Tag Archives: Plet Bolipata


Plet Bolipata’s imagiNATION

Waiting to move to BGC: Plet Bolipata's metal doodled animal pairs and mosaic benches reflected in a puddle after a night of rain at Casa San Miguel, Zambales. Photo by Elmer Borlongan

Almost exactly a year ago, Plet Bolipata first laid eyes on the parcel of land set aside for the BGC Offsite Gallery, at the heart of bustling Global City in Taguig.  It had been drizzling then, and she had just come from a meeting in Makati with her husband, Elmer Borlongan.  She had by then exhibited a series of mosaic sculptures, so an invitation from the Bonifacio Arts Foundation Inc. (BAFI) to put in a proposal for more ambitious work, suited for the outdoors, seemed like a natural progression. Continue reading →


Sea Yarns from Elmer Borlongan and Plet Bolipata

Plet Bolipata, "Le Taxi" and Elmer Borlongan, "Story of the Constellations" (at back)

Crochet is certainly having its moment.  Last week, I saw pictures of Agata Olek’s work in Barcelona.  She wrapped one of Fernando Botero’s hefty animal sculptures, a monolithic tubby tabby, in camouflaged-patterned crochet. She did the same thing to Wall Street’s iconic bull a few years ago. Street artists have transformed the old fashioned craft into another medium for graffiti. Dubbed yarnbombers, they use knitted lace to leave their mark on public structures, and these prove just as potent as cans of spray paint. 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 →


Plet Bolipata’s Fearless Flamboyant Women and Mad Mosaics

Plet Bolipata, "A Strong Wind Blowing North Summons An Army of Chairs", oil and collage on canvas, 48 x 48 in.

Detail, "Three Lives and A Party of Chairs"

If Plet Bolipata’s works came alive and transformed into celebrities, they would be Paris Hilton or Kimora Lee Simmons— flamboyant, vivacious, and unabashedly luxe.  From the jewel tones she uses as backdrop for her collages, to the florid and audacious patterns she mixes onto her mosaics, her works brim with opulence and confidence.  Her pieces are meant for joyous celebrations, the kind where everyone nibbles on foie gras and toasts martinis without thought for tomorrow.  Quiet introspection can come another day. Or for someone else’s art. Continue reading →


Bolipata and Borlongan, A Two-Part Invention

Elmer Borlongan, "Pamilyang Menthol", 1994

Elmer Borlongan, "Pamilyang Menthol", 1994

Elmer Borlongan, "Girl in a Bathtub", 2009 and Plet Bolipata, "

Elmer Borlongan, "Woman In The Bathtub", 2009 and Plet Bolipata, "Variations on the Blue Hour: Appassionata", 2008

In this show, Elmer Borlongan and Plet Bolipata bring out selected pieces of their own paintings from their personal collection. As the exhibit notes explain, the title of the show comes from a musical movement where two distinct melodies play simultaneously.  Continue reading →