Market Scene

At Far Eastern University, the students’ artistic aptitude is nourished and guided by the competent fine arts faculty and a physical environment conducive to creative work. The FEU student artist finds himself or herself in this locus: a learning institution bejeweled with its collection of artworks and enveloped by the nurturing enclosure of nature.

Another piece of “collective art” is Market Scene, where a couple of giddily delighted kids on a mound of ripe and luscious summer fruits steal the scene. Again in a grid format, the painting was created by several FEU students, but so unified is the total effect as to convey a singular visual intelligence behind the work. The placement of a red watermelon split in half nestled in the company of mangoes and papayas is a masterstroke of composition. The reflected sheen of light on the watermelon skin, the presence of the large umbrella suggestive of harsh sunlight, and the unobtrusive touch of dark glasses worn by a passerby – these details build up a reality of an actual experience that the audience is familiar with: a trip to the marketplace.