Collection: Norlie Meimban

Norlie Meimban was graduated from the University of the Philippines Fine Art with major in painting; the canvas had always been his irreplaceable passion. He joined competitions and was recognized by Metrobank Foundation Art Competition three times: in 1989 as honorable mention, in 1993 as third place and 1996 another honorable mention, thus qualifying him to be a member of NOW, which stands for “network of winners” from Metrobank’s roster of past winners. He also won the GSIS art competition, Juror Choice 2009. Last 2017, he received an award for Immersing soul in Hong Kong. To date, Norlie has countless group shows in Seattle  Washington, Oakland California and New York, and 18 solo exhibits in Pasig Museum, Rico Renzo, White box, Ysobel Gallery, Artes Oreintes, Art Elements, Big and Small gallery, Pinto Art Museum, Secret Fresh And Space Encounter Gallery, and many other respectable art galleries. His forte consists of figurative works with color and monochrome with his favorite subject matter, people, specifically children As he continues to hone and perfect his craft, he manages to come up with fresh, innovative ideas to add more dimension to his painting. Norlie Meimban worked as an artist in animation for many years in the United States.  Ani-motion, his latest and 12th solo show at Ysobel Gallery, showcases his graphic paintings creatively rooted in this visual game and field, which he fully immersed in.  Meimban puts together a polished mash between animation and painting turned into a legible whole but verily reveals the peculiarly graphic lexicon and panache of animation that bears both its craft and art. These figurative paintings are distinctly characterized by clean lines, expressive qualities, and sensibilities of the human form, which overtly show Meimban’s background in drawing and technical command in figurative art. Mostly, these are sequences of images that create an internal narrative, or it could be another focal image with reconstruction of its motion, giving them a more lively presence on canvas.  Images were stringed into various poses, showing incremental movements in crisp corporeal rhythms like a time-lapse video on a single surface.