BY: PRISTINE L. DE LEON

Olazo one-man exhibit by Paseo Gallery at the Art Fair Philippines 2019
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Stepping back to view an abstract painting by Romulo Olazo is like pausing for a moment to take in an open landscape. Like rolling fields, Olazo's images offers vastness, in which every form, every sweep of radiant color appears inflected by light. One imagines the impressionists who would paint landscapes "en plein air" in order to catch the fleeting effect of light on color. Like their rendition of scenes, Olazo's works also hint at the idea of that painting, at its core, is an act of catching light.
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The exhibition encompasses a wide range of techniques and mediums that inform one another. From a virtuoso piece - a large-scale painting which is representative of his acclaimed Diaphanous series - the show moves to smaller symphonies: ink-and-brush compositions, drawings of female nudes, monoprints, serigraphs and calligraphs. Olazo’s practice may have been shaped by his reverence for light and largeness, yet these works on paper draw attention to small moments and small spaces of activity. While the makings of monumental canvases requires the artist’s body to move around, there is intimacy in viewing his marks on paper. These hardly-been-shown, decidedly smaller works recall the artist sitting, drawing on tables, conceiving, seizing form, and allowing himself to be led by gestures. They become studies in formal play and free imagination.

BY: JILL OLAZO

A simple tribute video celebrating Romulo Olazo used for the Olazo Large-Scale Exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Excerpts from the book Romulo Olazo

What is a diaphanous painting? It is a question asked frequently in exhibitions, interviews, or private conversations with my father. I used to think that the question should not be asked at all in the context of my father’s work, but on second thought, it might be a point worth exploring.

Does my father feel the same excitement and recall a childhood past when he is at work —finishing a layer of paint on top of another layer in creating his diaphanous forms?

Excerpts from the book Romulo Olazo

To understand the art of Romulo Olazo is to grasp the vast range of materials and techniques that he has experimented with. Rather than work towards specific masterpieces with conventional art techniques and practices, Olazo’s concern has focused on pushing the limits of different materials and processes.


The range of Olazo’s works is indeed astounding.  Aside from his impressive output in printmaking and the Diaphanous paintings, he has worked on other series in different media. During recent conversations with Olazo and while reviewing images of his early works, the artist would often state in a self-deprecating manner: “malikot ang isip ko noong araw” (My mind was restless during those days).