OFELIA Gelvezon-Tequi uses art to give vent to feral emotions. It exposes the fragility and weaknesses of government.
In the Marcos Sr.’s era, her pieces were a commentary on the period’s excesses. Her work resembled the painting “Allegory of Good and Bad Government” by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, a 14th-century Italian artist who depicted his own troubled times.
Gelvezon-Tequi perfectly combines the intricacies of ancient Western art with Philippine customs and traditions. She adopts foreign themes to express her views on significant events in her home country. In her series of paintings on silk, she incorporated pictures drawn from early European art and the concept of anting-anting (amulet) to creatively depict her life abroad and reminisce about her experiences in the Philippines.
Before her exposure to Western art forms, her career in printmaking was incubated in the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in English. Her unfulfilled passion for the graphic arts motivated her to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma in Italy. In 1968, she finished her special studies in graphic arts at Pratt Institute in New York City. She also attended the La Taille Douce printmaking workshop in Paris for further studies.
As a Filipino artist in France, her art could not have found a more fertile ground for its full expression. Her decision to stay in and live the rest of her life in Paris was an invaluable exposure replete with exciting experiences that only an art capital can provide. This fueled her eventual success, and for three decades, she poured forth her artistry to create her masterpieces.
Since migrating to Limeuil, France, she has thoroughly imbibed the lifestyle of the culturati.
As a member of the Confluence of Arts and Knowledge, she helped in the live retransmissions of operas set by the Metropolitan Opera of New York and ballets set by the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
She holds a seat on its panel of jurists and curated painting exhibitions of French and international artists.
Known for her discriminating eye when it comes to selecting the best artworks, these events always attract the crowd, especially in the summer season.
The Limeuil community has a high regard for Gelvezon-Tequi. She is a source of pride for the village since she has shown her own works twice in the exhibition hall of the castle of Limeuil and introduced Philippine culture and heritage to her adopted community.
The influence of Gelvezon-Tequi is expansive. Her creations have reached appreciative audiences worldwide.
Since 1970, she has conducted 46 solo exhibitions in Manila, Paris, and New York, and hosted 60 group shows in Tokyo, Jakarta, Tel Aviv, Sao Paolo, London, Florence, Rome, Munich, Bradford, Berlin, Coruña, Angers, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. Her artistry is widely recognized in a number of art books and publications in the Philippines and in other parts of the world.
Since 1968, the long list of awards she has received includes the Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship for Graphic Arts from the Pratt Institute, New York; the Gold Medal for Printmaking from the Art Association of the Philippines; and the Prix de I’Association Memoire et Traditions en Perigord from Allessur-Dordogne, France.
Gelvezon-Tequi’s creativity knows no bounds. From prints and paintings, she has found the ceramic arts as the next medium of choice. She has produced outstanding pottery for her solo exhibitions at the BenCab Museum in Baguio.