephemeral qualities of these fleeting blooms in her primary body of work which is distinguished by such lightness and softness, almost as if no hard lines are drawn and there are just colors and light and shadow blending into each other in a light and airy chiaroscuro.

For this exhibition however the mimesis does not end there, yet another aspect of the artists immediate environment is revealed in her newly birthed abstract works which are a sharp antithesis to her floral paintings. In contrast to the softness of her florals in oil, her abstracts done in acrylic are highly gestural and contrasting, she also uses bolder colors in her abstract work revealing yet another aspect of the artists surroundings. Less known to most is that her home is also the base of operations for her family’s garment business where machinery bulks of fabric have become the inspiration for her latest foray into the abstract. The effect is a dichotomy of form and style at play in this latest exhibition Bougainvillea At Iba Pa.

The exhibit runs from November 1 to 10, 2022 at Art Lounge Manila – The Podium, Mandaluyong City.

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