Maria Pureza Escano
Global Filipina multidisciplinary artist Maria Pureza Escaño is a painter (multi-media), sculptor, writer, inspirational speaker and lecturer from Sariaya,Quezon. Her early works are characterized by impressionist influences which were ranked at par with the great American Impressionists (Designtaxi, January 28, 2009). Her growing reputation in the global art scene as a notable figurative and avant-garde artist followed after the phenomenal success of her two shows at New York’s Ico Gallery (curated by Skylor Brummans) in March and May 2009. These were followed by numerous invitations to exhibit from galleries here in the country and in the art capitals of the world.
In October 2010, Maria Pureza Escano was chosen for membership by the highly selective Trevisan International Art, an organization of international artists with headquarters in Italy to exhibit her works at the famous Castelo de Estense in Ferrara, Italy. She is now one of its banner members who enjoy full representation and exhibition opportunities in key cities throughout Europe.
Maria Pureza Escano has exhibited with international greats Blake Ward, Jon Boe Paulsen, Ned Martin, Kaiser Kamal, Davor Vulovic, Ted Barr and Keith Morant among others.
Recently, Maria Pureza Escano was handpicked by the University of the Philippines for her concept and rendition of "The Rose of Marya: Service through Excellence", an allegorical seven-foot fiber glass sculpture celebrating100 years of excellence and service to the community of the women of the University of the Philippines. Commissioned by the Alumni Association of the Sigma Delta Sorority, The Rose of Marya serves as the landmark of UP Los Banos' Centennial Promenade and was unveiled in March 2012.
Maria Pureza Escano possesses a degree in English Literature from the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation. She worked as a freelance writer and creative consultant for various magazines and organizations and became creative director of a design firm in Makati City.
Escaño’s well-received figurative art are characterized by soulful and light-hearted subjects and scenes which are reminiscent of her traditional and impressionist exposure while, her surreal art features evocative dreamscapes in vibrant patches of colors in either languid almost sinuous brushstrokes or in amorphous, stained-glass-looking shapes -a style uniquely her own yet universal in appeal.
At present, through her Ode to the Father exhibits, Maria Pureza is helping raise funds for the Scholarship of Hope, a scholarship for the children of “the poorest of the poor” of the Bukas-Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community. In 2009, she donated the entire collection of her Ode to the Father solo show to raise seed funds for this charity. Just this year, Maria Pureza and her husband, Rad, were designated as Global Directors of the BLD Gawad Kalinga’s Scholarship of Hope Foundation.
Maria Pureza Escano is also a writer. She is a published poet and short story writer. She also writes feature stories on art and culture at Manila Bulletin's Sense & Style magazine.
ART CRITICISM on Escaño’s Works
“Escano’s works possess vitality, experimentation, multi-colored yet harmonious pattern, freedom of thought, purity of expression and above all, the creative energy of life... We are fascinated by her personal and powerful art research where the interaction of spaces, form and color connection create such intense and emotional results able to go beyond the physical limits of the canvas.”
PAOLA TREVISAN
Curator
Creative Energy International Art Exposition
Ferrara, Italy
“...this painter never spares herself in her art; on the contrary, she investigates with true sincerity the many aspects of living, especially those closer to the feminine, showing great ability in her figurative art in her representation of the body, but also expressing herself masterfully in wider interpretations, precisely those of a symbolic and surreal nature.”
MICHELA TURRA
Art Critic
Trevisan International Art
Italy
“Escano’s art is “a breath of fresh air into the abstract-dominated international art scene” and are ”never only about exposition of skill but are songs of her soul sung as freely and as candidly as a birdsong... What makes her work exemplary is their light and soul, the underlying elements in the physical work which draw powerful affective responses from the spectator, opening up to him the many vistas and landscapes of the human emotion.”
RAOUL DE SAUVETERRE
Art Today – Paris
" Pure, unassuming, soulful, her works give the viewer a glimpse of life’s simple but profound essences. What we like about Maria’s work is that it reminds us of what real art should be. Her works do not seek to impress through painstakingly studied techniques but are nevertheless impressive because they seem to spring spontaneously from an irrepressively hopeful heart. Viewing her art rewards one’s soul with new inspirations to see beauty in even the most ordinary of life’s occurences. And we leave with our spirits refreshed, eager to see the way her heart’s eye sees the beauty of life’s moments.”
FIONNA MCBRIDE
The Art Catalyst
New York
“We think Escano’s works have a unique sensitivity and delicate nature with an angelic perspective that we find very appealing. She makes us think of faraway worlds and beautiful dreams.”“Puchette Escano’s art is a bold deviation from what is commonly perceived as Filipino art.”
DALIA CHAKO
New York art impressario
Director, Gallerie Icosahedron
"I see suppressed emotions relieved in her works and elevated to a kind of unbounded glory. I see such glorious magnificence in her artistic expressions. Her poetry is always ...observed in her visual creations .The realism in form and the expressivity of their implied meanings are at once noticeable. I guess her academic preparation has given her a solid compositional ability that provides sturdy foundation for her figure paintings. Her depiction of the characteristics of form and her delicate manipulation of those delicate features has given the figures under her brush, profound realistic meanings. Solid composition, precise forms, spatial arrangement, balance of volume allow them to have their weightiness and body as in sculpture. The forms are swift and lucid, noble and elegant, or peaceful and pure, contrasting yet harmonious."
REMIGIO DAVID
Altromondo Arte Contemporanea
Paris, France
"Escano's works is a bold deviation from is commonly perceived as Filipino art."
DEKADA ARTS PHILIPPINES
Criticism on "The Rose of Marya"
"... what a clever display of seductive image and form. The supple figure and the tactful feature recall earlier Roccoco, with its charm and realism despite its firmly neoclassical approach. The purity of its contours displays a subtle and discrete eroticism. it is an absolute champion of idealization. Antonio Canova, John Flaxman and Bertel Thorvaldsen are preeminently felt in this work."
REMIGIO DAVID
Altromondo Arte Contemporanea
Paris, France
Sources:
The Trevisan International Art Catalogue, Bologna, Italy (2012)
Fine Art America (2012)
Gallerie Icosahedron Catalogue (2012), New York
Art Today - Paris (February 2010)
In October 2010, Maria Pureza Escano was chosen for membership by the highly selective Trevisan International Art, an organization of international artists with headquarters in Italy to exhibit her works at the famous Castelo de Estense in Ferrara, Italy. She is now one of its banner members who enjoy full representation and exhibition opportunities in key cities throughout Europe.
Maria Pureza Escano has exhibited with international greats Blake Ward, Jon Boe Paulsen, Ned Martin, Kaiser Kamal, Davor Vulovic, Ted Barr and Keith Morant among others.
Recently, Maria Pureza Escano was handpicked by the University of the Philippines for her concept and rendition of "The Rose of Marya: Service through Excellence", an allegorical seven-foot fiber glass sculpture celebrating100 years of excellence and service to the community of the women of the University of the Philippines. Commissioned by the Alumni Association of the Sigma Delta Sorority, The Rose of Marya serves as the landmark of UP Los Banos' Centennial Promenade and was unveiled in March 2012.
Maria Pureza Escano possesses a degree in English Literature from the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation. She worked as a freelance writer and creative consultant for various magazines and organizations and became creative director of a design firm in Makati City.
Escaño’s well-received figurative art are characterized by soulful and light-hearted subjects and scenes which are reminiscent of her traditional and impressionist exposure while, her surreal art features evocative dreamscapes in vibrant patches of colors in either languid almost sinuous brushstrokes or in amorphous, stained-glass-looking shapes -a style uniquely her own yet universal in appeal.
At present, through her Ode to the Father exhibits, Maria Pureza is helping raise funds for the Scholarship of Hope, a scholarship for the children of “the poorest of the poor” of the Bukas-Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community. In 2009, she donated the entire collection of her Ode to the Father solo show to raise seed funds for this charity. Just this year, Maria Pureza and her husband, Rad, were designated as Global Directors of the BLD Gawad Kalinga’s Scholarship of Hope Foundation.
Maria Pureza Escano is also a writer. She is a published poet and short story writer. She also writes feature stories on art and culture at Manila Bulletin's Sense & Style magazine.
ART CRITICISM on Escaño’s Works
“Escano’s works possess vitality, experimentation, multi-colored yet harmonious pattern, freedom of thought, purity of expression and above all, the creative energy of life... We are fascinated by her personal and powerful art research where the interaction of spaces, form and color connection create such intense and emotional results able to go beyond the physical limits of the canvas.”
PAOLA TREVISAN
Curator
Creative Energy International Art Exposition
Ferrara, Italy
“...this painter never spares herself in her art; on the contrary, she investigates with true sincerity the many aspects of living, especially those closer to the feminine, showing great ability in her figurative art in her representation of the body, but also expressing herself masterfully in wider interpretations, precisely those of a symbolic and surreal nature.”
MICHELA TURRA
Art Critic
Trevisan International Art
Italy
“Escano’s art is “a breath of fresh air into the abstract-dominated international art scene” and are ”never only about exposition of skill but are songs of her soul sung as freely and as candidly as a birdsong... What makes her work exemplary is their light and soul, the underlying elements in the physical work which draw powerful affective responses from the spectator, opening up to him the many vistas and landscapes of the human emotion.”
RAOUL DE SAUVETERRE
Art Today – Paris
" Pure, unassuming, soulful, her works give the viewer a glimpse of life’s simple but profound essences. What we like about Maria’s work is that it reminds us of what real art should be. Her works do not seek to impress through painstakingly studied techniques but are nevertheless impressive because they seem to spring spontaneously from an irrepressively hopeful heart. Viewing her art rewards one’s soul with new inspirations to see beauty in even the most ordinary of life’s occurences. And we leave with our spirits refreshed, eager to see the way her heart’s eye sees the beauty of life’s moments.”
FIONNA MCBRIDE
The Art Catalyst
New York
“We think Escano’s works have a unique sensitivity and delicate nature with an angelic perspective that we find very appealing. She makes us think of faraway worlds and beautiful dreams.”“Puchette Escano’s art is a bold deviation from what is commonly perceived as Filipino art.”
DALIA CHAKO
New York art impressario
Director, Gallerie Icosahedron
"I see suppressed emotions relieved in her works and elevated to a kind of unbounded glory. I see such glorious magnificence in her artistic expressions. Her poetry is always ...observed in her visual creations .The realism in form and the expressivity of their implied meanings are at once noticeable. I guess her academic preparation has given her a solid compositional ability that provides sturdy foundation for her figure paintings. Her depiction of the characteristics of form and her delicate manipulation of those delicate features has given the figures under her brush, profound realistic meanings. Solid composition, precise forms, spatial arrangement, balance of volume allow them to have their weightiness and body as in sculpture. The forms are swift and lucid, noble and elegant, or peaceful and pure, contrasting yet harmonious."
REMIGIO DAVID
Altromondo Arte Contemporanea
Paris, France
"Escano's works is a bold deviation from is commonly perceived as Filipino art."
DEKADA ARTS PHILIPPINES
Criticism on "The Rose of Marya"
"... what a clever display of seductive image and form. The supple figure and the tactful feature recall earlier Roccoco, with its charm and realism despite its firmly neoclassical approach. The purity of its contours displays a subtle and discrete eroticism. it is an absolute champion of idealization. Antonio Canova, John Flaxman and Bertel Thorvaldsen are preeminently felt in this work."
REMIGIO DAVID
Altromondo Arte Contemporanea
Paris, France
Sources:
The Trevisan International Art Catalogue, Bologna, Italy (2012)
Fine Art America (2012)
Gallerie Icosahedron Catalogue (2012), New York
Art Today - Paris (February 2010)