Under the Norse Sun
Richard Buxani
Art Lounge Manila
The latest exhibit of Richard Buxani tells the enthralling Norse folklore of Thor, son of Odin, god of thunder, and protector of mankind and his fabled journey to the land of the giants. In the story, Thor and his companions, the trickster Loki and Thjalfi travel to a distant land and are subjected to a series of unwinnable tests by the king of the giants, yet these tests were not as they appeared. The tests, in the story, revealed that nothing in the castle had been what it seemed.
Militarism, conflict and battle that seem so universal today allow Richard Buxani to provide personal responses that combine culture and societal values. It is exactly through such an artist’s reaction that art provides relevance to the world in 2020.
Valiant, heroic, and brave postures of the work express emotions that we can all relate to. As anxiety converts to comfort; depression to courage; fear to generosity; despair to hope; loneliness to love, sculptures that evolve from Buxani’s ouevre are jubilant. They lend themselves to lyrical interpretations and hopeful forward looking themes to guide us from adversity startlingly magnifying the relevance of Buzani’s themes as brought about by the current catastrophic pandemic.
Buxani’s subject matter is never out of fashion, particularly the irresolvable battle of good and evil. The idea behind this exhibit is to show good and evil forces in a very broad way and question the concept of reality. Through this exhibit, Buxani reflects on the many-sided nature of the tragedy of war and the resilience of the human spirit.
Born of a Filipina mother and an Indian Father, Richard Buxani (b. 1971) was raised in Manila where he received a Catholic education from pre-school to college. He studied Architecture at the College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA) in the University of Santo Tomas where he ultimately had his first influences and lessons in art.
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