Exhibition opens on August 23, Thursday at 4 PM
by Therese Atienza
The Shaping of Memory, Richard McDiarmid’s latest exhibition, is currently on view at Galerie Raphael Davao, marking it his first solo show in the Philippines. With a career that spans decades and continents, the Canadian artist has developed a visual language deeply rooted in energy, rhythm, and narrative discovery.
Richard’s oeuvre, often emerging from a state of intuition and improvisation, invites viewers into spaces where color, texture, and movement merge, revealing traces of human activity and lived experience. Like the nuanced nature of memory itself, each work unravels gradually, encouraging personal interpretation and sentiment.
In this exhibition, moments from McDiarmid’s vibrant life and artistic journey converge, forming a spectacular mosaic of his evolving vision. Some canvases pulse with the vitality of urban life or the playful cadences of jazz. Others linger quietly, tenderly capturing the subtle undercurrents of place and time.
At its heart, The Shaping of Memory reflects not only Richard’s commitment to experimentation and exploration, but also the enduring resonance of art—to grasp, shape, and transform—the places we seek and the stories we carry from them.
Richard S. McDiarmid is a Canadian painter whose five-decade career spans oils, acrylics, watercolour, and mixed media, moving fluidly from representational to semi-abstract forms. A Signature Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Northwest Watercolor Society, McDiarmid is known for his exploratory process—beginning in spontaneity and evolving into richly textured, light-filled surfaces that encourage narrative interpretation.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private and corporate collections across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond. An educator and mentor, he has taught workshops in Canada, the U.S., Britain, France, Spain, and Mexico, and has played an active role in arts leadership, fostering the creative spirit that defines his practice.The Shaping of Memory by Richard McDiarmidopens at Galerie Raphael Davao on August 23, with a VIP, Media, and Artist Interview at 11 am, and an Artist Reception at 4 pm. The exhibit will be on view until August __, 2025. The gallery is located at Unit 2, Retail Block 2, Azuela Cove, Lanang, Davao City.
