GREGORY
HALILI
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"Conversation in Contemplation," Gregory Raymond Halili.
The
exhibition, a suite of small-scale watercolors, is a visual haiku of the
artist's reflections on death.
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Gregory Halili,
, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Return, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Isolation, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Light My Way, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| After
sustaining the loss of a beloved family member and a close friend within
a few months, Halili was moved to express his sense of grief in paint. Using
the curtain as a metaphor for the opening and closing of life, the artist
muses on what he calls "the symbolism between life and death."
Each watercolor measures 1-1/2 x 1-1/8 inches, on paper measuring 10 x7
inches. Each includes a simple gossamer white or black curtain partly opened
to reveal the sky behind it. In each piece it is nighttime, the sky is tones
of gray, black and white with passing clouds, and in some works, the moon
appears behind the curtain. While each watercolor shares curtain, sky, the
quiet of night, each is subtly different, each unique, the entire suite
a tone poem ranging from black and white, to silver, sepia and gold.
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Gregory Halili,
Angel's Whisper, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Without You, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Sorrow, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Hope, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| Unlike
his colorful butterfly watercolors with fluttery winged creatures painted
on myriad fabrics, the works included in "Conversation in Contemplation"
are subtle, nuanced, emptied of the brilliance of the rainbow the artist
deftly utilizes in his other work. The artist's focus on limited color brings
his palette to a new realm in which color functions as both subject and
emotive vehicle in his meditative new suite. |
Gregory Halili,
Heaven, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Mourning, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Stuck in a Moment, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Another Day, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| As
one views the suite, the images move in progression from a closed curtain
revealing a band of white clouds, to a curtain that opens onto a golden
sky. The pieces, while filled with the artist's personal emotion and sensibility,
expressed with elegant restraint, invite the viewer to his/her own place
of contemplation. One cannot help but feel a sense of hope, of positive
life force, in Halili's haiku. |
Gregory Halili,
Remembering Our Future, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
After the Sunset, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
After All These Years, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Before You Go, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| In
writing about "Conversation in Contemplation,"Halili says: "These
new paintings speak to the fact that life is lived in stages, in renewal
and in cycles." He continues: "Death is the greatest reminder
that life exists, both in the physical as well as in the spiritual sense." |
Gregory Halili,
Darkest Moment, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Light in the Night, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Serenade, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Afternoon Serenade, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| "Conversation
in Contemplation" had its inaugural view at the Jorge B. Vargas Museum,
University of the Philippines, Quezon City, in August 2003. |
Gregory Halili,
Following the Equator, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Faded Moonlight, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Pacific Dream, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Following the Equator II, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
| Gregory
Raymond Halili was born in Manila, Philippines in 1975. He received his
B.F.A. from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His work has been
shown at The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; Arnot Art Museum, Elmira,
New York; Artists' House Gallery, Philadelphia; The Butler Institute of
American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan,
Wisconsin; Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington,
D.C; Hammond Museum and Sculpture Garden, Salem, New York; John and Mable
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; and Jorge B. Vargas Museum, University
of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. He has won awards from numerous
institutions including the Art Institute of New Jersey; "Trenton Times"
(New Jersey); and the United Nations Postal Administration. He was named
Governor's School of the Arts Scholar (New Jersey) and is listed in "Who's
Who Among American Students." |
Gregory Halili,
Dreamer, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Deep Asleep, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Loneliness, 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
Gregory Halili,
Nostalgia (small version), 2003,
watercolor on paper, 10 x 7 inches |
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