Mav Rufino's art & Rio Alma's poetry blend in Romanza

by Pablo Tariman

(This article first appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 16, 2009)








Something unique and close to romance happens when Marivic Rufino mounts her 15th solo art exhibit at the Manila Peninsula on Monday, February 23.

The exhibit contains new works done in the last two years after an absence of four years in the Manila art scene. Moreover, the exhibit also has works done earlier which should give art connoisseurs an idea as to how she has evolved. It would show how her Dreamscapes evolved from the earlier classical and impressionist mold and on to the abstract.

Of her new works, Marivic said they were done over a “period of loss, pain and healing.”

Loss was when her loved one, husband former Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura passed away after a bout with cancer. “The loss of Paeng (who was my most avid art supporter) affected my creative output,” she said. “I had an artist's block for a long, long time. But I had to transform this pain into something positive. I immersed myself in Red Cross work, and continued to help my two beneficiaries (St. Mary's House for Girls in Tagaytay and Serra's Center for Girls in Pasay). “I had to reach out and go beyond myself by saving lives (through Red Cross- Rizal Chapter and Makati branch) and helping the abused girls. It’s my way of giving back for all the blessings I have received.”

Midway into her healing phase, she forged an artistic collaboration with poet Rio Alma (also known as National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario) in the book Romanza which celebrates the marriage of poetry and painting with evocative translation by award-winning poet Marne Kilates.

The launching of Romanza is one of the big highlights of her 15th art exhibit at the Manila Pen.

In his book introduction, curator Ruben D.F. Defeo defines the marriage of art of Marivic Rufino and the poetry of Rio Alma. “The works span the last 18 years of painting and eight years of writing. Each of the 76-38 poems and 38 painting – is empowered to conjure an image, reflect on nature, portray emotions, or, at its most audacious, to meander into the unknown, what Horace admits as “the equal right of painters and poets to liberty of imagination.”

By and large, the twin artistic offering offers glimpses of loss and pain this time distilled in Rio’s poetry and captured in Marivic’s Autumn Symphony in the haiku Ngayon (Now):

Maragsa kung bumuhus
Ang ulan ng talulot
At ang mga dahong tuyot
Na may samyo ng upos

Poignantly translated by Kilates thus:

The sound of rain is rough
When it is petals pouring
And dry leaves carry
The scent of ash

Equally evocative is Rio’s Sa Panahon ng Tagtuyot (In Dry Season) matched by Rufino’s Tuscan Dream 1:

Pagkabilog ng buwan,
Umuurong ang bundok;
Nagpipilat sa unan
Ang gunita ng hamog

Translated by Kilates thus:

As the moon waxes
The mountain wanes;
The pillow is scarred
By its memory of dew

The making of Romanza started in the regular meeting of the Nakpil Press Corps (friends and colleagues of writer-journalist Carmen Guerrero Nakpil) at the Havana Restaurant.

Recalls the Marivic: “Rio Alma asked to see my artworks. I was honored when he suggested that we collaborate on a book of poetry and art. Marne Kilates joined us and did the translations and editing. Prof Ruben D. F. Defeo, a mutual friend who has always curated my art exhibits, wrote the introduction. And our combined labor of love is Romanza, the book.”

The artistic partnership in Romanza came as a matter of course to her.

Says she: “I've always loved poetry, haiku in particular. I used to write poetry but got focused on painting. Of course it is plain to see that painting is visual poetry. I paint poems and write paintings too. That's what many of my friends say.”

Meanwhile, she is happy with the modest highlights of her artistic life such as the exhibitions held at the UNESCO House in Paris (one of her Chinese horse paintings is part of the arts collection), the exhibit in San Francisco (sponsored by the Sister Cities of Manila and SF with Mayor Fred Lim and then Mayor Jordan); the 15 large scale outdoor murals she painted for her late husband which took almost 3 years to complete and the 2005 exhibit at the Peninsula Manila in which her grandson Bryan (then 8 years old) interacted and painted with her.

How would she describe this particular phase of her life as it relates to her art?

Marivic replies: “ I am at that stage of unfolding and evolving as an individual and as an artist. I like to think I am becoming more spontaneous with my brushstrokes and my colors. On the other hand, I have simplified my life and my paintings are distillations of my romance with nature. It's a new life, my renaissance. After all the turmoil and grief, there is a new spring. Still, it is my passion for art that keeps me going.”

(The 15th solo art exhibit of Marivic Rufino on February 23, 6p.m. at the Manila Peninsula will run at the Nielsen’s Patio, ground floor 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Guests of honor are National Artists Arturo Luz and Napoleon V. Abueva. Proceeds will go to the St. Mary’s House for Girls Tagaytay and Serra’s Center for Girls in Pasay City. For inquiries, please call tel. nos. 8179574 or 8184878 or email: romanzaexhibit@gmail.com)

PHOTOS: Romanza cover; Marivic Rufino & Marne Kilates reading from Romanza during its soft launch last year at Printemps des Poetes Festival, Alliance Francaise; Passion 2, one of Marivic's stunning watercolors featured in the book and the exhibit; National Artist Rio Alma (Virgilio Almario) by Nap Jamir.