Mac Valdezco, "Cloud Gatherers 2"
Does Mac Valdezco ever underwhelm? If we go by her solo exhibit now running at Avellana Art Gallery, apparently not. She manages to exceed my expectations each time she transforms the most banal and nondescript accessories into fantastic organisms. In this show, she has extra-terrestrials on her mind, and uses science fiction as inspiration for the work she has created to fill the entire gallery. 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
Yasmin Sison, "Haraya (Underneath The Sky)"
Yasmin Sison revisits familiar elements in this solo exhibit, her first in Manila since her 2009 show, Into The Woods, at SM Art Center. She returns to her portrayals of children. This set brings them indoors, away from the forest and the shore that have served as settings for her more recent depictions of kids at play. These hark back to 2007’s Gingerbread Girls, with the kids seated against a plain backdrop, looking squarely at the viewer. Continue reading
Gallery Orange
Amidst wandering through marvelous old mansions, faded reminders of a genteel past, and overindulging in muscovado-laced delicacies, a cultural tour of Bacolod included glimpses of the city’s contemporary arts landscape. The scene seems to gravitate towards two venues, at least as far as I could tell from a three-day stay.
Mac Valdezco and Eugene Jarque call this exhibit Riding In Circle, an awkward title for a wonderful display of their latest work. Unfortunately, the show ends in a few days. This post comes a bit too late, but I thought it a pity to let the show pass and allow
Mac Valdezco, detail, "Mini Rider", monoprint on bed of strings
it to simply disappear, swallowed up by the general chaos of the holidays. Continue reading
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
Many of her colleagues teasingly refer to Mac Valdezco’s February show, In Focus, as a mini-retrospective (See this blog’s
Mac Valdezco, "Plastic Ghost", from cling wrap, wire, and masking tape
February 2010 Archives). That exhibit inaugurated the art program of the Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences, and curator Albert Avellana did bring out choice pieces from Mac’s body of work. For the artist, seeing all the pieces she had put together posed a challenge. How would she achieve the same effect for her next solo outing? Mac decided that she needed to push herself, pit her pieces against each other, set new ones up against the old, spur herself to outdo previous work in the same media. Continue reading
In Focus: Mac Valdezco
In what must be a first in Manila, the newly-opened Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences in Salcedo Village in Makati has
launched its art program. Done hand-in-hand with Art Cabinet Philippines, the hotel makes its public areas and third floor gallery available as venues for showcasing art. Along with room service, guests can look forward to changing exhibits, even on each
Mac Valdezco, "Invisible Pilot"
floor’s elevator foyer. Continue reading
Junyee, Pintados series
Hannah Pettyjohn, "DFW RIP (Urban Sprawl)" and "American Mary"
AMERICAN SWEET BY HANNAH PETTYJOHN
A little more than two years ago, half- American Hannah Pettyjohn spent time in Texas to reconnect with her roots. While there, she worked at a geotechnical engineering lab, lived in a white house that looked exactly like all the other houses in the neighborhood, got to know her father’s family, and read David Foster Wallace. Continue reading