Photographer Wawi Navarroza’s US Debut Is a Feast of Maximalist Portraiture

The artist's tableaux are on view at Silverlens Gallery in New York.

Wawi Navarroza La Bruja II / Vagus (Self-Portrait Rebirthing the Self),, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Among the more buzzed-about shows at the top of this year’s fresh slate of winter openings is Silverlens’s solo show of photography by Filipina artist Wawi Navarroza. Navarozza has already made a splash in the Southeast Asian art scene as an up-and-comer, and Silverlens has offered the artist her first outing in the United States, showing a selection of portraiture made over the past five years, titled “The Other Shore”.

The artist draws from her experience moving between cultures—she’s lived in Manila, Madrid, and Istanbul. Shifting between bricolage self-portraits and still life photography, her choices in color, props, and poses reveal cultural signifiers that tell the story of how she encounters the various cultures she lives in. Below, check out a small selection of photos on display at Silverlens, open now through March 2.

Wawi Navarroza 2 Rocks, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza Portals / Double Portrait (Self-Portraits), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza Pretty Savage / Anthurium Minoa Theodora Sforza, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza The Fire Youʼre Made Of (Ignis Mirabilis, Self-Portrait After the Fire), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza Brave New World, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza Todo Lo Que Tengo / Bottomless / Bereket (Self- Portrait with Vessels), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza La Bruja II / Vagus (Self-Portrait Rebirthing the Self),, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter/The Self-Portraitist (After Alcuáz, Self-Portrait), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Wawi Navarroza The Heap/Viva La Vida (Portrait of A Female Artist at 40, Self-Portrait), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

 


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