Tag Archives: dex fernandez


All Around Town: DAGC Gallery, Pablo Fort, Manila Contemporary, Blanc Peninsula, and Pinto Art Gallery

Noi Gonzales, "Pakikisama", at Pinto Art Gallery

I’ve been stranded in the seven kingdoms of Westeros these past few weeks, ensnared by the five mammoth volumes of The Game of Thrones.  I thought it high time to come back to reality, to catch up on Manila’s art scene—my original form of escape.  I wanted to see some exhibits that were due to close, and to make sure I made it to some of this weekend’s more promising openings.

My two-day art binge took me from the heart of Taguig’s Global City, to the streets of Makati and yonder, all the way up to the hills of Antipolo. Continue reading →


September Roundup: Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Roberto Chabet, Mark Andy Garcia, Jigger Cruz, Dex Fernandez, Bjorn Calleja, Cos Zicarelli, Kawayan de Guia

Jigger Cruz, "Dead End", detail

Between awaiting this upgraded site and attending to a ton of work, September just whizzed by me.  Manila’s art scene yielded some incredible shows.  While I did get the chance to catch most of them, I couldn’t find the time to sit down and write.  For posterity’s sake, I thought I’d document them here anyway.  Here are September 2011’s highlights: Continue reading →


On The Range at Blanc Compound

Mariano Ching, "Under The Western Sky Series 3"

The exhibit’s title did puzzle me, but it should have clued me in.  Clint Eastwood in Hats On, Bottoms Off shows works inspired by Westerns—the cowboys and Indians variety, an odd, unexpected choice of concepts.  But a chat with artist Allan Balisi, who had thought this up with Cos Zicarelli, revealed that there is nothing more to this than a bunch of cowboy movie enthusiasts getting together to produce work.  Everyone in the group was game enough to stick to the plan. Continue reading →


Dex Fernandez Rocks On!

I first encountered these Jesus Christ superstars of Dex Fernandez about a year ago at MO Space, at the group show Siren’s Hall.  If I

Dex Fernandez, "Hey Idol, how you doin'? Series 6", detail

remember correctly, he had three of these tattooed resin Christ figures making their debut in a show about rock and roll.  He brings out more of them for his second solo exhibit, this time to present us with a premise on idol worship. Continue reading →


Bad Boys at Manila Contemporary

"Wandbild" by Albert Oehlen

Albert Oehlen, "Wandbild"

First, graffiti in a museum.  Now, tattoos in a gallery.  Witness as Bad Boy art turns legit, and Manila’s welcoming response to this development.  A show that carries a title as provocative as Painting With A Hammer To Nail The Crotch of Civilization with artist Manuel Ocampo as the curator is bound to draw in the art scene denizens.  Throw in work by his colleagues, the likes of international art superstars like Albert Oehlen, plus free tattoo sessions on selected days of the show’s run, then you even get the dwellers of the alternative art scene to trek to Makati.

Manuel Ocampo mural

Continue reading →


The TUP Implosion

Neil Arvin Javier, "It Was So Good", mixed media (collage), 153x183 cm

Alrashdi S. Mohammad, "Expand" and "Active", mixed media, 183x137 cm

With the CCP not exactly in my neighborhood, I debated whether I had the time to swing by Implode, a special exhibit of selected alumni from the Technological University of Philippines College of Architecture and Fine Arts.  Luckily, my schedule cooperated, as did the traffic lights on EDSA, and I found myself in the CCP’s third floor gallery in half an hour, right before the show opened. Best of all, save for the artists busy with their last minute arrangements, I had the space all to myself. Continue reading →


Dex Fernandez and His Incredible Low Brows

Dex Fernandex, "Untitled 6"

For those willing to brave the winter winds and record temperature drops of New York in January, Robert Williams‘ exhibit of paintings and sculpture, Conceptual Realism, runs until the third week of the month.  For the rest of us, the James Kalm Report of artist Loren Munk provides a great taste of this show on YouTube.  Next month, Williams, founder of Juxtapoz magazine, will exhibit more of his work at the Whitney Biennial. Continue reading →