Nocturne en bleu (2026) by Jose Solon Perfecto
Jose Solon Perfecto’s sculptures start out as wheel-thrown vessels. They are altered and joined together using a unique sculpture clay that incorporates rice husks and coffee grounds, along with bisque-fired powder of the same clay, all blended and aged in the artist’s La Union studio by the foot of a mountain. They are hand-painted with a blended cobalt carbonate underglaze, then dripped with an ash-based white shino glaze. They are then propped on shells in the kiln during a 10-hour 1,300-degree Celsius firing. Once cooled, the shell imprints on the works are then grinded and polished to an almost metallic finish. These ‘self-portrait sculptures’ are part of the artist’s ongoing theme of self-perception and identity – first seen in Etudes in Survival (2023), his first solo exhibit, then in Terroir & Tapestries (2024) a group show (alongside Pablo Capati III, Geraldine Javier, Mikee Naval, and Paulo Lozano); both exhibited at Aphro Living.
Words by Aussy Perfecto | Photos by Andie Remulla
Artist Statement for Nocturne en bleu (2026) by Jose Solon PerfectoSince I moved to La Union to pursue my art and pottery full-time, I’ve had a recurring dream of finding myself underdressed in unexpected social encounters with the deceased women from my maternal grandmother’s Cebuano lineage. The dream has a way of questioning the qualities I find most valuable to my practice, like being unguarded and relaxed, and reminding me of the expectations, perhaps also duties, that I carry not only from family tradition, but in my blood. There is no conflict in my waking life about my choices, but these dreams always make me feel vulnerable and unsettled.
Nocturne en bleu is the first time I’ve confronted this abstract experience. As self-portraits, my previous sculptures in Terroir Ceramics have always reflected my literal environment, living at the foot of a mountain in La Union – far away from what my dream-state relatives would call “home.”
In this last decade of working on my art, I’ve devoted myself to the philosophy of pottery as an hermitage. Out of the city and the social politics of my generation, I am able to literally and figuratively tend to my own garden, instead of looking over other fences where the grass could be greener and so forth. My recurring dreams pull me inward and take me into another garden – an inner terrain where, as I’ve discovered in the process of these works, my inner terroir is displayed. Seemingly black at first glance, concealing its identity, the glaze reveals the rich, deep cobalt blue in which I’ve generously slathered my self-portraits.
Jose Solon Perfecto, 2026
‘Nocturne en bleu’ by Jose Solon Perfecto is on display at 54 Santa Rosa House in Kapitolyo, Pasig City for Format’s group show, “Untold Stories,” along with Job Abednego, Roxanne Hermoso, Bea Aben, Jojo Barja, and Jing from August 20 to September 3, 2026. The gallery is open Mondays to Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
