C.J Tanedo

CJ Tañedo is a contemporary artist whose artworks are profoundly eerie and unsettling. Born 1979 to a Philippine family, Tañedo became determined to pursue painting as a career when people admonished him against it. Gustav Klimt, Rembrandt, and Degas are among many of his influences. During his college years, he found himself amidst noted Filipino artists such as Ivan Roxas, Lawrence Borsoto, Tyago Almario, and Romel Villa, which fuelled his artistic passion.

Though his art is ever-evolving, nearly all of his artworks are infused with a certain tension. They depict the dark crevices of the mind, evoking a deep-seated, primal fear that has been widely felt but rarely articulated. An empty parking lot at 3 am, an oscillating swing with not a soul around, an inoperative clock: Tañedo seizes these transitory but vivid fears and extrapolates them into his art.

Eclectic and versatile, his practice integrates the Renaissance techniques of visual art with the modern. It is his use of contrasting colour gradations – the chiaroscuro technique – that lends his work their emotional force.  Though broadly classifiable as a figurative artist, realism is the key feature in his works along with impressionism, expressionism, and symbolism. He uses multiple layers of paint, adopting myriad ways to dry the painting quickly. His subjects are diverse, fluctuating with his moods and events.

Tanedo began to gain recognition for his work while he was still in college. He has been exhibited far and wide with numerous accolades to his name, including NOKIA Art Award in Seoul, Korea, and the Metrobank Young Painters Annual award. He was briefly a part-owner of an art gallery in Quezon City. Deciding against pursuing a masters program in Art, he is presently a freelance painter with a regular entry at Sotheby’s Auction House.