Manuel Pañares
Manuel Pañares paints in pastel, the medium he uses to depict the life of the vanishing tribes of southern Philippines. During the early years of 1960 to 1970s, he participated in various group exhibitions in Cebu and Manila. This period honed him in formal drawing and painting through the encouragement of Tonette's long involvement in the field of arts and culture, and who would later become his wife and lifetime partner in Davao and Cebu in later years.
Pañares turning point came with his close friendship with National artist Victorio Edades especially with their collaborative mural work in Davao. Although Pañares extends himself with a distinct subject of his own, the Edades' world of abstractions & assertions for forms and pattern rather than modeling is however translated back into the illustrative and literal depiction of tribal themes.
Most important is Pañares subjects. In descriptive approach, it reflects a reality, which call for both local and global attention the respect for ethnological tradition and ecological spirit of conservation. And especially during Holy Week, he recounts that he had always been fascinated by the “Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ” even as a child. This fascination lasted through adulthood, to the years when he started to hone his art.
For many years, he would spend Good Friday painting the face of Christ crucified: sometimes serene, sometimes sorrowing, often suffering, but always accepting the will of His Father. All these paintings he gave away to whoever visited him on Good Friday.
Ten or so years ago, he decided he would paint Christ as He spoke the Seven Last Words and keep those paintings for his personal collection.
The artworks are subtly divided in half, the upper half with the face of Christ and the lower half with a comment on contemporary times. For the first words, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”, the scene below is people at war.
After Manuel finished these seven paintings, he stopped painting the face of Christ on Good Friday.
Manuel Pañares paints in pastel, the medium he uses to depict the life of the vanishing tribes of southern Philippines. During the early years of 1960 to 1970s, he participated in various group exhibitions in Cebu and Manila. This period honed him in formal drawing and painting through the encouragement of Tonette's long involvement in the field of arts and culture, and who would later become his wife and lifetime partner in Davao and Cebu in later years.
Pañares turning point came with his close friendship with National artist Victorio Edades especially with their collaborative mural work in Davao. Although Pañares extends himself with a distinct subject of his own, the Edades' world of abstractions & assertions for forms and pattern rather than modeling is however translated back into the illustrative and literal depiction of tribal themes.
Most important is Pañares subjects. In descriptive approach, it reflects a reality, which call for both local and global attention the respect for ethnological tradition and ecological spirit of conservation. And especially during Holy Week, he recounts that he had always been fascinated by the “Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ” even as a child. This fascination lasted through adulthood, to the years when he started to hone his art.
For many years, he would spend Good Friday painting the face of Christ crucified: sometimes serene, sometimes sorrowing, often suffering, but always accepting the will of His Father. All these paintings he gave away to whoever visited him on Good Friday.
Ten or so years ago, he decided he would paint Christ as He spoke the Seven Last Words and keep those paintings for his personal collection.
The artworks are subtly divided in half, the upper half with the face of Christ and the lower half with a comment on contemporary times. For the first words, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”, the scene below is people at war.
After Manuel finished these seven paintings, he stopped painting the face of Christ on Good Friday.