Gary-Ross Pastrana has been making collages alternately with his sculptural installations since 1999. Pastrana's latest set of collages will be shown at SLab's 20Square Gallery beginning December 4, 2008. His current series is characterized by the deliberate restraint from the use of any recognizable figure, the near absence of texts or symbols, scribbles or handwriting of any kind usually associated with the collage medium. It relies heavily on the exploration of the range of possibilities offered by found printed material, paper texture, shape and color which calls for a more mature and developed sense of composition. The sharp, hard-edged geometric cutouts interspersed with seemingly randomly torn pages reveal a deft handling of shape and form, effortlessly traversing the fine line between the controlled and the accidental. It is evident how much detail and workmanship went into every piece, resulting in collages that if chosen could be exhibited individually but undeniably take on a more meaningful, expressive and almost narrative quality when shown as a set.

Gary-Ross Pastrana was the Philippine representative to the 2008 Busan Biennale in Korea where he presented Collapsible Stream, a discarded boat cut-up into several pieces separately airmailed from Japan to Korea where it was then reassembled. Created during his artist residency in Kyoto under the Japan Foundation's Jenesys Program, the project allowed Pastrana to work closely with local artists and be immersed in Kyoto's boating culture along the Lake Biwaku region. Pastrana is a recipient of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award in 2006.

Relatively unknown outside his immediate art circle, Gary-Ross Pastrana has steadily developed an almost hermetic studio practice which functions as an interesting counterpoint to the often site-specific and ephemeral sculptures and installations that he is better known for.

Born out of the dissatisfaction from his output from a collage assignment in art school, he initiated a self- imposed challenge to do better and learn through practice the intricacies of the medium. Likewise, the choice of index cards as ground was also brought about by another failed project; a flipbook assignment from freshman year where in he chose to animate a single leaf falling to the ground. He found satisfaction in layering over and covering each erroneously animated frame while at the same time nurturing a deepening interest in the collage medium in the process.The initial set of 60 small works, which began in 1999, grew into a series totaling 420 pieces and culminated in a well received 2003 exhibition at Green Papaya Art Projects entitled Detour/Set/Fraction.

In the same breath, the current series echoes the idea of reworked failures, as these new collages are themselves remade and recycled from the discarded pieces from the initial series.These ‘discards’, which were excluded from the ones chosen to be framed are again reworked, added on and layered upon, recomposed until they are almost totally obliterated, while a few still bear traces of their previous incarnations.

The current series is characterized by the deliberate restraint from the use of any recognizable figure, the near absence of texts or symbols, scribbles or handwriting of any kind usually associated with the medium. It relies heavily on the exploration of the range of possibilities offered by found printed material, paper texture, shape and color which calls for a more mature and developed sense of composition.The sharp, hard- edged geometric cutouts interspersed with seemingly randomly torn pages reveal a deft handling of shape and form, effortlessly traversing the fine line between the controlled and the accidental. It is evident how much detail and workmanship went into every piece, resulting in collages that if chosen could be exhibited individually but undeniably take on a more meaningful, expressive and almost narrative quality when taken as a set.

Gary-Ross Pastrana, artist and curator, known for sculptural installations, started his series of collages at the turn of this century.These miniature paintings are Pastrana’s nod to his contemporary art history influences – from Duchamp to Rothko, from Man Ray to Felix Gonzalez Torres.Their present installation as multi-collages allows larger appreciation of the pieces without compromising their intimacy. Pastrana was the Philippine representative to the 2008 Busan Biennale in Korea, showing Collapsible Stream, a boat airmailed from Japan to Korea in pieces, created during his artist residency in Kyoto. Pastrana is a recipient of the prestigious Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award.