a glass (or two) to (my old self showing me) all things new
Bert Antonio
11 January – 12 February 2023
Curated by
11 January – 12 February 2023

Truth and Line to Paint
Almost a hundred years ago, abstraction pioneer painter and theorist Wassily Kandinsky wrote the second of his seminal treatises on the principles of art, Point and Line to Plane in 1926. Here he fleshed out the value, purpose, and role of lines — from its antithetical existence versus a point, all the way to its necessity in the grander, more complex planes in the universe of image-making.
Bert Antonio is no theorist, but he is in many ways more complex than just a painter albeit a simple process: line, cut, draw, and paint. He chooses the sizes of paper in such a way that he can maximize the space it can occupy, as well as expand it beyond what is to be expected.
Beginning with a basic but very potent palette, he creates elements in a myriad of combinations where each becomes unique in seemingly random movements and moments that eventually come together; and they stand for the countless relationships that we build, keep, lose, and cherish — each one a page, one day in a diary.
Everything is connected, nothing is simply untitled. Harnessing this bond, he names his works to impart an abstraction in themselves, working on invisible dualities of things meant to be said, and that which is better left unsaid.
Truth is, sometimes you can’t attribute anything to more than plain ol’ good luck. That element of chance leaves much room to doubt whether hard work, genius, or talent really amounts to anything — but we find consolation in the opportunity to investigate. The artwork becomes an experiment with countless variables, that in a process of elimination allows us to get to the core of things, to what really matters.
Kandinsky believed that geometrical, physical, aesthetic, and spiritual concepts coexist naturally, and these are observable in Antonio’s movements: a geometric line, a physical cut, an aesthetic drawing, and a spiritual painting. If the task at hand is the pursuit of the sublime, of originality over style and in between the lines, then let us observe as the truth unfolds.
Exhibition Documentation
Works
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Collection of the Artist
- (from) thoughts come (words, from words come worlds)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - says (who) you (can’t count stars in the day)?
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (i) open (up my mind & give it some) air
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (is there) anything (heavier) than the (burden of) truth (no one will believe?)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (there are stories) we tell, & (there are stories) we don't
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (like) the eye (that sees everything but) itself
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - tally & (make the most of our time apart) count
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (put the heart in) the right place, & (in) time (, all else follows)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - all (that happen in the) before & after (are just as dear as in the tomorrow,) today (& yesterday)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - cross (to the other side if you find yourself on the wrong) track
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - magic (can be a good thing...for a) spell
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - bite your tongue) if you don't mind (the taste of blood in) your mouth
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (if no one can lift it,) we'll keep it
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2021 - (nobody owes me) anything, as it was (, freely passed on to me)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2022 - (may the wringing of your hands cease) at first light
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2022 - (with heads full of bother) days seem (like) endless (clutter)
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2022 - (when the flowers in) his hands (end up) in your hair
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2022 - (to fall out of your mind...) can you (imagine)?
Graphite, colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic on watercolor paper
8" x 13" (work); 11" x 16" (frame)
2022
Exhibition View
360° View
Video Catalogue
About the Artist
About the Artists
Bert Antonio is a Filipino artist based in Boston since 1990. He was a student of Roberto Chabet at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts where he took his degree in Visual Communication. His works are part of the public collections of Fidelity Research and Management Co. in Boston and the North Tewksbury Common Building in North Tewksbury. He has shown at the Museum of Philippine Art, West Gallery, Pinaglabanan Galleries, the Genovese/Sullivan Gallery in Boston, the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Related Exhibitions
About the Artists
About the Artist
Bert Antonio is a Filipino artist based in Boston since 1990. He was a student of Roberto Chabet at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts where he took his degree in Visual Communication. His works are part of the public collections of Fidelity Research and Management Co. in Boston and the North Tewksbury Common Building in North Tewksbury. He has shown at the Museum of Philippine Art, West Gallery, Pinaglabanan Galleries, the Genovese/Sullivan Gallery in Boston, the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.