Digital Tagalog
Last year, while visiting Manila, Lani Maestro saw Poklong Anading’s U-turn at the residence of interior decorator and artist Yola Johnson. Made for the inaugural exhibit of Finale Gallery’s new space in 2008, Poklong’s piece of two empty cans of paint held together by an arc of neon so impressed Lani that she decided to seek out the younger artist. “When I saw this one work, that’s it!” she jokingly declared. “I didn’t want to see any more!” 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
At Blanc Compound's Melted City: Hazel Lee Santino, "Lemert Park", oil on tracing paper on oil on watercolor paper
The past two weeks saw a flurry of shows opening in Manila, and I’ve spent the last few days catching up: Continue reading
Louie Cordero, "My We", image from www.singaporebiennale.org
Manila’s art lovers will remember 2011 as the year when Rodel Tapaya made us proud with his APB Signature Art Prize win, Roberto Chabet proved that he’s still at the top of his game after fifty years, and Mideo Cruz exposed the need for Filipino audiences to encounter more varied forms of artistic expression to broaden their perspectives. Continue reading
Exhibit installation view
Three colleagues come together for Cosmetic Order, the exhibit now running at MO Space. To quote from the wall notes, this show “…takes from the artists’ fairly recent entanglements with superficiality.” Continue reading
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
Now this is a show! Boredom must count as the biggest peril to an art blogger—well, it is mine. When art overdose sets in, exhibits start melding into one another. I feel as though I’ve seen them all before. It becomes difficult to muster 
excitement from the pieces that stand before you. So when I come across an exhibit that makes me rush back to my computer, eager to post my photos and my thoughts, I know that the thrill of art has come back. Continue reading
MM Yu, "Pantone" and Nona Garcia, "Unfinished"
Nona Garcia/ MM Yu, "Hallow/Hollow", detail
More often than not, sticking to what you do best keeps things simple, and guarantees the most success. Such is the case with Space And Two Points, the two-person exhibit of Nona Garcia and MM Yu, currently on at MO Space. By tapping into the photo-based aspects of their art practice, they bring us collaborative works that come together seamlessly while still retaining both their imprints. You get the sense that they both thought this show through. Or perhaps, their friendship allowed them to work comfortably with each other, melding common elements of their art into remarkable joint pieces. Continue reading
Fresh from the Singapore Biennale, where his installation My We must rank as one of the event’s most photographed pieces, Louie Cordero returns to Manila with Slow Education. Louie hasn’t had a solo exhibit back here since 2008’s fantastic Absolute Horror, so this comeback to MO Space generated excitement and curiosity among his collectors. Personally, I wanted to witness the direction Louie would take, given that before the Biennale, he was coming from another big project: Sacred Bones, his solo at New York’s Jonathan Levine Gallery. Continue reading
"Another Country" installation view
If I had not known any better, I would have reacted just as bewildered as the shoppers strolling down Bonifacio High Street. A rooster’s intermittent crowing mingled incongruously with the Christmas carols that blared out from the mall’s speakers. Passers-by jumped up and glanced around to find its source. A misunderstanding had allowed me to view the current exhibit at MO Space a few days early. So I knew very well that the repeated cock-a-doodle-doos emanated from the building’s third floor, where Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan laid out their latest work. Continue reading