BE THE_
Chati Coronel
We are delighted to inaugurate our Online Viewing Room with a presentation entitled BE THE_ by contemporary artist, Chati Coronel. In this digitally exclusive exhibition, we are displaying fifty prints: ten editions in five sets––the first half of Coronel’s ten-part series. Conceived and completed by the artist during the height of the health crisis, these optimistic works mark a hopeful end to a year of immeasurable challenge and change.
Widely known for marrying text and visuals in her word paintings, Coronel now reflects her articulate practice through prints in BE THE_. To further illustrate her indivisible relationship with words, Coronel composed poems for each of the five sets featured in this presentation––‘BE THE: Free’, ‘BE THE: Impossible’, ‘BE THE: Fire’, ‘BE THE: Mighty’, and ‘BE THE: Kindest’. These prints take the format of magazine covers, a publication Coronel considers hugely influential to one’s perspective. With this detail in mind, the artist motivates viewers to adopt introspection through her topical series––to ‘SEE INSIDE’ as the text in each of these works instructs. Despite the repetitive nature of this medium, no two prints are identical; each piece reflects a unique and distinct character.
'The “BE THE” series is a play on Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” presented in the format of a magazine cover. Infusing pop culture reference into my process of Figurative Spatialism, I explore the power of the word as a system of becoming. Here, I use the printing medium for its power of repetition but I remain true to the methodology of creating layers to reveal an inner world in each piece.
“BE THE” is a follow up to my text-filled 2015 Word Paintings series but it is my first exploration into the power of multiplicity through the process of linocut printing.
The magazine cover is a format we are used to seeing. Its specifically designed and repeated configurations of text and form have influenced our way of being, from what clothes to buy, what cause to fight for, what we should look like, to how we should feel about ourselves. I wanted to use this format to point towards inner being and to give a sense of hope and empowerment especially during this time of human crisis.'
- CC -
BE THE_Free
Attention
Own
Your
own
Consciousness
Own
Your
own
Attention
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Free 0109, 0101, 0110, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Free 0109, 0101, 0110, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Free
Attention
Own
Your
own
Consciousness
Own
Your
own
Attention
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Impossible (Fulfilled) 0207, 0205, 0209, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Impossible
The Way
to
Slay
Eternal
Hunger
Is
To
Feed It
Eternal
Love
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Impossible (Fulfilled) 0207, 0205, 0209, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Impossible
The Way
to
Slay
Eternal
Hunger
Is
To
Feed It
Eternal
Love
BE THE_Fire
Fire
Catches
Thought
Catches
Word
Word
Breathes
Air
Breathes
Fire
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Fire (That Lights the Way) 0302, 0303, 0305, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Fire (That Lights the Way) 0302, 0303, 0305, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Fire
Fire
Catches
Thought
Catches
Word
Word
Breathes
Air
Breathes
Fire
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Mighty (And Then Serve) 0401, 0409, 0403, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Mighty
Hope
Multiplies
Courage
Multiplies
Strength
Gives
Purpose
Brings
Hope
Multiplied
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Mighty (And Then Serve) 0401, 0409, 0403, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Mighty
Hope
Multiplies
Courage
Multiplies
Strength
Gives
Purpose
Brings
Hope
Multiplied
BE THE_Kindest
Your heart
Is
A blood cup
Where
The sun
Also
Rises
Love
Blooms
Light
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Kindest (Kind) 0502, 0508, 0510, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
CHATI CORONEL, BE THE: Kindest (Kind) 0502, 0508, 0510, linocut prints on acid-free paper, 30h x 22w in. each, Edition of 10 (2020)
BE THE_Kindest
Your heart
Is
A blood cup
Where
The sun
Also
Rises
Love
Blooms
Light
How to be free
The leaves are stuttering
Because they are
Not real
They are not
Not real
Here
Not here
Not
Not Here
The leaves are stuttering
Because
They are free
Chati Coronel on her "BE THE_" series
About
Chati Coronel (b. 1970, Manila, Philippines; lives and works in Toronto, Canada) has been consistently evolving her painting practice for twenty-eight years and in that time, she has developed a singular artistic voice. Her distinct painting methodology, which she refers to as ‘Figurative Spatialism’ is a process by which negative space is painted over completed layers of text and abstract gestures until a silhouette is enclosed. This leaves her paintings’ subjects, often human figures empty to expose the abstract layers below. By effectively omitting the usual visual cues that point to race, age or personality, Coronel chooses instead to give her human forms an inner world, a human universality. Coronel is represented by Silverlens Galleries and has exhibited her work in Manila, Los Angeles, Florence, Singapore, and most recently, Art Basel Hong Kong.
BE THE_Free
BE THE_Impossible (Fulfilled)
BE THE_Fire (That Lights the Way)
BE THE_Mighty (And Then Serve)
BE THE_Kind
