Jayson Cortez, Open Room 1, 2020, oil on canvas, 152.4 x 183 cm
Filipino artist Jayson Cortez will have his first solo show in London this autumn with Bliss, a group of eight new works commissioned by Singapore gallery One East Asia to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The exhibition will take place in the heart of London’s West End at Gallery 8, St. James’s, from 8 to 11 September.
Cortez’s signature hyperreal figurative paintings capture his ecstatic response to the creative act: “Everyone is looking for happiness. After ten years’ experience as a full-time artist, this group of paintings is a visual representation of my deep joy. This state of bliss I experience runs from play through to freedom and knowledge. My storytelling leads the viewers into my personal world of satisfaction and pleasure.”
Jayson Cortez originally studied Civil Engineering but changed direction to pursue the arts, graduating in 2010 with a BA Fine Arts (Major in Advertising) from Bulacan State University, Philippines. Since then, Cortez has exhibited his paintings widely throughout the Philippines, as well as in Singapore and London.
One East Asia hosted Cortez’s first solo show in Singapore, Portal, in 2015, followed by a two-man show with Welbart, Beautiful Mind, in 2017. His work was introduced to London audiences at the group show Peninsular Practices: Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, at the annual multi-platform event Asian Art in London, in November 2015; this was followed in 2017 by Coming of Age, an auction staged by One East Larasati. The gallery also featured his work in the exhibition Perceptions of Humanity at the START Art Fair, London, in September 2018.
Cortez was a selected exhibitor at My City, My SM, My Art at SM City Baliwag in 2017 and received the Gintong Kabataan Award in Arts and Culture, sponsored by the Bulacan
government, in 2015. Prior to this he was awarded Jurors Choice at the Luzon Art Award
(Philip Morris Philippine Art Award) in 2014.
Bliss by Jayson Cortez
Venue:
Gallery 8,
8 Duke Street St James’s
St. James’s, London SW1Y 6BN
Opening times:
Tuesday, 8 September : 2pm- 6pm
Wednesday, 9 September : 11.30am - 5.30pm
Thursday, 10 September : 11.30am – 5.30pm
Friday, 11 September : 11.30am - 4pm