Alfredo Esquillo, Jr.

The work is in good condition overall, as is the rubber panel. There are indications of minor wear and handling around the edges. Under ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Framed, under Plexiglas.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Artist Alfredo Esquillo welcomes us to his inner universe, the studio inside his mind. Cocooned like Russian dolls, three replicas of the artist’s face deep in anguished thought are depicted in this masterful reflection on the intimate act of creation. Esquillo locates this space of creative work within the enthralling universe of the mind. Opened up like a coal-steam iron, the mind gathers and breathes smoke that shrouds the body of the artist. The tree bears the fruit of another spit-fire image whose hand grasps a flag emblazoned with the icon of the all-seeing eye. The path to creativity is riddled with distraction and doubt as plotted through images of barred windows, a fiery figure surreptitiously hidden in the bush-like cloud with its tail deceptively piercing the burning heart, and a monstrous torso gobbling up crucified feet.

This impeccably composed image speaks of struggle, and the triumph of imagination. The hand poised to paint covers an eye and progressively let loose of its hold on the brush, the tool for crafting images. Rays of light emerge from the skies, opening up the mind (here the eye, the supposed witness to the world is blind) to inner visions. In unforeseen humour, he substitutes the apples of the tree of knowledge with the ubiquitous icon of contemporary satisfaction – the yellow smiley button and contrasts them with an image of protest, the megaphone. The artist resists bewilderment, complacency and confusion, and seizes the straws of flame that feed creation.

Esquillo imbues these gestures of reflection a contemplative air steeped in local understandings of spirituality. Engaging this theme since the early nineties, Esquillo traces the origins of a good idea realized in art through the Filipino structure of “kalooban” (the inner self is one of its many interpretations). The inner self confronted by doubt and strife, realizes a form of wisdom, an inspiration the artist calls “divine”. The artist does not only speak of the act of making art and painting, he speaks of a process of self-becoming, not apart but deeply implicated in the workings of the world around him. He paints these images in oil on the unorthodox material that is rubber sheet, professing faith in the boundless potential of a surface that is flexible and supple, made varied by the artist’s mastery of his imagery and medium.