Filipino artist Don Bryan Bunag re-imagines the films that captivate him through dynamic, monochromatic canvases brimming with personality.
Don Bryan Bunag is a young Filipino artist that is rightfully getting noticed in the Philippine art scene. He was born in Bulacan in 1993 and currently lives and works in Malolos. He graduated with honors, acquiring a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication degree from Bulacan State University in Malolos City.
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Bunag evens out every element in his monochromatic compositions that usually emphasize the neutrality of forms, releasing the work from any central figure or subject. This dispenses the experience of looking at a canvas or gallery space as the central landscape.
Apart from narratives drawn from memory, Bunag re-imagines scenes from films and renders them into paintings and assemblages of arresting motion, movement, and character. In doing so, the artist believes that time and self can be deconstructed and reconstructed through images, objects, and materials to help us understand and reflect on the notion of identity built through and defined by a cluster of landscapes.
The multi-media artist has no preference on whether he does his artwork as an installation or on canvas…nor can he label his work as a specific style. He says, “Honestly, I cannot classify my work as belonging to a specific movement or style. Nevertheless, I can describe my practice of art-making as slow, deliberate, and process-based. Most of the time, I try to navigate the fine lines between formalism and the conceptual aspect of the work.”
On his chosen medium or colors he explains that, “At times, the best medium for expressing a particular idea is neither painting nor installation. Materials, in my opinion, can also serve as a source of information and a means of emphasizing and further pushing the narrative in a way that is both universal and personal. My painting is a product of several layers (around 10 to 17 delicate layers of paint). At the latter part of my execution, my process will become more subtractive, covering and simplifying hues and tones to achieve a certain mood and neutrality. This process helps me to filter out the unnecessary details and information in my work, clinging to the idea of minimalism—all but essential.”
The young artist has a number of awards already. He was selected as the Grand Prize winner of the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) in water-based category in 2015. He was a finalist at the following competitions and awards: Don Papa Rum National Painting Competition (2019); Art Renewal Center ARC Awards in New Jersey (2018, 2019); Special citation MADE in 2014; Grand Prize Winner, Vision Petron National Students Art Competition (2012, 2013) and the Gintong Kabataan Awards for Visual Arts (2013) in his hometown of Malolos.
Bunag won the Grand Prize at the PhilPost Papal Stamp Design Competition in 2014 and has been working as a book designer and illustrator since 2015.
He considers himself truly fortunate to be guided by selfless individuals throughout his art journey. Some mentors include his high school visual arts teacher, Eduardo Dime, who made him realize his dream of pursuing fine arts; social realists, Renato Habulan and Alfredo Esquillo; artist and curator Ricky Francisco, who helped and guided him in forging his foundation during his formative years in the art scene; and the inspiring couple of artists, Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz, whose line is always open for his questions, and even the sharing of future plans about studio practice and life in general.
He says he is really certain that he will never stop searching for new things and processes —that he will not settle with what he currently knows. However, he also wants to savor and really absorb the daily process of art-making in his studio: developing, experimenting, and understanding things and concepts. After that, he will allow his art to evolve organically, and over time, be guided by his intuition.
Bunag has plans and dreams like everyone else. He’d like to be more active exhibiting overseas and joining art biennales in and outside the Southeast Asian region (he has shown in Japan and Indonesia) to further extend and challenge his body of work. He also aims to produce more large-scale works and public installations in the future. His long-time goal is to have a place to establish a community-focused, multi-disciplinary art studio in Bulacan that will provide alternative art education and opportunities for local artists and artisans.
There is no doubt we shall see and hear more from and about Don Bryan Bunag in the future.
Photos courtesy of Don Bryan Bunag.
