Internationally renowned artist Mario Parial opens a special exhibit of his recent works in a show titled Festivo on Thursday, March 27 at The Center Gallery, ground floor of Galerie Joaquin main.

This show is a landmark show for Parial who raises his interest in color and festive subjects to even higher levels. Included in the exhibit are three large works (48" x 52") that the artist created specially for this occasion; he shows a total of 25 works on canvas.

(Festivo twinbills at Galerie Joaquin with another major one-man show by contemporary artist Jerry Morada which opens on the same night but at the second floor of Galerie Joaquin main at 371 P. Guevarra St. cor. Montessori Lane, Addition Hills, San Juan, Metro Manila.)

Festivo also includes works that showcase Parial’s newer and freer and more spontaneous style such as The Three Graces (40" x 60") and Embracing Good Fortune (30" x 40").

Parial has exhibited in Hong Kong, China, Germany and in key cities of Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and in the United States. He has participated in over 160 group shows and has 22 one-man shows to his credit. His works have been included on several occasions at Sotheby’s auctions on Southeast Asian Art.

Mario Parial graduated in 1969 from the UST College of Fine Arts. Four years prior to graduation, at 21, he mounted his first solo show. He was later invited to teach printmaking and painting in his alma mater before joining the faculty of the UP College of Fine Arts.

Parial’s works have myriad characters set against the vibrant hues of fiestas. His paintings reflect a pervasive sense of nature, including plants, flowers, horses and fishes. He has also done folk and mythological characters, where the woman, in her various guises and roles, occupies the central figure.