Salcedo Private View is proud to present ‘Illuminations: Canvas Editions by Betsy Westendorp’. The curated collection is composed of six striking giclee on canvas works, each produced in a limited edition of 25, that feature some of Westendorp’s most iconic and well-loved subjects. Every canvas edition by the multi-awarded artist transforms into an ethereal refuge amidst the dizzying backdrop of the workaday world. Her art invites the viewer to take solace and lose themselves within the layered brushwork and colors, if only for a brief moment in time.
In her decades-long career, Westendorp has been able to expertly capture the very essence of intimacy and liminality, depicting small moments of effervescent yet fleeting beauty by capturing a tangible stillness, all while displaying raw emotion. Here, the frills of expectations and preconceived notions are removed and the subjects are portrayed simply as they are in that moment. From her dreamy, nostalgia-inducing sunset-scapes or ‘atmosferografias,’ as coined by the artist’s art-critic friend, to her vivid flower still lifes or ‘vanitas,’ the collection encapsulates what is best and most memorable about the artist’s pieces, zeroing-in not only on the likeness of her subject matter but also on the palpable emotions tied to those moments as she paints.
As a decorated visual artist and trusted portraitist of local and foreign high society and royalty, Westendorp’s art doesn’t simply demonstrate her technical skill or her uncanny ability to channel feelings into her work. More so, they are an incarnation of her personal experience as a daughter of two nations, a lover of all things beautiful, the embodiment of what it means to have a truly well-appointed life. Each atmosferografias carry with it fond memories of viewing sunsets from the artist’s Manila penthouse apartment or from drives along Manila Bay. Gazing at her iconic orchids, one cannot help but be moved by the romantic symbolism of Westerndorp’s warm tropical embrace of a country and culture that she proudly calls her own.
‘Illuminations: Canvas Editions by Betsy Westendorp can be viewed until Saturday, 30 April 2022 at Salcedo Auctions, NEX Tower, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. To view the online catalogue and the virtual gallery, simply click here.
