Imprints, Noell EL Farol
Exhibition Run
11 June
27 June 2024
Opening Reception
11 June | 2 pm
Artist Talk
19 June | 2 pm
Imprints uncovers moments of Noëll EL Farol's printmaking practice in the past 30 years as he gravitates and explores drawing, painting, sculpture, and various media. Highly technical and experimental, he demonstrates expertise in different printmaking techniques–as he develops into his roles as an artist, administrator, and university professor. The exhibition starts with his stone lithograph from 1995, where forms and lines are still visible, giving body to the print.
EL Farol’s fascination with materials creates a starting point in his process. Dexter Matilla writes about EL Farol, “Working with various materials creates one’s own concept and enforces it against any resistance in the mainstream. The works create new narratives when materials offer difficulties and resistance mostly they have never seen before” (Manila Bulletin, 8 Jan, 2024).
On the surface, EL Farol’s quiet and soft-spoken demeanor clues the viewer on the seriousness of his works. Yet, his playfulness comes through with his interventions on postcards collected from his travels–making a mark on the rigid nature of art historical works. Though hours are spent perfecting his techniques inside the studio, EL Farol shows interest in collaborations. His stabilized fingerprints invite viewers to participate in his process, with patterns surfacing from highly personal fingerprint markings.
EL Farol shares, “The search for individuality and autonomy is part of my exploration. Combining serigraphy and other processes or techniques on paper and attempting to reassign new meanings to objects and breathe new life from experimented materials are what I have been doing since I started to make art. Throughout the years, the narratives of my work may have changed but the process or the alchemy is what I armed myself with.”
His journey into the 2010s unfolds maturity as his technical skills solidified in the experimental and abstracted works of the period. EL Farol balances spontaneity and control in the layered and nuanced prints. After a decade, he reconnected with representational and social forms as he explored the idea of Filipino anting-anting, combining his commentary on its commercial nature and a complex belief in its potency. For Imprints, EL Farol invites the viewer to create an anting-anting, immersing themselves in the process.
Matilla further reflects on EL Farol's approach, “EL Farol's continuous practice gives him an understanding of the nature of things, finding connections that may not be visible but are essential nonetheless in helping mankind move closer to understanding its role in the grand scheme of things” (Manila Bulletin, 8 Jan 2024).
