Mid-Career Crisis

In Mid-Career Crisis, Cedrick Dela Paz turns inward, scrutinizing not only the outcomes of painting but the act itself—its routines, pressures, and evolving meaning in an artist’s life. This exhibition locates itself within that difficult middle point in an artistic career, when early promise has matured into responsibility, yet the clarity of legacy or mastery remains unsettled. The title alone points to a transitional moment that many artists experience: a space where youthful uncertainty is no longer a valid excuse, and the expectations—internal and external—begin to mount.

In “Blangko,” Dela Paz foregrounds the tension of beginning. The canvas, left untouched, is not passive. Instead, it imposes itself as a burden and a frame—visually suggesting that the artist and his work are one and the same. Here, the act of facing the canvas is also an encounter with the limits of one’s own drive, vision, and persistence.

The blankness becomes an active field of reckoning. In “Nocturnal,” the artist depicts himself hunched over a work, marked by a mechanical key on his back and a clock looming in the background. The imagery is clear: painting has become a race against time, an obligation tied to external demands. The sense of being wound up, driven by forces beyond the artist’s control, reflects the fatigue and repetition that come with deadlines and professional pressures.

While many of the works are introspective, the exhibition also turns a critical eye toward the larger art world. In Silaw, for instance, the spotlight itself becomes the subject, suggesting how visibility can both illuminate and distort. In other pieces, the figure of the collector looms—less as a benefactor and more as an unseen force shaping artistic production. These works point to a network of expectations that often directs the artist’s path as much as, if not more than, personal intention.

Still, Mid-Career Crisis does not present final answers. If anything, it underscores the unfinished nature of an artist’s growth. There is an ongoing negotiation between practice and doubt, process and pressure. The arc of success, however defined, carries with it a weight that Dela Paz confronts with clarity and restraint. In this exhibition, painting is neither romanticized nor dismissed—it is examined, with a sense of sobriety shaped by experience.