Les Femmes

Lydia Velasco’s mastery in art is in her finding both sensuousness and strength in each woman that she paints. Her talent lies in being able to visually render women as being delicate yet strong and alluring at the same time.

There is a notable absence of sharp lines in her work, and yet as a whole, the women on her canvasses come off looking sharp-witted, self-confident and wise.

Her ongoing exhibition titled "Les Femmes" demonstrates anew her gift for capturing the inner strength of the female persona and finding her seductive grace. Les Femmes runs from October 25 to November 9 in Galerie Stephanie. Galerie Stephanie is located at Unit 1-B, Parc Plaza Building, 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Libis, Quezon City. For inquiries, visit www.galeriestephanie.multiply.com and www.galeriestephanie.blogspot.com

Velasco’s latest exhibit contains a series of paintings of women that appear seductive if not erotically charged. Indeed, they are alluring precisely because they manage to attract without having to be sexual.

In this solo exhibit, she presents a new element to her aesthetics – the incorporation of found textile and embroidery. Dressed in delicate fabrics, these women are never frivolous even if they appear to be merely gossiping, or doing something as simple as holding strings of sampaguitas. She proves her supporters right by yet again managing to visually balance charm, femininity and solidity through her flowing strokes of massively bodied female figures.

Les Femmes is Velasco’s 10th solo exhibit. She recently garnered further success by being one of few Filipino painters with two successfully auctioned works at the recently concluded Borobudur auction in Singapore last October 12. With the whole world reeling from the financial crisis and major works from top artists not selling, her "Spring" and "Mona Mystica" both found ready buyers.

In real life, Velasco shares the clever and meaningful look of her wall-bound ladies. She is as colorful, both in dress and in gesture, as the women she represents in her work. When asked about the sensuous character of her female personas, she readily explains that it is precisely this ability to seduce that gives her women their strength.

"In some ways, I believe that women are stronger than men," she declares smilingly. She says that this strength comes from all that women have to go through in life. They assume the varying roles of mother, wife, lover.

Seduction is a form of power for Velasco, and yet her preoccupation with women in her painting does not end on the physical level. She is deeply spiritual and she sees herself as an instrument of a higher being each time she approaches a painting.

It is the profound understanding of women on varying levels that gives her figures their peculiar edge and shine. – Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin