Artist Statement
Reviving my old concept and subject of my paintings from the late 80s early 90s inspired by early Mangyan Cross motif which are raw, expressive, and textured. Reintroducing my concept of amplifying my inner sensibilities, the roots of my cultural image making process and inspired by my place in the island province of Mindoro Philippines. During the 80s when Art practice in the Philippines are primarily dominated by social realist painter as a catalyst in a revolution against the 20 years Marcos conjugal dictatorship, following this platform of art for society sake, I alternatively choose an abstract expressionist style, in my belief that figurative social realism still embodies a colonial aesthetic. By appropriating our indigenous peoples’ cultural works and incorporating them in my paintings, I formulate the textures seen in caves, tree bark, and petrified objects and elements, creating graffiti like works in a raw, expressive free flowing color and line drawings of sign and symbols akin into the indigenous works and cultural remnants. Semiotics in my paintings is my primary subject. The Irony is I still use the Western medium of painting.
About Bob Nuestro
Born in the Philippines, Nuestro earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in painting, at the old Philippine College of Music & Fine Arts, an affiliate of Philippine Women’s University, Manila. He has exhibited in Manila, Chicago, New York, Singapore, and Japan. Among the significant exhibitions featuring his works were at the Lopez Museum Gallery (Pasig City, Metro Manila), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (Pasay City, Metro Manila), and the White Cube Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Manila, Philippines) which was curated by Emmanuel Eric Torres, a leading Filipino Art Critic. From 1995 until 1999, he was one of the artists in residence at the Art & Associates Gallery. From 1999 to 2005, he was one of the exhibiting artists of The Drawing Room Contemporary. In 2005 until 2010, he was the director of the Art Project — Artist-Run Independent Art Space. At the same time, he was the painting department program coordinator and an art instructor at his alma mater, now known as the Institute of Fine Arts and Design (IFAD). Nuestro has been published in several leading newspapers and magazines including The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Bulletin Today, Philippine Star, and Asian Art News, as well as in lifestyle magazines and books. In 2010, he migrated from the Philippines to the United States. He continues reaching new heights with his art while living the life of an independent artist in Carol Stream, Illinois.
