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
Mike Muñoz may not care that his works seem anachronistic. The overt piousness of the pieces in his solo exhibit, Christiadum, now on view at Blanc Peninsula, is precisely its point. What you want to discover when you view the show is
Mke Munoz, "Mors Vincitur"
the wellspring from which his zeal and earnestness originates. What would drive an artist, who is not even in his forties, and one counted as a member of Surrounded By Water (a collective that pushed the boundaries of Philippine Contemporary Art) to make pieces that seem such a throwback? Created not just with such obvious fervor, but with genuine philosophical reflection as well. Continue reading
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