Child is father of the man, sumulpot nalang; magpakailanman.

GODHEAD, a Gene Paul Martin solo show. Always-painting, never forgetting—alamna lang niya na ayaw niya ng matamis. GPM ‘casts his net’ and dredges theprimordial image-egregore pond obediently ‘rendering his service’ na paranglay-up na kaliwete, sure na sure. He paints big paintings as a reaction to the‘market notion’ of small work selling, GPM asking— paano ba maging malaki angmaliit?

His paintings are dense islands of color, but he only paintswith one brush.
Maximalist in scale, GODHEAD is his first solo without someplywood backing to hold the massive canvas stretched still, a functionaldecision meant to keep the pieces light; he paints in the outside spaces of aQuezon City bungalow, moving where the roof don’t leak monsoon rain, holdinghands with a tall avocado tree he planted at the start of the global pandemic,attuned to the shifting wind. GPM is tall and lanky, so it is surprising towatch him suddenly sprint from sitting cross-legged, catching the upper cornerof the canvas-sent-sailing by a short misty gust. He leans it back at an angleto the wall and the painted fabric moves as the wind runs behind it. “parangtambol,” he says. GPM castles his rooks amid exploding landscapes because thecanvas drums dance.

In GODHEAD, his blues are ancient sky, and the landscape ofa throng pulses in multicolor-whites. The oil paints mixing & running,all-colors obvious.

An animal, mid-shapeshift— GPM captures the edge offamiliarity, playing chess with the blank, beginning with universes ofpotential, with every brush stroke a move that constricts the possibility ofoutcomes until it can only be one thing, unmistakable, from different angles.

He’d started playing chess again because Gukesh beat Carlsenin Zagreb, and he’d felt the wind change too. Growing up surrounded byoff-track betting machines operated by his extended family, GPM has a knack forthe pageantry of crossing the finish line, the final moment of full extensionbefore the crumple and lull. Gukesh is 19, toppling the world champion, andsuddenly GPM knows more is possible.

There are many eyes. There are footsteps and supine limbsand a gloriously lit cloaca—the painting as it slowly appears to GPM a brushstroke at a time—changes orientation, sometimes lying on its side until avision of a feral mammal head makes clear that this is the view of prey,defining the orientation of the primary diptych. “Ako naman lahat ‘yan,” GPMsays, offering an explanation. “Kung ano nangyayari sa pagpipinta ko, yun dinnangyayari sa buhay ko. Hirap magpinta, hirap ng buhay e.”

Dense islands out ofnowhere sprouting.
GODHEAD, a Gene Paul Martin solo show, opening AUG 9 at MO_

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