Artist-content creator unveils solo exhibition 'Surrealicious' | The Final Word - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

Catering to both Netizens and art enthusiasts, Raco Ruiz found fame as a comedic content creator. But he is also a visual artist known for his works with surrealist visuals.  Raco joins us to talk about his recent solo exhibition “Surrealicious.”  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

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00:00 Catering to both netizens and art enthusiasts,

00:03 Rajo Ruiz found fame as a comedic content creator,

00:07 but he's also a visual artist known for his works with surrealist visuals.

00:12 Rajo joins us now to talk about his recent solo exhibition, "Cerealicious."

00:16 Thank you so much for joining us.

00:18 Thank you so much for having me, Riko.

00:19 Why "Cerealicious?" Is it because it's a combination of serialism and, of course, our delicious cereal food?

00:29 Yes, definitely. Actually, I wanted it to be a play on words.

00:32 A while back, I remember there was this place called "Cerealicious," so I thought, "Why not make it 'Cerealicious'?"

00:41 At first, I was tempted to name it "Cereal Killers," but it seemed way too on the nose.

00:46 I wanted something more subtle.

00:48 Who are your main characters in this new solo exhibition that you have? Your second one?

00:55 Yes, my second one. By characters, you mean the subjects.

00:57 Yes, the subjects.

00:59 The subjects, well, definitely I wanted it to be very personal.

01:02 Your favorites.

01:03 My favorites. I only put the serial characters that I actually know as a kid.

01:09 There are hundreds, if not dozens, of serial characters.

01:13 I thought, "These are the ones that I actually spent time with as a child.

01:17 These are the ones that give me nostalgia." It had to be them.

01:20 From "Fruit Loops."

01:22 Yes, just loosely based on them. They're not actually them.

01:25 I have Toucan Sam from "Fruit Loops," the Trix Rabbit.

01:29 I have Tony the Tiger and Coco from "Coco Crunch."

01:33 Basically, five works in your second solo exhibition. Which one is your favorite?

01:37 Oh, my favorite one.

01:39 Which work is your favorite and where you had the highest degree of difficulty?

01:43 Actually, the highest degree of difficulty would have to be the first one I drew.

01:48 I don't usually draw on canvas. I'm a digital artist, mainly.

01:52 When I do go back to drawing on the canvas, I always feel like I'm resetting.

01:56 The rules are extremely different.

01:59 With digital art, with a tap of a button, you can undo everything, change the colors.

02:04 With traditional art, it'll take hours, if not days, to correct a mistake.

02:09 I can really see a burst of colors in your paintings.

02:13 How do you choose the colors? How do you choose the palette when you transform them and paint them on canvas?

02:21 Painting on canvas, definitely. Of course, it's harder to make mistakes there.

02:25 What I usually do with the advent of digital art, I usually make a draft first on my iPad

02:31 and keep changing the colors, sometimes dozens of times, before I actually land on a color.

02:37 That's it. I can't choose a better color. That's the combination I'm going to use.

02:41 I see, because I'm also a big collector of serialist artists, you've also merged it with graffiti.

02:50 Yes.

02:51 Do you also paint on public walls?

02:54 Yes, I do, but I try to make sure it's legal before I try.

02:58 When there is a public wall that's open to be painted, I am so enticed to go for it.

03:06 If the opportunity arises, even if the owner is just like, "Paint whatever you want,"

03:10 I'd be so happy to just paint it for free even sometimes, as long as it's my creation, my creative direction.

03:18 How different are the works from your first solo exhibition at Art Informal, vis-à-vis your second solo exhibition now at Secret Fresh?

03:29 This one, definitely, with my first one, I just went wild with it.

03:32 It was my first solo exhibit that was only me. That's redundant.

03:38 I wanted it to be really unapologetic, messy, colorful, in your face, so the lines were really smudged.

03:46 I intentionally smudged the paint, splattered all over the canvas, different colors.

03:51 But for this one, I said, "You know what? I'll try to be more disciplined, cleaner lines, something closer to the actual serial box art."

03:58 That's why you'll notice the lines are a lot cleaner here, a lot more polished.

04:02 Just taking a step back and looking at your back story as an artist, how did it all begin?

04:10 How did it all begin?

04:12 The formal training?

04:14 Well, I had art lessons as a kid. My mom brought me just for summer classes, as kids have.

04:20 But actually, no real formal training, I would say.

04:23 It was really just a hobby that turned into a passion that turned into, right now, I guess, a growing career.

04:30 Do you have any artists that inspire you, both local and international?

04:34 Inspire me? Definitely, when it comes to artists, I don't personally know.

04:38 Matthew Gondek, for sure, and the classics like Basquiat, Keith Haring.

04:44 I was inspired by the work ethic of Loren Tsai.

04:47 But locally, I'm actually inspired by my circle of friends who are artists.

04:51 My best friend, Jappy Algoncilio, definitely a big inspiration when it comes to just going for it and not being limited by your circumstances.

04:59 And my friends like Jill, Kurasaurus on Instagram, look them up. They're all extremely talented.

05:05 I know. These are now very famous artists, especially in the visual art realm.

05:12 Yes.

05:13 From graffiti art, from the walls, they're now on canvas.

05:16 What do you think of Surrealism mixed with graffiti art as an art form now, and is now a collector's piece by art collectors?

05:29 Actually, I'd like to think of my work more as lowbrow.

05:33 I use the words Surrealism and graffiti art because that's what inspired me.

05:37 But I think as a package deal, it's more of lowbrow art, like exaggerated versions of cartoons.

05:43 So I just really want to gravitate towards that because now that I've found my style, I will be more unapologetic about it.

05:52 I'll just like really commit to it.

05:54 You're not only a visual artist, but also a video director and a TikTok content creator.

06:00 Did you get into social media first before becoming a visual artist or was it the other way around?

06:07 Definitely visual artist first. Ever since I was a child, I was not a professional visual artist.

06:12 But it's always something I wanted to do.

06:14 Then when I went to college, I thought I might want to be a director because that's kind of like the subjects I was excelling in in school.

06:22 So I might look at it as a career, but I never thought posting silly skits on the Internet could be a career.

06:30 I would always post silly videos on YouTube.

06:32 I was in high school. It would only get like 100 views.

06:36 But now with TikTok, it just opens so many opportunities for people that weren't even there before.

06:42 That's right. It's a medium.

06:44 Definitely.

06:45 It's a new medium. It's a social media platform for everybody.

06:50 Yes, exactly.

06:52 And now everyone's a social media star, as they say.

06:55 How many followers do you have?

06:56 Right now, I think it's at 230,000 and growing.

07:01 And what I love about TikTok is anyone can make it as long as you're passionate about what you love.

07:08 And let's say you have zero followers, your video can still get 3 million views on TikTok.

07:14 It's up to the algorithm gods to decide.

07:17 But everyone has a shot. That's what I love about it.

07:19 And that's what I've learned.

07:20 I've been in television now for 35 years, but I'm so inactive in social media.

07:26 And to be able to reach out to the Gen Zs and the millennials, you really have to be on social media.

07:33 Yes, you do.

07:34 It's also the best way to promote your art to a bigger market.

07:38 Yes. With the advent of social media, I think artists suddenly became cool.

07:44 Because way back then, unless you're Basquiat or Keith Haring, it's hard to get discovered.

07:50 It was really a feat to become a globally known artist.

07:55 But now with social media, with Instagram, just use the right hashtags, post the right trends,

08:00 and you can become an international artist if you just keep at it.

08:04 So what is the big ambition of Rako Ruiz?

08:09 Where do you want your art to reach?

08:14 What's the next level for Rako Ruiz?

08:17 Oh my gosh. I'm extremely satisfied actually with everything I'm already doing.

08:22 But it would make me extremely happy just to collaborate with my favorite brands

08:26 and to get on the world stage somehow.

08:30 Right now, I've gained a little bit of a reputation here locally,

08:34 but to be known internationally, that would be amazing.

08:37 Because in the past, to be known internationally, you would have to be exhibited in international art galleries.

08:44 But not anymore. Because of social media, you reach millions of people around the world

08:51 even though you're just based here in Manila.

08:53 Yes. And you know what I love about social media?

08:55 Definitely it pays to have help. I have so much help from my management, NEMA.

08:59 They're amazing. But even if you don't have a management, there's still a chance.

09:05 You still have a fighting chance to be seen.

09:07 As long as you're putting out good work consistently and you believe in yourself,

09:11 you don't doubt yourself. Because at the start, it's discouraging that no one's looking at your stuff.

09:15 But if you keep at it, odds are eventually someone's going to see your work.

09:18 So when is the third solo exhibition of Rako Ruiz?

09:21 And which concepts and which themes are you looking at for the next exhibit?

09:25 Oh, definitely a lot of things are going through my mind when it comes to what the theme will be.

09:31 But definitely soon. I won't wait longer than a year.

09:34 And I definitely want to keep it socially relevant.

09:38 Even if my artworks seem playful and colorful and zany,

09:43 there's always some deeper level of why I'm doing this.

09:47 There's something I believe in that I want to share with the world.

09:50 Congratulations on your second solo exhibition at Secret Fresh.

09:54 Thank you so much.

09:55 And all the best in your art career.

09:58 Rako Ruiz, visual artist and social media influencer.

Artist-content creator unveils solo exhibition 'Surrealicious' | The Final Word

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