February 4, 2013 / E-4
Text by Hannah Jo Uy
“Beautiful nudes made it possible for us to contemplate our
sexuality in safety.” -Martha Mayer Erlebacher
No one has the ability to understand women better than a
woman. And no one has presented the image of a woman with as much passion,
empathy and respect than artist Raquel Bautista.
Signing her artworks “Rax”, this seasoned and eclectic
artist has an unquenchable thirst for life and all the magnificence that it
offers. She is consumed by art, with a raging need to create constantly and
consistently through whatever form available to her. To see life through her
eyes is to see the potential for beauty in anything and everything. And through
her eyes, the height of beauty is achieved through the female form.
The gentle lines that form a woman’s body, the sensuality in
every delicate curve, the exuberant life-giving qualities that exist fully in
her biology, such have been a constant source of inspiration for Rax Bautista.
Rax Bautista is an interdisciplinary artist. She took up
Fine Arts at the College of the Holy Spirit. Soon after graduating, she took up
Fashion Design at the Premier Fashion School and then enrolled at the
Philippine School of Interior Design. Still in need of more artistic
illumination, she went on to take up people photography at the Academy of Arts
in San Francisco.
After finishing her studies in San Francisco, Rax dove
headfirst into a career in photography, carving a respectable name for herself
in the commercial and fashion industry. People have always been a point of
interest for Rax because of the aesthetic possibilities that the human figure
holds. She had taken it upon herself to unleash the inherent sensuality of a
woman. Her bubbly personality and easy going attitude made her popular among
her clients who would immediately be at ease with her. Her aura creates an
atmosphere of peace, allowing her female subject to release her animal
instincts, no longer stifled by self-image or insecurities.
It is Bautista’s sincere belief in every woman’s sexiness
and corresponding respect for such sensuality that carries over to work,
allowing her to create tasteful nude photographs. With her sharp eye for
aesthetics and fashion, notable magazines such as Metro, Manual, Working Mom,
and FHM sought out her works.
However, photography is not her only interest. Aside from
taking her photography to new heights with her creative direction, edgy style
and knowledge of make-up, she also dabbled in interior design providing pieces
for notable stores such as Rustan’s. For Rax, nothing goes to waste. A
discarded forgotten sofa is transformed into a striking furniture piece under
her meticulous instruction, a light fixture becomes an installation artwork
from scraps of aluminum and plastic with the help of her imagination, and
pillows become a canvas to her wild and innovative combinations of textures,
metals, beads and embroidery.
Amid her mastery of multiple mediums, there is one that is
closest to her heart, and that is painting. Rax Bautista’s personality as a
painter is as fiery and adventurous, not unlike the way she approaches all her
artistic endeavors. This is evident in her exceptional mixed media works that
combine her work with the brush and her photography along with a diverse number
of other materials creating textured three-dimensional pieces.
“I’ve always been interested in people,” says Bautista. “I
don’t like landscapes and still life, gusto ko ng challenge. I want something
that moves. I’m especially fascinated with the female form. I’m fascinated with
anatomy. I often incorporate my works with nudes since I’m a photographer.”
In her upcoming exhibit entitled, “Unbounded,” we are
invited into her realm of endless possibilities, a reminder of her refusal to
be shackled to traditional art making. Featuring 33 works, “Unbounded” marks
her fourth solo exhibition. Her collection includes various materials, from
wood salvaged from century old shipwrecks, to scraps of metal and even stone.
However, it is her lighted abstract works that are set to delight viewers,
being another innovative step forward in her never-ending quest to push her
boundaries. The light creates within the horizontal abstract work a mood that
adds depth and dimension to the piece, giving a different side to the same
beautifully crafted coin. Rax Bautista’s paintings are visual representations
of her innermost emotions. She paints angry, sad, and happy, putting together
evocative and emotional works of art. Most importantly, she paints from her
soul and all that it grieves and fights for.
A special place in the heart of this artist has long been
reserved for mistreated and abused women, abandoned children and other
forgotten souls. Her advocacy against exploitation and human trafficking was
awakened during a trip to Boracay. A vacation that was meant to refresh her
artistic soul ended up grieving her, as she was blatantly confronted with the
perverse reality of exploitation affronting her own gender. In her anger, she
fights back in the only way she knows how, through her art, refusing to create
works that would exploit women, or present the form in a negative way. Included
in her exhibit is the artistic expression of her outrage - an artistic
expression that translates to her active participation as the proceeds of some
works will be given to support the Batis Foundation for Women.
Indeed, Rax Bautista had not only given women beauty through
her artworks, but also, perhaps most importantly, she has given them a voice.
Catch “Unbounded” at the Rico Renzo Gallery located at LRI Design Plaza this coming February 7, 2013.
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