Victorio Edades, "The Sketch", oil on canvas, 1928, 96x117 cm, National Museum Collection
The hushed interiors of Ayala Museum provided the perfect solace from Metro Manila’s oppressive summer heat. It also offered a nice break from the contemporary art scene, a chance to get better acquainted with the original agent provocateur of Philippine art. Continue reading
Mac Valdezco, "Orange 524.558", detail
I know how obsessive Geraldine Javier gets about quality and workmanship. So it hardly comes as a surprise to see whom she invited to join her for her first go at curating an exhibit. Juan Alcazaren, Mac Valdezco, Eugene Jarque, Mike Munoz, and Ryan Villamael all share her reputation for fastidiousness, for fabricating pieces with careful attention to detail. Continue reading
Special edition Jenny Holzer bag for ArtHK 12
Somewhere in the middle of the convention center’s Level 3, where half of the participants of ArtHK 12 have been spread out, geometric forms made from black metal twinkle from the ceiling. Continue reading
Jose John Santos III, "Clockwise", detail
While briefing the press right before officially opening the doors to ArtHK 12, Magnus Renfrew, fair director, announced that beginning next year, Art Basel officially takes over the Hong Kong art fair. Henceforth, it shall be known as Art Basel Hong Kong, the third fair in the franchise after the original Art Basel (the one that actually takes place in Basel) and Art Basel Miami Beach. Continue reading
Anselm Kiefer lets a thousand flowers bloom at White Cube Hong Kong
And so the madness begins in Hong Kong for art fair week.
The flurry of texts as I waited for my flight to get going clued me in on the frenzy, even among the Filipino art aficionados. Who was going when to HK? For those counting heads, the better question seemed to be who was not? Continue reading
Jose Legaspi, "Drawing 1", pastel on paper, 228.6x 114.3 cm/ 7.5x 3.75 ft.
Come to Drawing at the Vargas Museum for the sheer pleasure of reveling in Jose Legaspi’s incredible skill. Continue reading
Epjey Pacheco, "Homo Execessum (Man of Excess)", detail
Epjey Pacheco has turned his pen to himself. Shift, his one-man exhibit at The Crucible, takes us on an autobiographical journey. Through a variety of portraits, we witness him morph from a man preoccupied with the worldly to a more spiritual being. The reason for the change, however, does not figure in the show. Continue reading
Vermont Coronel, "Connection", detail, layers of painted stencils
Vermont Coronel has professed his admiration for Logan Hicks, the American stencil artist known for his detailed urban landscapes. Unsurprising then that he has chosen to work with the same medium: layers of meticulously fabricated stencils, traced from his own photos of random city scenes, translated to canvas via spray-painted acrylic. It takes a minimum of three layers of stencils to complete an image, and it takes Vermont a week to create each layer. Continue reading