My Favorite Piece from 2010, The Year The Museums Showed Us How

Detail, "Balete" by Leeroy New

We saw some pretty good stuff in 2010, the year that just seemed to whiz by.  I thought the museums led the way, bringing us well-mounted exhibits that made art watching both exciting and gratifying.  The Vargas Museum started their 2010 exhibit line-up in February with Stock, a show of works by Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, then had Bound and Bomba in June, and ended the year with Rodel Tapaya’s Bulaklak ng Dila.  The Yuchengco Museum gave us Santi Bose’s retrospective, Remix, in February, and combined art and design with Pumapapel, an exhibit of works on paper, in July.  The Lopez Museum culminated their 50th Anniversary in November by inviting street artists to show their stuff for Extensions.  Meanwhile, the Ateneo Art Gallery celebrated their own 50th by inaugurating their brand new space in October with the super Lee Aguinaldo retrospective. Continue reading


Santi Bose: Remixed, Revisited, Remembered

Santiago Bose, "Ave. C"

Santi Bose’s name  conjures images in my mind of a mythical artist:  hip, bohemian, devil-may-care.  I never met him, and only encountered his work after he had passed away.  I remember walking into the third floor gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2004, where curator Bobi Valenzuela had mounted a retrospective of his pieces, and being blown away.  Perhaps it is the natural affinity I have for his aesthetic.  His kitschy collages assembled with images from Philippine history and tribal artifacts just resonate with my partiality for art with that contemporary, ethnic vibe. Continue reading