Exhibitions

In an abstract work, the materials step forward and become a significant part of the work itself. Katrina Cuenca’s venture into metal sculpture, to be showcased in her latest exhibition “Where I End and You Begin”, are conscious of its own physical properties and of the space around it, eventually morphing into its own existence.

Abstract painting has a central role in Cuenca’s artistic practice. For “Where I End and You Begin”, the sculptures serve as a complementing dialogue as she works with the medium’s physicality -- referring to the physical conditions with which each piece is endowed. Her ambition is to communicate the works’ simultaneously tactile and spiritual quality. In terms of content, Cuenca works to create meanings that deal with gender history – as indicated, for example, through the juxtaposition of her soft composition versus the density of the materials used.

Katrina Cuenca uses the authority and authenticity of metal to deconstruct and reconstruct ideas and concepts about the female psyche. Dealing with issues of identification, she is interested in the possibilities and limitations, as well as the hierarchies, that one creates and passes on – particularly in relation to the position of women. With Cuenca’s abstract expression through sculpture, the intention is not to find a single universal form, but rather to seek to achieve a form that is constantly changing.

Katrina Cuenca (b. 1984) is a self-taught artist who has been painting since the 1990s. Experimenting with figures, patterns, and textures, Cuenca continuously rediscovers and evolves her art practice based on life experiences. The result is a melding of figuration and abstraction at its most spontaneous and celebratory. Katrina Cuenca has had multiple well-received solo exhibitions and has participated in the longest-running visual arts fair in the Philippines, ManilART, in 2020.

“Where I End and You Begin”, premiering metal sculptures by Katrina Cuenca, will run from June 25 to July 4, 2021 at Galerie Joaquin, Level 3 The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. For inquiries, contact Galerie Joaquin at +63 917 5822115 or email podium@galeriejoaquin.com.