Grappling
signed and dated 2016 (lower right)
oil on canvas
30" x 36" (76 cm x 92 cm)

Orley Ypon has established himself early in his career as a master of realism, able to evoke human drama which has long been part of the tradition of painting. Arguably, he is the most prominent heir of the Dimasalang artists, who believed in the tightness and clarity of representation not only to describe the world but to elicit a high degree of emotionalism. In this work, Grappling, Ypon depicts a man lying on his side, the muscles of his arms tense and straining, as he tries to wrestle with what seems to be a ferocious beast. A source of light shines at his back, lighting up his shoulders and part of his face, but throwing the rest of his body in shadows, evoking dramatic chiaroscuro. Through further examination does the beast reveal itself as an object, which may be seen as a metaphor to what we try to tame and control in our lives. It may also refer to the craft of painting itself, which makes Grappling a contemplation on artistic endurance. The intensity of the man’s action verges on the mythic (think of Sisyphus rolling his rock up and down a mountain), but the visual language and sensibility are unmistakably Filipino.