Tag Archives: mike adrao


Mike Adrao, Decoy Decay

Installation view of Mike Adrao's Decoy Decay

Initially, there’s a bit of a disconnect between Mike Adrao, the soft spoken guy shyly taking you through his sketchbooks, and Mike Adrao, the artist who completed the suite of eight huge drawings hanging on the walls of Tin-Aw Art Gallery for Decoy Decay.  As your conversation progresses, however, you get a sense of the grit behind the jaw-dropping pieces, the quiet obsession that pushed charcoal and pastel to cover every inch of paper with complex detail. Continue reading →


Momentously Monumental

Elmer Borlongan, "Pag-ahon"

I never thought I’d wish Manila Contemporary had more space.  But when an exhibit like Monumental comes along, even the vast proportions of Metro Manila’s most capacious gallery seems crowded. Continue reading →


Iggy Rodriguez and Mike Adrao Go Mano a Mano

Iggy Rodriguez, "Toxin", 45X34 in, acrylic and ink on paper

Iggy Rodriguez, "Toxin", acrylic ink on arches paper, 45x34 in.

In the November 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, an article on Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, makes passing mention of  three schools he set up to run programs that keep traditional arts alive.  One of them is the Prince’s Drawing School, organized as a means of “reviving traditional methods that had largely been abandoned by the art-education establishment….”  The article goes on to say that the idea for the drawing school came about because “…the Slade, the Royal Academy, the Royal College—all the big graduate schools in London— were closing their life rooms.”

Mike Adrao, "Demakina 5", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.

In our part of the world,  art enthusiasts maintain a healthy respect for the technical skills of our artists. Perhaps because most notions of what comprise art still veer towards the traditional. Paintings, however, tend to receive the bulk of attention.  So when Iggy Rodriguez and Mike Adrao decide to mount a show of purely drawings, majority of them no bigger than a standard A4 bond paper, it feels like a novelty.  Mano Mano makes us pause and appreciate this return to the basics. Both, as we can see from the images, are clearly masters of drawing, of capturing the most minute details while working with ink and charcoal. Prince Charles will definitely approve.

Iggy Rodriguez, "Delusions of Grandeur", acrylic ink on arches paper, 48x48 in.

Mano Mano runs from 16 to 30 November 2010 at Blanc Compound, 359 Shaw Blvd. (Interior), Mandaluyong City.  Phone (632) 752-0032 or visit http://www.blanc.ph

Mike Adrao, "Demakina 4", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.

Iggy Rodriguez, "Sa Kaibuturan ng Pag-unlad", acrylic ink on arches paper, 24x24 in.

Mike Adrao, "Demakina 8", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.

Mike Adrao, "Demakina 10", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.

Mike Adrao, "Mekanismo 3" and Iggy Rodriguez, "Coming of Age"

Mike Adrao, "Mekanismo 2", charcoal on paper, 48x48 in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFV-GALrZfc


Happy Birthday Tin-Aw!

Jose John Santos III, "Clouded"

In my book, Tin-Aw holds the title as Makati’s most convivial gallery (Art Informal gets my vote for the Ortigas area).  How often have I stopped by for a quick look, only to end up staying longer than intended, chatting and laughing with other art lovers who also just happen to drop by?   Where else do you run into art superstars Mark Justiniani, Joy Mallari, Geraldine Javier, or Alfredo Esquillo Jr., and get to sit down with them as old friends?  Here, art is taken seriously, but is never intimidating.  You get treated with the same amount of charm, and welcomed with the same offer for Chocnut or coffee, whether you happen to be super collector Paulino Que or Mr. Newbie To The Art Scene.  Therein lies the secret to Tin-Aw’s success, the reason we all keep coming back to see what treasures their backroom holds. Continue reading →