Jim Orencio paints the Pintô arboretum anew in his latest show

By Poch Eulalia

Some say humanity has been doomed never to return to paradise after Adam and Eve ate the apple from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. If that were the case, why are there still patches of paradise on earth?

The Pintô Art Museum and its arboretum may be among the last pieces of paradise in the outskirts of the ever expanding megalopolis that is Metro Manila.

Fortunately, there are artists like Jim Orencio who see the importance of keeping nature alive in a world where every plot of soil is under threat of being turned into a condominium building or a parking lot.

Through his latest exhibit “August Greens” at the Pintô Art Museum, Orencio highlights the beauty of the Philippines’ native flora found at the museum’s arboretum. He becomes the de facto chronicler of the museum’s ecological riches, which have become an attraction alongside its famed art collections.

Sourced from different parts of the archipelago, the plants at the Antipolo art haven not only testify to the diverse ecosystem of the Philippines but convey how little we know of our own verdure, whose existence relies on us keeping virgin forests intact and cultivating them on available lands and in our own gardens.

The exhibit is a warning of what we could lose if we continue to ignore the destruction of nature and a beacon of hope that provides us a glimpse into the Garden of Eden to which we could return.

“I guess I can consider myself as ‘nature’s child,’” says Orencio. “With my works, I wish to inspire people to be closer to nature.”

What he is doing is consistent with the vision of Pintô’s founder, Dr. Joven Cuanang, who built the museum on a trifecta of principles composed of art, culture, and ecology. Dr. Cuanang serves as father figure and mentor to Orencio as well as to many other artists.

“The gardens, with the guidance of Manong , have taught me to love, to appreciate, to nurture, to protect, and to preserve,” Orencio explains. “I love to see the arboretum as it continues to mature and eventually become a forest one day.”

The Filipino contemporary painter gives an intimate and wide perspective on ferns, bromeliads, and other species that proliferate at the Pinto environs through panoramas. Botanical accuracy is paramount for Orencio, so those familiar and knowledgeable with our homegrown species can recognize them and even state their names.

With his knack for verisimilitude, the artist immortalizes—or revives—what it feels like to be in the middle of the bounties of the earth, over which his paintings go into raptures, each one of them celebrating nature as indescribable, also indispensable gifts.

While most would consider these four panoramic works as merely a simple documentation of Pintô Art Museum’s already lush gardens, these artworks have a bigger purpose.

It acts as a warning of what we could lose if we continue to ignore the destruction of nature. Or for those that always look at the bright side of life, it can act as a beacon of hope that provides us a glimpse into the Garden of Eden to which we could return.

This is Orencio’s second show focused on the botanical garden, but it is just one of the artist’s many exhibitions devoted to the lush gardens of Pintô.

August Greens is on view until Sept. 24.

Pintô Art Museum is at 1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights Subdivision, Antipolo City. Contact Jenny Villanueva at +632 86971015 or [email protected].