Artbermido

On Fate, Feet, and Faith

Artbermido's art from its stimuli to its creed 

Text by Hannah Jo Uy

February 18, 2019 / C3

‘Each piece is a representation of an event, person, or circumstances that in one way or the other touched my life and shaped the way I am today.’ 

74.80. This was the grade Arte­mio Bermido Jr., known sim­ply as ‘Artbermido,’ received during his bar examination— .20 shy of the number needed to be­come a full-fledged lawyer. “When I failed the Bar exams, it was very clear to me that my hands would be full of paint for the rest of my life,” he recalls. “Fate paved the way for me to be a full-time artist.” 

His destiny of becoming the ris­ing star in the minimalist visual art scene could be traced back to his early beginnings doodling and copy­ing comic books characters. Though he began by painting human figures and realistic scenes, Artbermido said that eventually he found abstraction to be the most expressive genre of all. 

Spontaneous in his approach, he cre­ates paintings out of the spur of the moment, featuring bold colors and textures. When asked what draws him to a minimalist design philoso­phy, Artbermido says that his deep fascination lies in the mystery behind a finished piece. “Minimal pieces are more than what they appear to be,” he says, describing his own paintings as “Not much to see, but a lot to tell.” 

Indeed, within his visual narra­tive, the element of space has a star­ring role. “For me, the space is the stimulus that forms the element and makes it stand out,” he says. “People will always look at the element, but a select few will notice how hard the textures have been created, how se­rene or chaotic the colors behind, and how the space and the element are intertwined with each other.” 

The underlying philosophy of Art­Bermido’s work serves as an exten­sion of his own personal outlook—one of utmost positivity. Calling his paint­ings Stimuli, each piece in his collec­tion since the series began in 2004, holds significant meaning.”

Each piece is a representation of an event, person, or circumstances that in one way or the other touched my life and shaped the way I am today,” he says. Through his works, Artbermido pays tribute to the mentors, he dubbed as the ‘stimuli’ that contributed to his formation as an artist and as a per­son. Counting them off one by one, he says: “Nuestro taught me a lot of philosophies and theories; Jo Aus­tria taught me to be spontaneous; Ta­mondong made me more competi­tive; Benitez helped me forget law school; Aviado ex­plained to me Fi­bonacci; Lind­slee introduced me to mixed me­dia; Tanedo taught me to put heart on each piece; Al­bor gave me the cadmium red; Rox­as showed to me what love was when painted on can­vas; Carating intro­duced Liquitex to me; Jocson made me a deep think­er; Bose taught me to be more sub­stantive; Lao incul­cated silence and simplicity to my heart; Kimbs made me more sin­cere; Abulen­cia healed my greed for fame; Barrio­quinto exposed the pig in me; Cor­dova showed me what a humble heart meant; and Escora influenced me to dress up.” 

In counting off the debts owed by way of lessons learned, Artbermido is a testament of how no artist lives in a vacuum. Similarly, his art, in its subtlety serves as a microcosm of his own human formation. “Each single element found within my pieces is the stimulus, and every stimulus is formed by its own stimuli repre­sented by the textures and colors that surround it,” he says, explain­ing that the images were developed from an imaginary concept of reoc­curring visions that included figures, movements, and various emotions. “Although these figures were formed out of serendipity,” he says, “there is a balance, however disguised and concealed the figures may be, which leaves the viewer free to interpret the pieces on their own.”

 

Dynamic, without being aggres­sive, Artbermido evolves alongside his art, constantly reinventing his own creative process. The latest chapter within this development, still, could be enjoyed by audienc­es in his upcoming show at the Ay­ala Museum titled “Off the Greed: A Planned Obsolescence.”

 

As can be surmised by the title, the driving force of the collection is the artist’s social commentary and personal reflec­tions on greed. “Greed pollutes our homes, cor­rupts our coun­try, and destroys our world,” he says. “If we want change, it should emanate from within each and every one of us. We always complain about a lot of things we see, about these and those, but inside us, we can­not even define who we are when the lights are off.” Deeply contem­plative and passionate, for Artber­mido, life and art stand on three main pillars: fate, feet, and faith. Fate, when by flunking the bar, he found his true purpose. Feet, underscoring the im­portance he places on being “ground­ed, staying put, and embracing reality with a positive outlook.” And, faith, reflecting his belief in a higher being, whose hands guide him “in this plat­form called life.” 

“Off the Greed: A Planned Obso­lescence: A Solo Exhibition of Art­bermido” will be on display from Feb. 21 to March 6 at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum.