Lightening the load
Isa Tousignant
|
Self-portrait with Barong Tagalog, by Gene Pendon
|
Heavyweight Productions' Gene Pendon goes solo after a decade of collaborations
The warm nest that is Salon Daomé was teeming with its usual quotient of good times and beautiful people last Friday night, but the levels of art appreciation were exceptionally high. The occasion of the gathering was the first solo exhibition of paintings by Gene Pendon in almost a decade. It's not that Pendon - one third of the famous, infamous, illustrious Heavyweight Productions artistic think tank, alongside Tyler Gibney and Hour's own Dan Buller - has been lazing about. On the contrary, his collaborative projects have kept him too busy for luxuries like solitary introspection."It's long overdue," is one of the first things out of Pendon's mouth. "I have a painting background, that's what I went to school for, it's always been my interest since I was a kid. All kinds of art, not necessarily the art that I do through Heavyweight, but fine art, and modernist painting, and design, Expressionism - all those things are things that I've drawn from, but I've never had a platform to filter them through my work."
Until now. The seven paintings gracing the walls of Salon Daomé until May 5 run a wider gamut than you'd expect. Not that anyone ever doubted Pendon's multi-tiered talents, but rather thematically the paintings are full of happy surprises. The autobiographical aspect, for example. In the delicate, airy, finely tuned Freestyle Lineage, Pendon has rendered an image of his father's hand, an artist and calligrapher whom he credits for his lifelong interest in art. In Successful,
his Filipino heritage is paid homage to via colour-blasted iconographic references to jeepneys, a form of public transportation in the Philippines. "A lot of where my work has come out of was graffiti influences, street art influences, pop art, and in the past I didn't really know how to approach some more autobiographical or personal themes," says Pendon. "I think it was because of my peers; everyone was seeking out the new art that was happening on the street and in clubs, in relation to the music we were listening to.
"In a way, because I've done so much collaborative work - everything from album covers to really highly visible commercial work, stuff for shoe companies and music groups - you know, I'd never really approached personal themes. And it's almost as if I'm starting over by trying to find a new direction. I thought, 'Whatever better place to start than myself?' And then expand from there."
Heavyweight has changed shape in the last couple years too. For one, Gibney has relocated to L.A., the collective's beloved West Coast. It gives them a tentacle in another country, which for a boundless collective like theirs is only good.
"We're trying to make it into more of an international state of mind," Pendon chuckles. "It doesn't matter where we are, we are three parts of the whole, and when we get together - if a tour comes up, or an event - we're just a plane ticket away."
Is he interested in keeping the focus shifted for a little while, back to his own solo state of creating?
"Oh yeah, I'd love to," he beams. "I think that's where things are going to develop. We all have distinct talents, and I'd like to feel out where my personal work is going to go. And I think that's part of the contribution that we make to our collective body of work."
Gene Pendon: New Works
At Salon Daomé (141 Mont-Royal E.), to May 5
Heavyweight Productions is quite a collective but it's really nice to see local stalwart Gene Pendon delve more deeply into his solo work and explore such uniquely personal themes while still bringing to bear the many influences that have always infomed his aesthetic. Fear not, though local cool art enthusiasts, because though the collective might be a little more geographically far-flung than once before, they still plan on colloborating in the future. In the meantime, though, hit Salon Daome for a glimpse of Gene Pendon's striking new stuff!
|
|
Mark St Pierre
|
{38 votes}
|
|
|
Many an artist goes through periods of introspection as if to see what trend he/she will follow or just follow his own inner voice. Often enough we are influenced by the media surrounding us and I can appreciate hearing that Perdon has been influenced by graffiti, and street art. One has to forge ahead always with new ideas that may still stem form the old. It's comforting to refer to one's heritage in the arts now and then, as other visual artists have done before.
|
|
Martin Dansky
|
{27 votes}
|
|
|
| I once saw a heavyweight show in Tokyo... |
|
I once saw a Heavyweight art exhibition in Tokyo and that was pretty cool so I am looking forward to seeing what he came up with on his own. I think in general all members of the art collective have their own strengths and definite abilities so it will be interesting to see if he can put together a worthwhile show. That and if his show will be derivative or inventive, making something genuinely new is a tough thing...
Did anyone catch this show other than the Hour writer??? Can anyone give me some more feedback before I check it out this week?
|
|
Philip Starecky
|
{28 votes}
|
|
|
