Art Review: The Artworks of Reynan Dingal

Samboan Impressions is a group exhibit by Samboan artists at Ayala Center Cebu organized by Cebu Artists Incorporated which opened on August 8, 2014 and will run for 2 weeks.

Though this was a group exhibit, for me the artworks that became the highlight of the show was the pen and ink works of Reynan Dingal.

We don’t usually see a lot of pen and ink artworks because of its limited color which only plays with black and white. However if a pen and ink work is combined with other artworks like a group exhibit, because of its unique medium, shows off its advantages. It has a big chance to stand out.

This for me is what happened to Reynan Dingal’ s work. Amidst an exhibit of colors, oil paintings and canvases his works stood out, but of course, we can’t simply conclude that by being a black and white work was his only advantage. These pen and ink works are not ordinary, it also had an advantage of having a distinct style.

The works of Reynan Dingal evoke memories of Botong V. Francisco’s ink washes during the 1960s. His figures which have elongated arms and legs looks like modern versions of Francisco’s ink washes. Then because he repeats the same figures in one work, he achieves a slow motion type of movement like you are watching Keannu Reeves evading bullets in the Matrix movie.

His Filipino themes have gained some modernity because of his style. I even believe that this style which is like a modern take on Botong V. Franciso, would also look better if they were bigger, but an issue could arise, by making them bigger, he would need to get away from using pen and ink. Could this then make the work no longer unique?

The answer is no. Even if the artist gets away from pen and ink, the works will stand out. This is because the works do not depend on the pen and ink for it to be unique. It is unique because of his style, and if painted on a bigger canvas or as a mural it would still be able to catch our attention because of this distinct style.

It would even be good to see the works in color too or even take up different themes and not just be limited to every day Filipino rural life. This would be a good development of his style and something to look out for in his future exhibits.

By using pen and ink Reynan Dingal’s artworks catches your attention but it does not stop there. His style makes you want to stay and look deeper at the work. It is his style then that makes us want to see more works from him again in the future whatever form it may take – black and white, colored, big or small.

About the author: N.M. CABANGBANG graduated Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Painting at University of the Philippines Cebu. He is now currently teaching grade 6 – 10 Art at B.R.I.G.H.T.  Academy. He also plays the bass and sings for the band – PALTIK.