Jonahmar Aguilar Salvosa

Zen portals introducing other planes of existence and awareness. Lotus Blooms as symbols of enlightenment. Light-dappled glass bottles, decanters and vessels. Timeless images of Mother and Child. Fairies and angels at play with nature. San Lorenzo Ruiz, the First Filipino Saint. All In dazzling images of vibrant hues.

These are few of the images associated with artist Jonahmar Salvosa.

Jonahmar Aguilar Salvosa spent his boyhood in the sleepy town of Calabanga, Camarines Sur, located on the Southern part of Luzon island. This is where he first became inspired by nature's beauty and bounty surrounding him, pushing him to pursue art in all its colors, magnificence and limitless expression. As a student in the University of Caceres, Salvosa showed his undeniable potential by sweeping awards from art contests. From there he moved on to the Unniversity of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman, reaping more awards and recognition as one of the Shell Student Art Competition winners. When he graduated in 1976, he launched his professional career as one of the 13 Emerging Artists honored by the Art Association of the Philippines.

Salvosa has evolved from his raw, ism-influenced art in the seventies to a sensitive, more balanced and precise Modern Classic style as he interprets it. Nature lover, Zen Buddhism practitioner, seeker of truth, beauty and meaning, he has transcended all of these and combined them in a package rife with self-awareness and enlightenment, free from all shackles of conventionalism and presenting works as reflections of inner being and life history.

And his history is eventful, indeed.He was hailed as one of the Top Five Watercolorists of 2002 in Gallery Genesis' 19th Kulay sa Tubig(Colors in Water) Annual Invitation Watercolor Competition-Exhibition. He was also honored in 1999 in his hometown's 250th Foundation Day anniversary as having an "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Fine Arts". His 1978 painting, Lorenzo Ruiz: First Filipino Saint won the grand Prize in the First Filipino Saint Art Competition held under tha auspices of the Circolo Romano Filipino and the Art Association of the Philippines. This one-meter-by-one-meter acrylic was presented to Pope John Paul II in 1979, and is now part of the artworks collection of the Vatican Museum. Add to these twenty-one more awards from different local and international competitions, showing his skill, talent and sheer brilliance.

Having traveled extensively in study tours and exhibits in Europe, Egypt, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, Salvosa continues to bring his art and his philosophy to his fellowmen, through watercolors, prints, murals and sculpture. He even has his own gallery at the Seven Suites Hotel in Antipolo City, teaching occasionally and continuously developing his technique, sharing his feelings, sentiments and an invitation to view a different, more enlightened plane of existence, life and spirit, true essence of being.