Chinnich Candao

For Filipino Muslim artist Chinnich Candao, the bold portrayal of vibrantly colored spots, smears, and lines forego visual reference to objective reality. In most of her artworks which include oriental patterns, flowers, and cosmos, Candao strives to connect with the primeval self, the unconscious mind, and the hidden imagery of the subconscious.

In the midst of this fervor emerges a propensity for calmness--seeking to connect with primal emotion in and outside her work. While Candao is on her own artistic journey to discovering her definitive style, her abstract paintings already embrace particular swathes of bold colors accompanied by mica flakes to achieve textural images. These seem to capture simplicity while simultaneously communicating vastness, complexity, and a sense of interwoven independence.

Many times, non-objective reality gives way to sublime images of water. Swirling and swelling pools abound while images emerge from their flow and turbulence, often as patterns close to her cultural roots, like the abstract and decorative lines of indigenous textiles.

Chinnich Candao is a self-taught Mindanao-born Muslim artist whose compositions of woven patterns honor her roots. She has participated in several exhibitions in the Philippines and continues to create various commissioned works for clients. Candao is currently exhibiting her work entitled "Farha" with Vintana’s Christmas collection "Spirits of Unsung Christmas Carols".


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