Alexander P. Gonzales
Living an adventurer’s life with an artist’s soul, Alex Gonzales has been quite literally all over the world. Despite being a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation graduate, as a young man art was his first love. Even after going into a rather unrelated course, he continued to hone his craft, aggressively experimenting and improving the avenues which he found himself drawn to. An example is being a member of the Philippine Association of Printmakers in 1977 for etching, It was also during the 70’s that he joined the Pasig Art Club.
After graduation he embarked on his globetrotting lifestyle. Listing Odessa, Istanbul, Athens, Cape Town, Chile, Santiago, Peru, Argentina, Liverpool, Berlin, Dublin, U.S., Vancouver, Panama, Puerto Rico and Philadelphia as his favorite places, his extensive journey had given him a wealth of knowledge in different art forms. During the course of his many travels, he continued honing his craft, drawing at first when he is in the site then filling them up with color when he’s back home.
Using oil as his instrument on the canvas, his early works mirror the life that he was about to live. Starting with subjects of sailing ships, they were mostly colored with hues of blue, signaling his special connection to nature. Later on his subjects began to include figurative abstract, expressionism with a touch of fauvism. Fauvism, French for “wild beast” was a movement led by Henri Matisse. Having this European influence is a tribute to the education that travel has given him. Influenced very much by the sights of street painters and European artists from all over, he began to incorporate the strokes, thick and distorted, despite requiring a certain amount of patience for it to dry. Fauvist style also has properties of brilliant color that is bold. Finding himself drawn to it for its lively and cheerful feel, he incorporated the Fauvist style and his own unique method, thereby creating something that is truly one of a kind.
A favorite of his is “naïve art,” or rather the purest and raw form of expression beyond the boundaries of aesthetic rules. Playful, it has a quality of freedom that just sets the imagination lose and sees the world with endless possibilities. This approach toward his artwork gives him a unique twist, setting him apart from his contemporaries. Although figures are his staple subjects, he also does abstracts and some portraits as well. Being more than just a product of his travels, he is still continuously in search of himself, incorporating, adjusting and changing through the never-ending process of creating his identity through his art.
