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ANTONYMS OF MEANING
West Gallery
Quezon City, Philippines
August 11, 2022
How can one know existence? Within a pluralistic world, Bjorn Calleja paints to seek answers to questions not written in stone. Rather, he breaks dictum by interpreting philosophical theories, wisdom literature, and allegories in art and epic poetry that span from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. In a style that consistently blends the grand and the cheekily small, the works are more than interpretative depictions. Instead, the scenes on the large-scale canvases act like experiments that question, unlearn and relearn schools of thought and art historical movements. He displays what philosophers call hermeneutical generosity — a willingness to enter worlds other than one's own.
Antonyms of Meanings appear to echo Søren Kierkegaard, one of the artist’s preferred philosophers who asserts irony is paradoxical. Either a “pure” object of thought or a “position”, these paintings reference the world in paradox, moving from existential angst, nihilism and nothingness, to chaos superfluous with metaphor, meanings and religious faiths. Calleja possesses concepts of God that harken back and move forward through different phases of beliefs, picking up something from everything. Conveyed through his inter-disciplinary traditional and virtual practices, while exposed to possibly infinite schools of thought as a former educator, Calleja creates a flexible discourse that instead of simply agreeing, mixes contemporary styles with archaic literature to explore the essence of being. While definitions can constrain us, these paintings ask free-thinking questions that attempt to unveil the layers of fabric in the world. Like a thought experiment where viewers are invited to both contemplate and play, Calleja questions through visions possessing an implicit art of understanding, all the while asking, how does one imagine existence?
Exhibition notes by Angela Singian
West Gallery
Quezon City, Philippines
August 11, 2022
How can one know existence? Within a pluralistic world, Bjorn Calleja paints to seek answers to questions not written in stone. Rather, he breaks dictum by interpreting philosophical theories, wisdom literature, and allegories in art and epic poetry that span from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. In a style that consistently blends the grand and the cheekily small, the works are more than interpretative depictions. Instead, the scenes on the large-scale canvases act like experiments that question, unlearn and relearn schools of thought and art historical movements. He displays what philosophers call hermeneutical generosity — a willingness to enter worlds other than one's own.
Antonyms of Meanings appear to echo Søren Kierkegaard, one of the artist’s preferred philosophers who asserts irony is paradoxical. Either a “pure” object of thought or a “position”, these paintings reference the world in paradox, moving from existential angst, nihilism and nothingness, to chaos superfluous with metaphor, meanings and religious faiths. Calleja possesses concepts of God that harken back and move forward through different phases of beliefs, picking up something from everything. Conveyed through his inter-disciplinary traditional and virtual practices, while exposed to possibly infinite schools of thought as a former educator, Calleja creates a flexible discourse that instead of simply agreeing, mixes contemporary styles with archaic literature to explore the essence of being. While definitions can constrain us, these paintings ask free-thinking questions that attempt to unveil the layers of fabric in the world. Like a thought experiment where viewers are invited to both contemplate and play, Calleja questions through visions possessing an implicit art of understanding, all the while asking, how does one imagine existence?
Exhibition notes by Angela Singian
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