Being popular is a full-time job. It’s not only entertainment celebrities who know this and live with it, but even those who engage in so-called quieter fields, like painters and sculptors, have to “work to sell the work”, which can be annoying and even exhausting.
Gil Corcuera is of those who would rather forego this business of schmoozing collectors, going to “must-attend” functions, or cultivating media attention.
At the end of each exhibit, successful though they may be, he would retire to his atelier and leave people wondering when he would reappear. Those who know him well and guess that he is busy creating more art would be right and would look forward to being captivated again at some time in the future. Sure enough, after four years or five, he would come out of his workshop and treat the public to new fruits of his labor and talent.
It is just as well, as his art appeals to a more sophisticated and witty audience. Corcuera’s pieces have been described as “kinetic sculpture” because there is almost always a moving part that makes each piece “come alive”. At rest, the pieces are already beautiful art. When they move, they become a brilliant display of his precision and skill at balancing tension, weight, and motion. Beyond the technical mastery, Corcuera’s art exhibit a delightful wit, fun, and playfulness, certain to coax a smile, if not an outright laugh from his very selective audience.
Art critic Cid Reyes has described Corcuera as “one of the country’s most interesting sculptors.” There have been some who have used his work as inspiration, but no one quite captures the essence of Gil Corcuera’s special whimsicality.
The latest products of his marvelous imagination are on display at an exhibit from May 4 to May 13, 2023 at the Galerie Joaquin, Level R3, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati.