Art With A Heart at the Galeria Artes in Katipunan opens on Thursday and will run until the end of September. It will tug at heartstrings while creating a head-turning event for art patrons, aficionados and even novices in art appreciation.
Artist Lydia Velasco, known for her expressionistic renditions of female figures dominating the canvases in various thoughtful moods, is now exhibiting her own personal strength as a woman. The art show is a very defining moment of her love of family bonded with the love of her art.
Her niece, Mara V. Duran, a young woman of 25, and a new graduate at Miriam College with a major in foreign service, is afflicted with debilitating myelofibrosis, a bone marrow cancer that can cause severe anemia and even quick demise if a bone marrow transplant is not done soonest. Lydia appealed to her peers to help raise funds after Mara’s touching letter asking for help to fight the disease saying “she wants so much to live.” Mara has been bravely battling the disease for several months now, punctuated by blood marrow sampling and transfusions. Myelofibrosis affects one person in two million people and ages mostly 50 to 60 years old.
Artists, both established and up-and-coming, young and old alike quickly responded in a manner that held Lydia breathlessly grateful. Works of all sizes and styles particularly from the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday groups poured in and, as of now, may total to 100 pieces. They will be on exhibit and will be sold at Galeria Artes along Katipunan avenue near Ateneo de Manila University.
Among the artists who contributed to the show are Galicano, Dominic Rubio, Fil dela Cruz, Kitty Taniguchi, Vincent Paolo de Pio, Aileen Lanuza de Pio, Daisy Carlos, Hermes Alegre, Carlo Magno, Remy Boquiren, Joy Rojas of PCSO, Francis Nacion, Gabuco, Wilwayco and Tence Ruiz, among others.
The strategy of interactive collaboration such as this has been used before, but not for this urgent and heartfelt purpose. The artists executed their own styles and strokes on their respective pieces and turned them over to Lydia afterwards who injected her own strong and impressive female characters on the same canvas. It is both a studied and spontaneous activity, as Lydia is challenged to capture the mood and meaning in the work presented by her artist-friends. How she created complementary characters is somehow captivating, as she decided where they should be located within the canvas, to help create a unified effect and subdued visual dissonance.
“I worked for four months, studying each collaborative piece, deep in a decision on how my own input will harmoniously blend with other styles and strokes. It was a beautiful challenge and I put my best into it not only for myself, but for Mara.”
Thus, Art With A Heart comes to life, vivid and alive, interesting and captivating, with the ultimate objective of being a fundraiser for a young Mara who so desperately wants to live. “I have such good friends,” Lydia intoned gratefully. “Even young artists contributed pieces to be sold for Mara, so generous of them and I can only ask God to bless all of these wonderful people.” Then she quickly adds, “Please come to the art show because it is a group show unlike the usual, with everyone contributing an artwork that can fit any budget, for a starting collector or a regular patron, or someone who simply found something to keep.”
For those who want to help Mara make a successful journey towards healing, you may deposit to RCBC C/A 7-589 174652 in favor of Lydia V. Cruz. Mara needs the bone marrow transplant while she is still strong.
