Tag Archives: roberto chabet


Roberto Chabet’s To Be Continued at the CCP

Roberto Chabet, "PIERO", 1999

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) throbbed with activity when I arrived Saturday morning.  Even if I did beat the crowds who would come later for Mamma Mia’s matinee, an activity in the Little Theater, plus Cinemalaya auditions, meant more groups of people than usual milled about the basement and the fourth floor.  In the third floor, however, the usual quiet reigned over Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino and Bulwagang Juan Luna, the main gallery, where the bulk of the pieces for Roberto Chabet’s To Be Continued had been installed. Continue reading →


Windows Into Roberto Chabet

Roberto Chabet, "Redon Window/ Black Room, White Window", 1963

Of all the exhibits in the yearlong survey of Roberto Chabet’s art, I enjoyed this one the most.  It has been the only one—so far—that has allowed us a glimpse into Mr. Chabet’s personal relationships, a hint of the persona behind the formidable reputation.  While his role as a mentor has been frequently emphasized, this show has given us a chance to appreciate his interactions with his peers, an earlier phase in his artistic practice. Continue reading →


September Roundup: Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Roberto Chabet, Mark Andy Garcia, Jigger Cruz, Dex Fernandez, Bjorn Calleja, Cos Zicarelli, Kawayan de Guia

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 →


Roberto Chabet: 50 Years Comes To Manila- Ziggurat at West Gallery, onethingafteranother at Finale

Roberto Chabet, "Ziggurat Drawings 5"

After exhibits in Singapore and Hong Kong in January and February, the Manila leg of Roberto Chabet: 50 Years opened with two shows running almost simultaneously.  Ziggurat at West Gallery and onethingafteranother at Finale are the most recent events in this yearlong project. The series of exhibits celebrates Roberto Chabet’s half a century of influence in the Philippine art scene. Continue reading →


The Maestro and the Master: Roberto Chabet and Bencab in Singapore

Roberto Chabet, "Psychopathology of Everyday Life 2.1", "Piero", and "Cargo and Decoy"

Pinoy art lovers couldn’t but strut on the streets of Singapore —after they stopped to catch their breath from all that scurrying from one affair to the next.  Almost all the fringe events organized around Art Stage Singapore last week involved Filipino visual artists. “That says a lot”, art writer Gina Fairley remarked as we discussed the very palpable Philippine presence in an important week for Southeast Asian art.  Mok Kim Chuan, Head of Southeast Asian Paintings at Sotheby’s observed, “For the first time, Filipinos, not the Indonesians, got all the attention.”

Roberta Dans, Annie Sarthou, Isa Lorenzo, and Bencab at STPI

While two days didn’t give me enough time for everything (I completely missed Manuel Ocampo at vwfa), I’d like to think that I caught the two most important exhibit openings of the week:  To be continued:  Roberto Chabet at ICAS La Salle, and Bencab’s Glimpses at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Continue reading →


Cargo And Decoy by Roberto Chabet

Cargo and Decoy installation view

I had never heard of cargo cults in the South Pacific islands before I came to view Cargo and Decoy, Roberto Chabet‘s ongoing show at MO Space.  What a fascinating notion, the idea of an actual religion that believes in obtaining blessings through creating crude facsimiles of objects or situations that they long for. Sounds like something you’d only read about from Tintin’s adventures.  You can’t help but agree with Mr. Chabet when he likens the artistic process to a cargo cult’s  ritual of constructing decoys based on real life. In the end, does the decoy become just as real as the original?

Continue reading →