Tag Archives: jose legaspi


Kim Atienza’s Magnificent Cabinet of Curiosities

Elmer Borlongan, "Laklak", 1994

Kim Atienza inadvertently set me on the road to art addiction.  In 2003, one of the pieces from his collection, Alfredo Esquillo Jr.’s Mamakinley, held me in thrall at the Whitney Museum.  The quest to learn more about an artist I hadn’t heard of till then lured me into the world of contemporary Philippine art. I’ve been fixated ever since. Continue reading →


Hate Mail at Manila Contemporary

Kaloy Sanchez, "Flightless"

It must be the season for group shows.  The third one I’ve seen this month, Hate Mail, at Manila Contemporary, is the second in a series of exhibits that, per the wall text, “…looks at visual linguistics in relation to communicating fundamental human emotions…” It comes after Love Letters, which the gallery, fittingly enough, mounted close to Valentine’s Day. Continue reading →


Viewing The Paulino Que Collection of Young Contemporary Artists (aka, The I Wish They Were Mine Show)

Three years ago, Ambeth Ocampo arranged for the

Kim Atienza and Ayala Museum's Ken Esguerra with Jojo Legaspi's "St Thelma"

Kim Atienza and Ayala Museum's Ken Esguerra with Jojo Legaspi's "St Thelma"

Board of Trustees of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines to view Paulino and Hetty Que’s collection of Philippine art and historical objets.  Ambeth, perhaps only half-kidding, dubbed the occasion the tour of the”… real National Gallery”.  As he took us through the assembly of works, from Juan Luna’s canvases, to Fabian dela Rosa’s landscapes, then onto the Amorsolos, and the Thirteen Moderns, from the Ben Cabs to the Ang Kiukoks, we realized what Ambeth meant.  The staggering display covered the whole gamut of Philippine art history from Damian Domingo’s Academia de Dibujo to the 1980s.   Continue reading →