Upcoming Exhibition

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Elaine Navas

(b. 1964- Philippines)

Elaine Roberto-Navas (b. 1964, Philippines) is a contemporary Filipino painter renowned for her richly textured oil paintings that depict everyday objects with striking physicality and emotional depth. Her signature impasto technique involves layering thick strokes of paint, transforming ordinary subjects-such as fruits, furniture, and foliage-into tactile, almost sculptural forms that invite intimate engagement. This approach blurs the line between painting and object, imbuing her works with a visceral presence.

Her notable exhibitions include Cotton Fiend (1997) at the Lopez Museum in Manila, Standing Room Only (2008) at Valentine Willie Fine Art in Kuala Lumpur, and Little Monuments (2019) at Finale Art File in Manila. Navas's works have been showcased in various galleries across Manila and Singapore, reflecting her significant presence in the Southeast Asian art scene.

Nothing Moves Itself (After Ling Quisumbing), 2017
Oil on canvas, 122 x 610 cm, Commissioning in Process

Elaine Navas’ series of paintings Nothing Moves Itself, inspired from a phrase by theologian Thomas Aquinas, and in dialogue with fellow artist Ling Quisumbing’s photographs, are contemplations on the idea of movement itself. The frozen moment of the sea is apparent in both photograph and painting, yet its motion is unmistakable, as Navas meticulously tries to capture the characteristics of each turn wave, each shift, each gradation to the next recurrence. Rendered in thick layers of paint which have become her signature, each painting becomes a frame from the idea of time-lapse which photography had brought into play. These recorded scenes are revealed to us as depictions of nature; while the transformation from photograph to canvas is a display of the artist's will.