Sea Yarns from Elmer Borlongan and Plet Bolipata

Plet Bolipata, "Le Taxi" and Elmer Borlongan, "Story of the Constellations" (at back)

Crochet is certainly having its moment.  Last week, I saw pictures of Agata Olek’s work in Barcelona.  She wrapped one of Fernando Botero’s hefty animal sculptures, a monolithic tubby tabby, in camouflaged-patterned crochet. She did the same thing to Wall Street’s iconic bull a few years ago. Street artists have transformed the old fashioned craft into another medium for graffiti. Dubbed yarnbombers, they use knitted lace to leave their mark on public structures, and these prove just as potent as cans of spray paint. Continue reading


Julie Lluch and Her Girls Do Their Home Works

Julie Lluch, "Aba's Yellow Christ", terracotta and acrylic

Being with family means having the freedom to relax, get goofy, be yourself.  It implies the comfort to do as one pleases. Where else would  Kiri Dalena, artist and activist who takes us to the scenes of massacre and murder, show her irreverent side other than with her family?  Or will her sister Sari share a self-portrait that unabashedly glories in her protruding pregnant belly? Home Works, at the AFM Total Gallery, captures the

Julie Lluch, "Cat", terracotta and acrylic

casual, humorous, and playful atmosphere of a family get together.  The group exhibit presents works by the celebrated sculptor, Julie Lluch, and her three equally-talented daughters.

Aba Lluch Dalena, "Buhay Aso", terracotta and acrylic

Julie brings out intimate pieces, clay and marble renditions of domestic animals and decorative objects that one encounters within the sphere of one’s home.  As we enter the main exhibit area, her sculpture of a startled cat greets us.  Produced in what has now been recognized as a Julie Lluch trademark, she depicts the animal with its hackles raised, its teeth bared, half snarling, half surprised.  The cat’s comical expression in the many versions of this piece never fails to get a laugh out of me.

Julie Lluch, "Crucifix After Aba", terracotta and acrylic

Nearby, as a counterpoint to Cat, we see the first of Aba Lluch Dalena’s works:  two dogs joined together, caught in flagrante, seemingly oblivious to the humans in their vicinity—just as they would be in real life.  Three versions of a crucifix adorn one of the gallery’s walls. Aba’s Yellow Christ is the only one of the three where Julie completes the details of Christ’s head and face.  While I have seen several of Julie’s crucifixes, I have not seen any of these particular ones before.

Aba’s sculpture has been set amongst her mother’s work.

Aba Lluch Dalena, "Home Works 2 (Daddy in Pakil, Laguna)", terracotta and acrylic

Along with Askal,  another  stray pup, and Palaka, a giant green toad, she created four miniature tableaux  full of wonderful detail.

Home Works 2 (Daddy in Pakil, Laguna) shows their father at work, the great Danny Dalena seated before a canvas. It includes a small facade of Pakil’s famous cathedral, echoing

Aba Lluch Dalena, "Home Works 1 (Mommy and her Cacti Heart Sculptures)", terracotta and acrylic

the actual view from the Dalena ancestral home.  Home Works 1(Mommy and Her Cacti Heart Sculptures) is my favorite.  It depicts Julie amidst many of her most recognizable work:  the busts of Van Gogh and Gauguin, spiky cacti, her clay hearts.  Both pieces include playful dogs wiggling on the floor.

Kiri Dalena, "Five Words To Read Aloud (After Daddy)", neon

I thought Kiri’s work the most surprising of all.  Her pieces in this show depart completely from the socio-political commentaries we have come to associate with her.  She cast three larger than life blown up condoms in resin, painted in baby pink, black, and white.  The three have been placed before a neon sign with the

Kiri Dalena, "White Condom (After Daddy)", resin and automotive paint

words teeth, thing, mall, lamb, bought.  If we do as the title suggests, Five Words To Be Read Aloud (After Daddy), we realize why her condoms have such odd shapes!

Exhibit installation of Kiri's work

Beside the condoms, Kiri’s Penis Line (After Mommy) forms a single procession along the entire length of the wall.  Dozens of thumb-sized terracotta penises appear to wiggle, bow, or stand in attention. One can choose to acquire them singly or in groups.  Take your pick!

Two self-portraits complete the show.  One of them is of Julie, an acrylic painting from 1972.  In contrast, Sari represents herself in video, a piece for the 21st century.

Kiri Dalena, "Penis Line (After Mommy)", detail

Home Works runs from 5 to 28 October 2010 at the AFM Total Gallery, Alliance Francaise de Manille, 209 Nicanor Garcia St., (Formerly Reposo St.), Bel Air 2, Makati.  Phone (632) 897-7757 or visit http://www.alliance.ph

 

Kiri Dalena, "Penis Line (After Mommy)", terracotta and acrylic

Julie Lluch, "Self Portrait", acrylic on canvas, 1972

Sari Lluch Dalena, "Self Portrait", video loop

Aba Lluch Dalena, "Askal", terracotta and acrylic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Terracotta Origins

Joe Geraldo, detail, "Parada Tinik"

Two years ago, I had my first encounter with the sculpture of Roedil “Joe” Geraldo and Israel “Noi” Gonzales.  Together with other artists from the Visayas, they came to Manila, to the Alliance Francaise Total Gallery, in June 2008, and introduced their terracotta pieces.  This month, they return to that very same gallery in a three-man show with Mark Valenzuela, a critically-recognized artist who also shares their passion for working with clay.

Mark Valenzuela, "M" and "Source"

The terracotta that these three artist choose to fondle and shape comes from the richness of the earth where they make their homes. All three have been nourished in Western Visayas, the base from which they work.  As Mme. Deanna Ongpin-Recto, President of Alliance Francaise de Manille, remarked during the exhibit’s opening reception, all three see terracotta as a pure and spiritual medium.  They enjoy a special closeness with this material as it is literally borne from the soil they inhabit.

Israel Gonzales, "Sa Kapawa"

In this show, which they have dubbed Gingikanan or Origin, they use this clay to explore their roots, to look back to their ancestors and forebears, to revisit experiences that have shaped their persons.

Joe, who won first prize at this year’s GSIS Art Competion for sculpture, exhibits the most polished pieces.  Early on in his career, he chiseled his figures out of woodblocks.  He takes inspiration from the rituals of daily

Mark Valenzuela, "Exhibitionist"

life in his native Bacolod to bring us work that strike me as three-dimensional versions of Ang Kiukok’s paintings.  Mark, who has been a short-listed artist for the Ateneo Art Awards, brought out
Exhibitionist, a life-sized piece from his own collection.  I felt, though, that his work and that of Noi’s, who both showed mostly busts, looked interchangeable.  Perhaps they should both start looking beyond past pieces for their future work.

Joe Geraldo, "Diin Padolong"

Mme. Ongpin-Recto also used the exhibit’s opening  to announce the launch of the Alliance Francaise de Manille-Philippine Artists Residency Program. This grant, to be awarded on an annual basis, will allow for one Filipino visual arts practitioner to enjoy a three-month residency in Paris.  As far as I know, this is open to artists 45 years old and below.  Now, that is what I call a great opportunity!

Israel Gonzales, Joe Geraldo, and Jon Pettyjohn with Joe's piece, "Owang"

Origin runs from 3 to 26 August 2010 at the Alliance Francaise Total Gallery, 209 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel Air 2, Makati City.  Phone (632) 895-7585/ 895-7441.

For more information on the Alliance Francaise de Manille-Philippine Artists Residency Program, you may visit the Alliance Francaise or http://www.alliance.ph

Israel Gonzales, "Mal-Am (Elder)"

Mark Valenzuela, detail of "Last Full Show"

Israel Gonzales, "Kusog Tawhanon"

Mark Valenzuela, "Getting Louder Everyday"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6dIxFMaLg