The Charlie Cojuangco Collection: Augmented Minds

Louie Cordero, "Man's Head/ Zombie/ Radiation", ballpoint ink on paper, 2008

I really enjoy it when Charlie Cojuangco brings out pieces from his personal collection. Because he has chosen to focus on current work, I find that his collection serves as a reliable index of the past decade and a half. No, you won’t find the Moderns among his acquisitions. What you get is a great gauge of the art of his time, especially of artists from his native Negros.

Augmented Minds, now on view at Charlie’s NOVA Gallery in Makati, focuses on paintings, drawings, and collages with a lowbrow slash surrealist bent. It provides an opportunity to revisit work from the recent past, small works that reflect a series or an approach that, for the most part, the artists don’t practice anymore. Notable examples include Mariano Ching’s small drawings from 2007, or Louie Cordero’s works on paper from his 2008 Absolute Horror exhibit at MO Space, and MM Yu’s colorful collages from 2009. Another treat: Manuel Ocampo’s The Work Completes Himself from 2005.

Augmented Minds, Featuring Works from the Carlos Oppen Cojuangco Collection runs from 28 September to 12 October 2012 at NOVA Gallery, Warehouse 12A La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City, Philippines. Phone (632) 392-7797 or visit www.novagallerymanila.com