For Marvin Natural, art is second nature. A keen observer of his surroundings, and an astute witness to social situations, his paintings on an immediate level strike one as hyperrealistic — and they are — but as opposed to a showing off of skill, of technical prowess that is somewhat teachable, he harnesses his decades of unrestrained, independently-honed proficiency to transcend the visual into another realm, that what you see isn’t what you get.
He uses art to build a vocabulary to record his experiences and observations on the condition of the Philippines as a country and as a people. Each image, each tableau is a metaphor of a bigger picture, such that moves him to distill them into vignettes that are both relatable yet austere.
This brings us to his first exhibition with Mugna Gallery, “Veil and Vessel.” An exploration of the human condition, Natural focuses on the “vessel,” or physical aspect, and the “veil,” or spiritual aspect of human beings. With the paintings in the exhibition, he posits that mirroring or opposing facets of life are not separate dichotomies, instead they are intertwined dualities, eternally moving, upholding a divine existence.
Veil and vessel, body and spirit. Is their relationship that of container and contents? Maybe it is not so simple, since humans are highly complex beings. If we consider the relationship to be a conversation, then there is a message and a receiver. The body receives a message from the spirit, but as a duality, the spirit also receives the word from the body. The word flows within, but is also kept safe. Perhaps the relationship is also that of a container and a cover, an act of protection between the body and the spirit. The vessel is to contain, and the veil is to protect, and this is a cycle that persists.
From an almost journalistic vantage point, Natural’s subject matter would not be out of place on the cover of today’s newspapers. What moves him to see these events, and to take note of them with a poignancy that leads to the act of painting? With very localized elements and references, they definitely evoke scenes of the human condition, of passing vessels and fleeting veils. His paintings are physical records of the current times, of a veil that is unique to a time and place. In exchange, the messages behind the artworks build up a vessel that is passed on to succeeding generations.
A key aspect of the exhibition is the artist’s inclusion of what he highlights as footnotes to the works. They are passages from the scriptures, which provide the tone for the painting it accompanies. The idea is such: the Word is always there. It does not announce itself like a blaring trumpet. But underneath, it is there to move each scene.
As Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas had synthesized: everything moves, everything changes, and these flow unto each other. Nothing moves itself. But for all this to be possible, there must and is one prime, unmoved mover, and that is God.
While some of the verses can easily be discerned, some are a bit more subtle. Of all that was used, perhaps one of the most striking is for “Earthen Vessel.” “Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed,” it references 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NIV). The painting depicts a skull, a memento mori. It eloquently encapsulates the crux of the exhibition: the veil, the vessel, the word, and the world.
– Francisco Jinsung Lee
Marvin Natural is a painter from Cebu. Naturally drawn to art, he developed his skills as an artist independently, despite graduating from a different field. His hard work led to well-deserved recognition from the 2006 MADE (Metrobank Art and Design) Awards as a National Winner placing 3rd in the painting category.
This streak continued as a National Finalist in the 2010 Tanaw National Painting Competition held by the Bangko Sentra ng Pilipinas, as well as being a Juror’s Choice Award of Excellence recipient in the 2010 and 2014 Philippine Art Awards.
Natural has had solo exhibitions in Cebu, Bacolod and Manila. Since 1999 he has been part of group exhibitions locally and internationally, such as in Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong. He was one of the ten delegates to participate in the Mugna Paris 2013 Exhibition and Residency, selected and sponsored by the Le 100 Cultural Establishment, Paris — and it is remarkable that his exhibition “Veil & Vessel,” his first in Negros Oriental, is with Mugna Gallery.
For Marvin Natural, art is second nature. A keen observer of his surroundings, and an astute witness to social situations, his paintings on an immediate level strike one as hyperrealistic — and they are — but as opposed to a showing off of skill, of technical prowess that is somewhat teachable, he harnesses his decades of unrestrained, independently-honed proficiency to transcend the visual into another realm, that what you see isn’t what you get.
He uses art to build a vocabulary to record his experiences and observations on the condition of the Philippines as a country and as a people. Each image, each tableau is a metaphor of a bigger picture, such that moves him to distill them into vignettes that are both relatable yet austere.
This brings us to his first exhibition with Mugna Gallery, “Veil and Vessel.” An exploration of the human condition, Natural focuses on the “vessel,” or physical aspect, and the “veil,” or spiritual aspect of human beings. With the paintings in the exhibition, he posits that mirroring or opposing facets of life are not separate dichotomies, instead they are intertwined dualities, eternally moving, upholding a divine existence.
Veil and vessel, body and spirit. Is their relationship that of container and contents? Maybe it is not so simple, since humans are highly complex beings. If we consider the relationship to be a conversation, then there is a message and a receiver. The body receives a message from the spirit, but as a duality, the spirit also receives the word from the body. The word flows within, but is also kept safe. Perhaps the relationship is also that of a container and a cover, an act of protection between the body and the spirit. The vessel is to contain, and the veil is to protect, and this is a cycle that persists.
From an almost journalistic vantage point, Natural’s subject matter would not be out of place on the cover of today’s newspapers. What moves him to see these events, and to take note of them with a poignancy that leads to the act of painting? With very localized elements and references, they definitely evoke scenes of the human condition, of passing vessels and fleeting veils. His paintings are physical records of the current times, of a veil that is unique to a time and place. In exchange, the messages behind the artworks build up a vessel that is passed on to succeeding generations.
A key aspect of the exhibition is the artist’s inclusion of what he highlights as footnotes to the works. They are passages from the scriptures, which provide the tone for the painting it accompanies. The idea is such: the Word is always there. It does not announce itself like a blaring trumpet. But underneath, it is there to move each scene.
As Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas had synthesized: everything moves, everything changes, and these flow unto each other. Nothing moves itself. But for all this to be possible, there must and is one prime, unmoved mover, and that is God.
While some of the verses can easily be discerned, some are a bit more subtle. Of all that was used, perhaps one of the most striking is for “Earthen Vessel.” “Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed,” it references 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NIV). The painting depicts a skull, a memento mori. It eloquently encapsulates the crux of the exhibition: the veil, the vessel, the word, and the world.
– Francisco Jinsung Lee
Marvin Natural is a painter from Cebu. Naturally drawn to art, he developed his skills as an artist independently, despite graduating from a different field. His hard work led to well-deserved recognition from the 2006 MADE (Metrobank Art and Design) Awards as a National Winner placing 3rd in the painting category.
This streak continued as a National Finalist in the 2010 Tanaw National Painting Competition held by the Bangko Sentra ng Pilipinas, as well as being a Juror’s Choice Award of Excellence recipient in the 2010 and 2014 Philippine Art Awards.
Natural has had solo exhibitions in Cebu, Bacolod and Manila. Since 1999 he has been part of group exhibitions locally and internationally, such as in Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong. He was one of the ten delegates to participate in the Mugna Paris 2013 Exhibition and Residency, selected and sponsored by the Le 100 Cultural Establishment, Paris — and it is remarkable that his exhibition “Veil & Vessel,” his first in Negros Oriental, is with Mugna Gallery.
