Renato Orara
b.
1961
,
New York
,
New York
Conceptual
Minimalism
Biography
Renato Orara (b. 1961, Bicol, Philippines; lives and works in New York, USA) is an artist recognized for his creations using a ballpoint pen on paper. His drawings portray objects devoid of their context, meaning, and narrative, surpassing the limits imposed by language and material constraints. With a conceptual foundation rooted in interventions and public performance arts in Manila in the 70s, Orara resurfaced from an eight-year Zen meditation hiatus to embark on a renewed career with the use of ballpoint ink.
Notable information
- Known for his distinctive ballpoint pen drawings that create highly detailed, lifelike renderings
- Creator of notable series including "Ten Thousand Things That Breathe" (1989-present), "Drawer Drawings", "Iraq Memorial", "Bookworks", and "Bloodworks"
- Works featured in prestigious institutions including Museum of Modern Art (NY), Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), and Singapore Art Museum
- Had significant exhibitions at The Drawing Center NYC (2002) and Queens Museum of Art (2007)
- Currently showing "Entangled Pairs" (2025), a major cross-continental exhibition at Silverlens galleries in New York and Manila
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