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By Perry Gil S. Mallari
HER interest in everything Asian
started when she was just four years old. “I must have been an
Oriental in my previous life,” said American artist Anita
Tortorici.
That explains why she dubbed her
exhibit The Art of Tai Chi: Brushstrokes in Meditation.
Tortorici’s one woman show, which is still on at the Metropolitan
Museum of Manila until the end of March, showcases twenty one of her
best works in water color. All of the said art works were inspired
by her passion and regular practice of the Chinese exercise called
tai chi chuan and her sensibility as a dancer.
Describing herself as a serious
artist, Tortorici has already exhibited extensively in and out of
the United States. She studied at the School of Arts and Design and
at the Pratt Institute in New York and earned a degree in Fine Arts
from the California State University. Tortorici has been a
Philippine resident for the past six years, and despite her
respectable credentials as an artist, she has chosen to be low-key.
That is, until she learned that the Met Museum’s art education and
outreach program needs support.
Tortorici decided to hold an
exhibit in the Philippines for the very first time with the purpose
of donating the proceeds to the museum’s Children’s Outreach
Programs. Eric Babar Zerrudo, director of the Metropolitan Museum of
Manila shared that Tortorici’s contribution is a big help in
bringing art education programs to children all over the country.
Tortorici’s excellent mastery
of composition and technique are very much evident in her paintings.
Like the proverbial yin and yang, her delicate watercolor strokes
suggest control and serendipity. Her favorite subject is nature,
depicting its activities from the diminutive to the massive. In
addition to obvious craftsmanship, one thing noticeable about
Tortorici’s works is their distinct fluidity. Beholding her
paintings evoke a blissful sensation of being gently lapped with
ocean waves and an ephemeral oneness with all that is pleasant.
Tortorici believes that men
should harmonize with nature rather than consider it as something to
be conquered. A picture speaks a thousand words they say and
Tortorici has no doubt clearly explained this philosophy through her
paintings.
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