Lydia Velasco's definitive exhibit 'Paradiso' opens September 5 at Galerie Joaquin

The concept of Paradise has cross-cultural references in the history of man, most of them having pastoral or garden like imagery. In ancient Egyptian culture, this is known as Auru, or ideal hunting and fishing grounds in the after life. In Hellenic culture, the ancient Greeks had a concept of the Elysian Fields, a paradisiacal land of plenty where the noble and the heroic continue onwards after death. The famous Florentine poet Dante Aligheri, in the third part of his literary masterpiece The Divine Comedy describes Paradiso as a heavenly paradise of nine celestial spheres where the virtuous and the good will enjoy paramount redemption.

 

In Judaic culture, paradise is defined as a lovely garden of Eden while in Muslim culture it is known as Jannah (which means Garden) where man continues to enjoy spiritual and other pleasures not experienced on this earth.

 

What esteemed painter Lydia Velasco, does in this, her latest one-woman exhibition is to embark on a route to define her own vision of Paradise. She creates new works of astounding beauty, a world of lush foliage, abundant waterfalls and colorful flowers. Her concept is to present her interpretation of paradiso via her garden scapes and merge these with her female figures. Velasco, a Modernist master in her own right, navigates the levels of Paradiso in her own creative and artistic terms.

 

Her new show, the much awaited and aptly titled "Paradiso" opens at Galerie Joaquin on September 5. 

 

About the artist

 

Lydia Velasco was born in Navotas on December 27, 1942, the daughter of Jose Velasco - a set designer for LVN Studios – and his wife Melania. She majored Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas and later worked in Advertising as one of the first women in the industry. But the allure of her own artistic practice was too strong, and she eventually decided to become a full-time painter. 

 

She became a member of the Saturday Group, becoming familiar with such art luminaries as National Artists Hernando R. Ocampo and Cesar Legaspi—both of whom had already worked with her in advertising. And it was in advertising that Velasco discovered her particular passion in depicting the female form. 

 

“I was one of those that the bosses would ask to do the story boards for TV commercials of products such as Palmolive and Camay,” she recalls. “Whatever it is, I would make sure their faces contained certain expression-coy, seductive, smiling, or winsomely trying to attract attention. Even then, I already knew that I wanted to paint.”

 

"Paradiso" opens at Galerie Joaquin on September 5, Thursday, at 6 p.m. at Galerie Joaquin and runs until September 16.

 

Galerie Joaquin is located at 371 P. Guevarra st., corner Montessori Lane, Addition Hills, San Juan City. For more information, please contact (02) 7239418 or (02) 9759532 or email info@galeriejoaquin.com or visit the Galerie Joaquin website.

Press release and photos from Galerie Joaquin