The Incoherencies of Language
signed and dated 1993 (left)
oil on canvas
43 1/2” x 54 1/2” (110 cm x 138 cm)

Jerry Elizalde Navarro’s non-representational persona has gone through pendulum swings with his own versions of Cubism, Constructivism, and Abstract Expressionism. And the title “The Incoherencies of Language” seems to perfectly go along these pendulum swings. As a rule, at no point in time does he totally abandon one pictorial idiom in favour of another. His admirers have long accepted those style changes as proof of a protean versatility.

This work is from 1993. Since 1989, Navarro’s output has been largely in abstract such as this one. After his sojourn to the island of Bali, he and his mentor, the late Carlos “Botong” Francisco, considered it close to paradise on earth. While it does not give any hint of anything Balinese, it reflects what he discovered in the island: a flamboyant sense of color and a strong rhythmic pulse.