Category Archives: arts and culture


Marija Draws on Bad Manners, Jayson Manipulates Life

 

Count on Mag:net to bring something novel to

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

to the current crop of shows.   Whether exhibiting works of an award-winning contemporary artist, or introducing a promising art student, you can bet that both shows bring us light, easy, uncomplicated pieces.  In a word, fun.

BAD MANNERS BY MARIJA VICENTE

Marija still has two years to go as a Painting major at the UP College of Fine Arts.  Already, she has made it to Rogue Magazine’s list of women artists to watch.  She gives us a chance to find out what the fuss is about as she presents 10 drawings,  what she calls foolish

Marije Vicente, Bad Manners Series

Marije Vicente, Bad Manners Series

portraits.  All pencil on paper pieces,  she captures uninhibited, even crass, behavior from subjects who have no qualms to embarassment.    Would be interesting to see what Marija does next.

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

 

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

 

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

Marija Vicente, Bad Manners Series

 LIFE EXPECTANCIES BY JAYSON OLIVERIA

Jayson Oliveria, "No Sign of Life" installation, Not to Inspire Awe Series of paintings on printed canvas

Jayson Oliveria, "No Sign of Life" installation, Not to Inspire Awe Series of paintings on printed canvas

Jayson puts together a show of mixed media wall-mounted and free-standing pieces, all culled  from the pages of LIFE magazine.  He paints over printed canvases, applying smudges, smears, and figures, taking over the images,  leaving his imprint, and making them his own.  Not bad.

Jayson Oliveria, "Not to Inspire Awe 8" and "Point Blank"

Jayson Oliveria, "Not to Inspire Awe 8" and "Point Blank"

Jason Oliveria, Not to Inspire Awe Series

Jason Oliveria, Not to Inspire Awe Series

 

 

 

 

Bad Manners by Marija Vicente runs from 7 to 26 March 2009, Life Expectancies by Jayson Oliveria runs from 7 March to 8  April 2009. Mag:net Katipunan is at Agcor Bldg, 335 Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.  Ph (632) 929-3191 or visit www.magnetgalleries.com


Tin-Aw Turns One!

 

Don Salubayba "The Best Unit of Oneself is Oneself"

Don Salubayba "The Best Unit of Oneself is Oneself"

When Dawn Atienza decided to finally open her own gallery, she knew the kind of place she longed for.  Aside from an easily accessible location, she wanted her space to simulate the relaxed, informal atmoshpere of Art In The Park, the Museum Foundation’s annual affordable art fair. Continue reading →


Two Little Shows That Could: Patty Eustaquio at 20 Square and Felix Bacolor at Finale

Isn’t it great when you stumble on fantastic art when you least expect it?  Not all the hype guarantees a great show, so when you come upon shows that deliver the wow factor sans the ballyhoo and waiting lists, doesn’t that just make your day?

After Mme Moitessier as Bone China, The Edible Vase, and Miss Manners by Patricia Eustaquio

After Mme Moitessier as Bone China, The Edible Vase, and Miss Manners crochet scuplture by Patricia Eustaquio

Continue reading →


What Is Lynyrd Up To?

Lynyrd Paras Isip-Isip
Lynyrd Paras Isip-Isip

Hardly had Lynyrd Paras recovered from his blockbuster of a  show in December when he had to go off for three months to Malaysia to complete a residency grant that had been in the pipeline since last

Lynyrd Paras Rebrick

Lynyrd Paras Rebrick

year.  Here we have a sneak peek of a few pieces that Lynyrd has done in the time he’s been there.  Can’t wait to see them all!

 

 

 

For more information about Lynyrd’s residency, visit www.rimbundahan.org

Lynyrd Paras Its Time To Think

Lynyrd Paras Its Time To Think

working-lynyrd


Bogie’s Loony Uncle

 

Jose Tence Ruiz Pila Baldessari and Blu Skreen Pila

Jose Tence Ruiz Pila Baldessari and Blu Skreen Pila

On the surface, Jose Tence Ruiz seems the most unlikely of guys to do a show on National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.  Although the 53-year–old multimedia artist studied art at a time when schools taught the Amorsolo template, Tence Ruiz, aka Bogie, cut his artistic teeth in the 70s, the decade of protests and revolutionary art.  His exaggerated, oftentimes grotesque, figures set in an explosion of junk or mired in muck, give harsh depictions of the underside of life in Manila.  He also did time as an editorial cartoonist, politics and governance serving sustenance to his art. To this day, Bogie remains a pillar of Social Realism, the opposite end of the spectrum from Amorsolo’s benign sunsets and fragile beauties.  

Once Isa Lorenzo had convinced Bogie to visit SLab, this exhibit  had metamorphosed from a one-piece show into

Paraisado Florida de Don Romantico

Paraisado Florida de Don Romantico

Bukod Tanging Pag-Ibig: A Don Fernando Register.  The exhibit’s title a literal and lyrical translation of the name amor solo from Spanish to Filipino. Not just my only love but the pinnacle of all loves. 

 

 

 

 

 

 “I see Amorsolo as a loony uncle you might snicker at, but cannot ignore.  He is part of my DNA”, declares Bogie.  After almost thirty years, Bogie can take a step back and react to his differences with Amorsolo’s visions of reality in a relaxed, even humorous, manner.  “His works haunted me, mahirap ipinta.” He labels Don Fernando a retinal genius, a cinematographer who can capture light like no other.  In this suite of twelve works, he dexterously puts together Don Fernando’s iconic images with his own signature tongue-in-cheek devices, bringing Amorsolo into the world of 21st century Philippines.

In three oil on canvas pieces, Mga Dalagang Bukid , Dalagang Bukid 1, and Prinsesang Bukid, he integrates Don Fernando’s most famous ladies with today’s realities: of bukids and rice fields transformed into golf courses and low-cost housing projects. The graceful damsels today burn from the rays of

Jose Tence Ruiz Mga Dalagang Bukie

Jose Tence Ruiz Mga Dalagang Bukid

a sun that penetrate a thinning ozone layer as they find employment as caddies, their parasols converted into golf umbrellas. In Takipsilim:  Dinadaga and Monumento sa Dalagang Bukid, Bogie takes Amorsolo Light into the evening, rendering two of Don Fernando’s most recognizable scenes under a cover of darkness, as if viewing with night vision goggles the images of a Manila ruined by war and a nipa hut on the edge of farmlands.

Jose Tence Ruiz Prinsesang Bukid

Jose Tence Ruiz Prinsesang Bukid

Bogie will not be Bogie without his social commentary. He conveys the common tao’s daily plight of never ending queues: for passports, for visas, for buses and jeepneys, even to get into variety shows like Wowowee.  The title Pila Baldessari is taken from both American conceptual artist John Baldessari’s wont to conceal his subject’s faces with colored shapes, and also from the colloquial term pilang balde. For that dose of relevance, Bogie uses forms that mimic Bayani Fernando’s MMDA Art as face covers.  

 

Jose Tence Ruiz Oil/Painting

Jose Tence Ruiz Oil/Painting

The pieces, though, that have Bogie’s hallmark through and through are the work on canvas of an oil rig that blights Manila Bay’s famous sunset, amusingly entitled Oil/Painting, and the show’s two sculptures, Paraisado Florida de Don Romantico and Ube.  The kariton as both cathedral and conveyance has been used by Bogie before.  This time he amorsolo-fies this, covering the wooden piece under layers of silk flowers set in resin, beautifying an otherwise bleak structure.  

 

Ube, a free-standing piece made of resin, pays tribute to the deliciousness

Jose Tence Ruiz Ube

Jose Tence Ruiz Ube

of Don Fernando’s nudes, rosy-complexioned creatures, delectable as ice cream.  He turns once again to the MMDA for inspiration, coming up with the dull violet shade by combining the bright pink and blue strewn by the MMDA all over the metropolis.

 

Jose Tence Ruiz finds that responding to Fernando Amorsolo’s body of work does not detract from the understanding of his own.   Just as it is with that loony uncle that hovers in the sidelines of family gatherings, in the end, he discovers that they can sit down and grab a beer together.  And it sure tastes good.

 

Bukod Tanging Pag-ibig:  A Don Fernando Register is on exhibit from February 18 to March 21, 2009 at Slab, 2f YMC Building 2, 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City, Phone 816-0044. There will also be two artist talks by Jose Tence Ruiz on March 7 and 21, 2009 from 3 to 5 pm.  Visit www.slab.silverlensphoto.com.  


Homecoming From Beijing

Push and Pull by Jose John Santos III

Push and Pull by Jose John Santos III

In the great CS Lewis classic, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Professor Kirke’s seemingly run-of-the mill armoire becomes the portal to enchanted, magical Narnia.  Upon entering its doors, four children transport from war-ravaged Britain into a world of pathos, quest, achievement, adventure. Continue reading →


Zen At Shaw

By the gallery entrance

By the gallery entrance

It’s a Sunday afternoon,  lazy and peaceful after a hectic Saturday night on the town with old friends visiting from London. The sun shines brightly, but the breeze gives the day a slight chill, a reminder that the year has just begun, the heat of summer still a few months away.  A great afternoon to try and catch the much-talked about Lao show at Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong.

Substance by Lao Lianben

Substance by Lao Lianben

The show opened exactly a week ago.  In a way I was glad we missed opening night.  Viewing the show today allows us to revel in the gallery’s quiet. Lao Lianben has said before that his art is about silence.  As we contemplate his monochromatic hues and marvel at the textures of his surfaces, we appreciate the serenity of his work.  Calm

Levitation by Lao Lianben

Levitation by Lao Lianben

 washes over us.  When we emerge from the hush onto busy Shaw Boulevard, we feel recharged, ready to face the hectic week ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elements by Lao Lianben

Elements by Lao Lianben

Substance Lao Lianben can be viewed from 18 January to 5 Febuary
Head and Zen by Lao Lianben
Head and Zen by Lao Lianben
at Blanc Compound, 359 Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City,  Phone (632) 750-0032 or www.blanc.ph
Budhist Television by Lao Lianben

Budhist Television by Lao Lianben


Alcazaren/Pacquing at Finale, Andoi’s First Solo Show, and a Carnival at Blueline Gallery

 

Alcazaren and Pacqing at Finale

Alcazaren and Pacqing at Finale

As Israel pounds the Gaza strip, Barack Obama prepares to take his oath for the presidency, and the Alabang Boys reveal family secrets, the art scene in Manila forges ahead.  Try and catch these three shows before Jan turns into Feb, and we find ourselves with one -twelfth of 09 already gone.

JUAN ALCAZAREN/ BERNARD PACQUING AT FINALE

Younger artists look to Johnny Alcazaren as a beacon,  a former professor who until today inspires them to continue experimenting with their craft.     When you come and view his two-man show with Bernie Pacquing, you  understand why.  The two artists worked closely with curator Nilo Ilarde to come up with site-specific, monumental pieces that take full advantage of Finale gallery’s cavernous space, putting together a fantastic, breathtaking display of paintings, hanging scuplture, floor installations.    You  imagine  yourself transported to a show in Chelsea in New York, or one of the warehouses in the 798 District in Beijing.

Casting Aspirations by Juan Alcazaren

Casting Aspirations by Juan Alcazaren

In my favorite piece, Casting Aspirations,  Johnny reworks his pieces from his December show at Mo Art Space.  Drawing inspiration from  a Louis Vuitton window in Kuala Lumpur, his own fixation with mirrors, and Alice in Wonderland, he arranges plaster pieces cast from household objects atop square mirrors in a checkerboard pattern at a corner beside the gallery’s entrance.  Once hit by light positioned at an angle

True Inspirations by Juan Alcazaren

True Inspirations by Juan Alcazaren

from above, the whole piece comes together like a prism, entrancing diamond patterns reflecting on the wall.  In another beguiling piece, True Inspirations,  he lights used plastic chopping boards from behind, installing them randomly on the gallery’s far wall.

 

alcazaren-5

Paintings and Installation by Juan Alcazaren

Johnny’s large-scale paintings transfix with seemingly-repeated diagrams that mimic a television screen’s test pattern.  Come closer and words come together:  Nervous Painting enumerates parts of our nervous system, Muscular Painting lists down our muscles, and Bloody Painting details the different arteries.  All three inspired by his father’s medical books.

Bernie’s Perfect Storm dominates the gallery’s central portion.  About 480 bamboo reeds hang from seven-foot nylon strings attached to a painting mounted on the ceiling.  Bernie painstakingly coated each one white before gluing feathers at gradated distances throughout the pole.  The result?  A  piece at once majestic and light, appearing to float quietly, hovering between ceiling and floor.

The Perfect Storm and Ochre, Surrounded by Gray Matter by Bernard Pacquing

The Perfect Storm and Ochre, Surrounded by Gray Matter by Bernard Pacquing

 

 

He also has two paintings, done in his signature Abstract Expressionist style:  Ucello’s Chalice in a Firestorm, a diptych done in vivid orange to dark red, and Ochre Surrounded by Gray Matter, his more subdued triptych.

One MUST try and catch this show.  Go in the late afternoon when the shadows lengthen, and the lights from Johnny’s and Bernie’s pieces come out brighter.  Once you do, you’ll want to come back.  I know I do.

Ucello's Chalise in a Firestorm by Bernard Pacquing

Ucello's Chalise in a Firestorm by Bernard Pacquing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Juan Alcazaren Bernard Pacquing is at Finale Art File from 13 January to 7 Febuary 2009.  Finale is at Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound, Pasong Tamo, Makati City.  Tel (632)813-2310 or www.finaleartfile.com

ADAM EN GRISAILLE, ANDOI SOLON AT KAIDA GALLERY

Prevailing Prayers by Andoi Solon

Prevailing Prayers by Andoi Solon

At the opposite end of EDSA from Finale, inside a small gallery quietly making a name for itself in busy and bustling Kamuning,  Andoi Solon marks his first solo show by celebrating a series of firsts.  Curated by artist Ruel Caasi, Andoi’s pieces pay homage to Adam, the first man in the story of creation.  Andoi mimics the Mannerist figures of El Greco and Cesar Legaspi, painting in grisaille, traditionally used as a foundation for painted images. 

Adam's Apples by Andoi Solon

Adam's Apples by Andoi Solon

Andoi shifted careers, leaving behind a marketing job with a telecom supplies company.  He went back to school, graduating from the UP College of Fine Arts in 2008.  He has been generating a bit of a buzz among local art collectors.  Next up for him is another solo show, this time at Utterly Art in Singapore, scheduled for March.  Definitely one artist that bears watching!

 

L'Absence de Mary by Andoi Solon

L'Absence de Mary by Andoi Solon

 

 

 

 

 

Adam En Grisaille runs from 11 to 28 January 2009 at Kaida Gallery, GFO Building, Kamuning Road, Quezon City. Tel (632)414-4777 or www.kaidagallery.com or visit www.andoi.co.cc

 FUNNY CRY HAPPY, CLAIRELYNN UY AT BLUELINE GALLER

You find art in the most unexpected places.  Stroll around the 4th floor in Rustan’s Makati, and squeezed in between suitcases in the luggage section and the towels and linen in the home section you stumble onto an exhibit by Clairelynn Uy.  In this solo show of five

Smile by Clairelynne Uy

Smile by Clairelynn Uy

paintings, she moves on from her usual photorealistic images of children’s toys and takes us to a carnival, bringing to life the carousel and bump cars that we so love to ride.  Once on, we are transported out of our realities to a world of magic.  Just as Clairelynn’s pieces do. 

Baby Aint Got Horn by Clairelynn Uy

Baby Aint Got Horn by Clairelynn Uy

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny Cry Happy is at Blueline Gallery from 29 December 2008 to 29 January 2009,  4F Rustan’s Department Store, Makati  www.bluelinegallery.multiply.com