“Through the Chrysalis” by Ycoy Sitchon

Galerie Joaquin Rockwell

March 27 – April 11, 2026

Following the success of Âme, where the language of the soul unfolded through restraint and near-silence, this new body of work turns toward luminosity. Through the Chrysalis is not a departure but an expansion—a movement from inward quiet to outward radiance. Color enters with intention, gathering in radiant pigments, gilded surfaces, and luminous florals that unfold like gardens in full awakening. Gold becomes both ground and atmosphere—a field of light that receives every gesture of color. Long associated with the sacred and the alchemical, it holds the miracle of transformation, where something fragile survives its darkest enclosure and emerges renewed. Across these surfaces, fragmented silhouettes of butterfly wings appear and dissolve, lingering like echoes of flight—subtle reminders of a journey already endured.

The chrysalis anchors the conceptual core of the exhibition. It is a threshold—a space of suspension where visible life retreats and transformation unfolds unseen. What once moved must surrender to stillness; what once existed must dissolve before it can rise. These works inhabit that moment of passage. Swirling wings, textured blooms, and sculptural petals gather across the canvases in a choreography of emergence. Yet the butterflies never dominate the scene. Their presence remains embedded within the floral field, as if the garden itself remembers the moment of flight. Transformation is not declared but quietly inscribed into the surface.

Within this body of work is an attentiveness to interior landscapes often left unspoken. The chrysalis mirrors states of retreat, where the spirit withdraws and time grows heavy. There are seasons when color fades and silence takes hold, yet beneath that stillness, unseen changes gather strength. Transformation does not announce itself; it accumulates. Cells reorganize. Wings begin to form. These paintings resist spectacle, offering instead a language of quiet becoming—one that honors patience, solitude, and the fragile faith that light persists beyond enclosure.

What unfolds across the canvases is not a singular arrival but a sustained emergence. Butterflies seemingly rise among blossoms that seem to greet them. Petals open in celebration. Color returns, carried by the reflective depth of gold, as if light itself bears witness to the transformation. The works suggest that becoming is continuous—marked by both the memory of struggle and the promise of renewal. Here, the butterfly is not merely a symbol of flight, but of endurance, of courage, and of certainty that even after the longest season of enclosure, one may rise again and find the garden waiting.

“Through the Chrysalis” will run from March 27 – April 11, 2026with the Opening Reception on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 5 PM. Galerie Joaquin Rockwell is located at the R3 Level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City. For inquiries, contact Galerie Joaquin at +63 915 414 5502 or email galeriejoaquinrockwell@gmail.com.

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