Paul Tristram Estevanez Miravalles (second of four children) hails from the Visayas Region of the Philippines. Until his formal study in painting (La Consolacion College-Bacolod;Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Painting; 2006-2008), the artist was entirely self-taught.

 

Locally known as “Uzi,”Tristramis a home-grown talent of Bacolod City-The City of Smiles.However, the artist took on an entirely different route. In return, he offers one of the most tragic, haunting and provocative pieces amongst a rich myriad of Visayan artists; deviating from the often-pleasant imagery associated with their locality.

 

Tristram dissects his life with the death surrounding him.He mutilates himself through introspection so that he can, bit by bit, offer his stories as raw as can be, one canvas at a time. His tortured, mutated characters are often alone in grey-toned violently-muted textures. The artist’s aesthetic alleviation is sourced from the slopes, curves and descent of his days. Assume, if I may, that it is tragedy and disdain that prods him to paint and recount thoughts into artistic articulation and that it is in the absence of peaceful meanderings whereTristram ultimately sets his brushes afire.

 

In 2011, he held his first solo exhibition entitled “Mentalshock of Tristram” in Gallery Orange, Bacolod City which was an aftermath of his days behind bars against false accusations. The artist battled through his ten-day calvary as the scars of society were unraveling right before him. This was followed by his recent solo exhibition in Blanc Gallery, Quezon City last July, 2013 entitled “Shallow Grave” which discoursed the constant feeling of non-living amidst all existential proof.

 

Tristram Miravalles was artist-in-residence of Project Space Pilipinas (PSP) in Mandaluyong City, Philippines in 2011 and Southeast Asia Artist Group Exchange Residency Program III (SAGER 3) in Jogjakarta, Indonesia last June, 2013.