60 x 60 inches ( 152.3 x 152.3cm )
Robert Bjorn Santos Collection
Scherzo
Named after the symphonic movement, Edwin Wilwayco's new series - Scherzo - conveys more than simply the energy we have come to expect from abstract-expressionist work. Not much Mozartean delicacy here, urbane wit, ornamentation or gallanterie; what we have, in contrast to his previous exhibit (Homage to Vivaldi), is perhaps more primal, an utterance that travels the whole spectrum of emotive music, from Beethoven breaking wide the strictures of classicism, to the post-romantic - Gustav Mahler's voluptuous (some say almost "megalomaniacal") symphonic oeuvre.
What we have is virtually erotic: a sustained elation neither mystic nor concupiscent but evoking the generative and the creative force that is also Eros. Color -- intense, ranging from luminous to incandescent, often a tart, astringent foil to the sweetness - Wilwayco paints in layer upon layer of impasto - lustrous and thick, a tactile delight inviting touch, and (why not?) a caress.
Nor is all this played safe. With calculated brinkmanship, the viewer is brought to wonder at the edge: how much more, through technique and taste, may this visual tension be stretched as taut and without accident!
~ Renato L. Santos