Jeffrey Q. Guanlao
Jeffrey Q. Guanlao, aka JickJick, is a renown Filipino artist. With his distinctive brush work, his art can be admired on the walls of some of the most beautiful homes in the country.
Self-taught, JickJick started as an accomplished tattoo artist and transformative body painter, before immersing himself into fine arts. His predilections include drawing and sculpting, while painting is his biggest passion.
Through his surreal depictions, JickJick has found an outlet to express complicated childhood experiences and his perpetual questioning. The painter uses his canvas to explore a confusing world full of contradiction. An epoch that celebrates modernity and technology, at the cost of family and community; where instead of bringing people together, we create more disease and isolation.
Just like most of us in the real world, it’s a conundrum the ghosts and creatures of JickJick’s art are confronted to. His paintings recreate a disturbing and anxiety inducing atmosphere, with harsh loud and mechanized parts.
Yet, there’s an ephemeral beauty to the chaos, if only we take the time to observe it. Despite the times being mad, we can still make something wholesome out of it.
Already as a child, Jeffrey would stare at the stars to find meaning from where he stood in the mayhem of the city. More powerful than words, his paintbrush screams feelings of loss, loneliness and yearning. Nonetheless, beauty can be found in the darkest of places.
JickJick’s introspection enables viewers to feel a pain that we often dismiss. In front of this world that’s not changing for the better, we feel the anguish of powerlessness. However, his work reminds us that we are part of that universe and de facto can influence what it becomes. Embedded within these frightening scenes, is a message of hope and tenderness.
The power of JickJick’s art is in the self-reflection the viewer inevitably feels. Are we changing our world to our linking… or to our harder passions?
Contact – JickJick, having had life challenges which create personal anxieties that often inspire his artworks’ darker elements, is a very private artist. He prefers spending time in his studio and with animal rescue, rather than making frequent public appearance. For interviews or other requests, please use the contact page.
NFT – ACCESS THE OPENSEA COLLECTION HERE!
Tarot Cards are co-created by JickJick.and E. Mark Gross (artworks & artist statement info).
Awards
Metrobank 2015 concerning Filipino Resilience Amongst the Clouds, 2015. 3’ x 4’ oil on canvas, Residencies – Iloilo PH.
Exhibits
Solo Shows
2019, July – October, Growth and Caring / Art Elements Asian Gallery, SM Aura Premier, McKinley Pkwy, Taguig, 1634 Metro Manila
2018, November – January, Comfort Zone / Paseo Gallery 3rd Level, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
2017, January – March, When the Wind Blows / Paseo Gallery 3rd Level, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
Group Shows
2017, December 10, Sensible / Paseo Gallery 3rd Level, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
2016, November 22 – December 3, Dar Un Paseo / Art Center, SM Megamall
2016, September 2 – October 3, Fragile Surroundings / Et Nos Gallery Angelicum School, Mc Arthur Drive, Tabuc Suba, Iloilo City
2014, August 15 – August 26, Sinirayu Scenario/ 2nd Floor, Shops at Serendra Bonifacio Global