IN FOCUS
Two Windows
Two expat artists based in Bangkok share their world through an abstract art exhibit Story By: Hedda Tan, Photos by: Zrs Gamboa among other kinds, with international and Thai artists in the past), Gloria will showcase her love of nature expressed in abstract paintings. Eunice describes her friend’s art as “powerful!” “She always puts a door for me somewhere to enter and I have to find it in the painting. I like that,” Eunice muses. David, Gloria’s husband (an entrepreneur in the field of real estate), finds Gloria’s art “more like Gloria – very dramatic!” Art, from Gloria’s point of view, is “one that you have to find out by yourself. There are no rules. It depends on what you feel at the moment. It’s either very frustrating or very therapeutic.”
On October 7, 2011, two artists –Gloria Simister from the Philippines and Eunice Mateo from the Dominican Republic - will showcase their art titled “Two Windows” at the Design Zone in Thonglor. EXL caught up with them at the Mateo residence in Bangkok to find out what the world is like for these two expat women who chose to express themselves in this particular medium – abstract art painting.
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hat does an expat mom do when all her kids have gone on to college or to build a career for themselves in another part of the world (as many expat families tend to do)? For Gloria Simister – a mother of two - an answer to that can be had in a heartbeat. As a child, she has always been interested to paint. But not until five years ago, when she and Eunice Mateo met at a painting group at the President Park in Bangkok, did she start to pursue abstract art with more fervor. And this month, she will be making her debut as a bona fide artist at the Design Zone in Thonglor. Along with her friend of five years, Eunice Mateo, who is no stranger to doing exhibitions in Thailand (she has done a roving exhibition,
14 | EXL September - October 2011
When frustrated, Eunice confesses to just doing something on the canvas. After that, she would put the canvas away for a few days. “I don’t meditate,” Eunice shares. “Some of my (artist) friends do. I put on music instead.”
when her kids and husband are asleep, so she can be alone. Both artists confess one more commonality – their not being so keen to socialize much with other people. Gloria, for instance, doesn’t go out much in the evenings. “It’s a lonely career,” says Eunice. In retrospect, either you paint and aim towards making it big enough to do exhibitions, or you just paint for your own satisfaction or therapeutic pursuit, there is much more to this art form than just a splash of colors on a blank canvass. These two women tell stories and convey emotions with their art and their works are a delight to view and enjoy! Come and experience it for yourself at the Design Zone, Thonglor 24. Exhibit ends January 2012.
Gloria describes Eunice’s painting as “vibrant! She likes very vibrant colors but she is very organized. So her paintings are very calming. Even on a small piece of canvass there’s a lot more to see, there’s a lot of harmony.” Thailand, these two artists agree, may challenge one in the beginning when it comes to finding the right equipment because of the language barrier. “But once you know where to get stuff, it’s easy,” Eunice says. Thailand is rich in ideas for artists – there’s so much colors, there’s the Thai people, the Buddha – pretty much like the Carribbean, according to Eunice.
Gloria Simister
“Every artist has an eccentricity”, says Gloria. “I paint at the crack of dawn. Since I’ve got my own studio and time is what I have,” she laughingly shares, “I could put a lot of thought into my canvas.” Eunice’s kids – 2 girls - still go to an international school here in Bangkok. So she makes use of the time during the day when the girls are at school to paint. Andy, Eunice’s husband, an American who works for the Associated Press, has this to say about her paintings - Sometimes, she does it at night,
Eunice Mateo www.exlmagazine.com