“I’m laughing with you. I’m enjoying your company. I’m happy. It doesn’t have to be so profound,” says 28-year-old artist and illustrator Jill Arteche during our chat inside her studio. With an eye and appreciation for the simple things in life, she finds both happiness and her art in the mundane.
“I want people to see the brighter side of life. Without discrediting or overlooking the darker side of things, I want them to laugh and I want to make them relate to these mundane moments,” says Arteche. “We often overlook these and the foundation of my work is paying attention to those little details—the big and small. My own touch of humor is just there to highlight the extraordinary within the ordinary.”
Arteche graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a BFA degree in information design. She initially worked as a graphic designer and completed her illustration and visual storytelling studio residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York City before pursuing a full-time career as an artist.
“I became an artist because I wanted to tell stories—my stories, usually. Growing up, I wasn’t really good with words. I used drawing and painting to tell my story and share my feelings.”
We caught up with the Quezon City-based artist to talk about her developing art style, the roles and responsibilities of artists, and her latest stool collection, “Rich Ladies.”
Jill Arteche and the “comically grotesque”
Ever assume that you’re the only one who’s experienced a certain phenomenon, only to be pleasantly surprised by someone online sharing the same encounter? There’s unity in the mundane and you’d be surprised how many shared experiences can be found in the fleeting moments we often overlook.
“We often only see the grand moments in life. But, what makes life beautiful or meaningful is the day-to-day things that we do.”
“Ugly is nice. It’s real,” says Arteche, referring to the beauty that lies within what is natural and unadulterated. It is a lesson she learned from watching Mr. Bean and Winnie-the-Pooh (she also keeps a figurine of the honey enthusiast inside her studio)—cartoon icons renowned for going against the grain and comfortably so. Her memories with these childhood shows also influenced her early work.
Arteche’s earlier pieces consisted of distorted, caricatured subjects with exaggerated features and characteristics. She sought to present these figures while withholding qualities associated with conventional beauty to “highlight the ugly side of things, that it is nice.”
She has previously described her art as “comically grotesque,” but maintains that it’s no longer the case. “My work has evolved in so many ways. Some are still distorted but it now leans more towards funny,” she explains. “I don’t think that’s the right term now. Sometimes they’re cute.”
Arteche also looks back fondly on her second solo exhibition, “Funny Faces,” and regards it as her favorite from the bank of memories she has depicted. “I painted human expressions; ugly crying, sneezing, ugly sleeping, and getting angry and annoyed. I wanted to capture the humor and the quirkiness that you can find in these relatable moments. That’s one of my favorite sets of works.”
Why it remains such a fond memory to her, she explains, is because each piece references existing portraits of her. Unfortunately, we’ll probably never see the original photos—we can only imagine.
However, as someone who finds great joy in sharing her story through these tiny moments, Arteche understands that it can’t be all about her. As an artist, there is conflict between creating to meet demands and creating for herself.
“It’s a privilege to have a platform that can reach people, one that can touch many. But, it comes with a certain burden that you also have to reflect different realities in your work. However, I’ve learned along the way that you can’t address every reality, and that’s perfectly okay. After all, as an artist, one of your responsibilities is to also keep growing and pushing your boundaries.”
Strays and rich ladies
Her latest and first stool collection “Rich Ladies” debuted under Manila Illustration Fair’s “Bagay-bagay: Is illustration fine art?” exhibit at the recently concluded Art Fair Philippines.
According to Arteche, the collection was inspired by witnessing a group of rich ladies casually talking about their daily lives. “Seeing that made me laugh. But more than that, it made me intrigued by the things that they were talking about. For the collection, I wanted to imagine what it would be like sitting down with them and talking about a fine Saturday afternoon.”
But, despite lightheartedly making fun of these women, Arteche admits that her goal is to one day be like them, too. “I guess you could say that I want to become rich.”
Though for different reasons—particularly attaining a level of financial freedom that will allow her to build a rescue shelter for strays. “I’ve grown to love strays and animals in general and I want to see how I can use my art to advocate for them.”
And perhaps in a future second edition of the “Rich Ladies” stool collection, Arteche will depict herself among these bejeweled figures, chatting not about a fine Saturday afternoon but the rescue shelter she has built.
Photos by JT Fernandez
Produced by Carl Martin Agustin
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