Norberto Roldan, "What Is The Color of Faith 2"
NOW OPEN! Pasong Tamo Extension just welcomed another art space. Now Gallery, a venture of collector Patrick Reyno, opened its doors last month. Together with Silverlens/SLab, Manila Contemporary, and DAGC (Department of Avant-Garde Clichés), it will cement the strip’s reputation as the place for exciting contemporary art. Now (no pun intended), if they could just all coordinate their openings!
I look forward to the Ateneo Art Awards every year. I believe that it does a credible job of recognizing the best works by young visual artists. I do not always agree with their
Bembol dela Cruz and Kawayan de Guia
selections, and I do have an issue with the awards’ age limit. But overall, I still find it relevant and prestigious, a worthy acknowledgement of efforts undertaken in the past twelve months. All the chatter that rolls in along with the announcement of winners just adds to the fun! Yes we get names that appear every year— but doesn’t that just prove that those who always make it to the shortlist consistently do great work? A key component to the judging process requires artists to recreate an exhibit for the benefit of the panel of jurors. Yes, this imposes an onerous burden on the artists, one that the galleries must pitch in for. Having exhibits properly documented certainly helps. But it does prove difficult to capture an exhibit’s original flavor, despite the galleries’— and the artists’—best efforts. Perhaps, this should be addressed.
Romeo Lee and his mural
The exhibit may have taken its name from Manuel Ocampo’s favorite wine, but Mischief and Mayhem perfectly suits the works of Romeo Lee and Pow Martinez. Those who follow these two know that their art hews closely to the messy, racy, and raunchy aesthetic, favored by the likes of Jonathan Meese and indeed, by Ocampo himself.
At first I was inclined to dismiss the debate as a tempest in a teapot. But when my favorite daily read (www.artdaily.com) carried the story of the furor over Mideo Cruz’s piece, Poleteismo, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, I thought I had better make time to see for myself what the fuss was about. I admit, I had no plans to drive down to view Kulô, a group exhibit of UST alumni, during the show’s run. From photos I had seen of its opening night, I figured that majority of the artists who participated in the show chose to submit old works, most of them I had already seen before. But with the issue of blasphemy vs. artistic freedom dominating the headlines and television news programs, how can any observer of the Manila art scene not take a stand?
As recently as five years ago, checking out Manila’s entire art scene essentially meant a stroll down the fourth floor corridor of SM Megamall in Pasig. Perusing art did not differ much from malling, the Pinoy’s favorite pastime. While having the galleries stand side by side along that stretch certainly made art more accessible and democratic, we didn’t get much of the diversity and multi-sensory experiences we enjoy today. Unless, of course, the exhibit was “big” enough to merit booking the Art Center; definitely, this space hosted its share of memorable shows.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of The Origin of Symmetry, Wesley T. Valenzuela’s solo exhibit at Art Informal. A chat with the artist revealed that his intent had been to simply create balance and harmony among discordant pairs. Hence, we are confronted with figures that combine Darth Vader and Buddha, man and machine, skulls and guns set in patterns that echo mandalas. Indeed, as one enters the gallery, the show’s installation gives off an air of serenity and peacefulness: the gallery’s pristine walls, freshly coated in white, set off the precisely placed pieces in red and black. Continue reading
Riel Hilario, "From The Wreckage, A Silent Reverie", detail
RIEL HILARIO, ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
Karl Jung defines projections as issues that our consciousness cannot face, concerns we may end up expressing via our dreams. Riel Hilario has mined this explanation, along with a youthful obsession for astronomy, to create two sets of works for Astral Projections, currently on view at The Drawing Room. The exhibit features his most recent series of sculpture, pieces that draw on his background as a wood carver from an Ilocano family of santo makers. This heritage continues to frame Continue reading
"Body Parts" exhibit installation view
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a life-sized bloom with slightly rusting petals ready to unfurl! Pete Jimenez relishes nothing more than taking on a backyard full of scrap and transforming it into whimsical metal sculptures. This man of steel creates art using discarded materials and found objects, a practice borne out by more than ten years of solo exhibits. An advertising professional with a degree in Visual Communications from the University of the Philippines, he turned to sculpture in the late 1990s after good friend, artist and gallery owner Rock Drilon, encouraged him to do so. Both belong to the UP Artists’ Circle Fraternity. This month, Drilon’s Mag:net Gallery in Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City welcomes Jimenez back for Body Parts, a suite of sculptures put together from a dismantled VW Beetle and other vehicles. Continue reading
Kaloy Sanchez, "Flightless"
It must be the season for group shows. The third one I’ve seen this month, Hate Mail, at Manila Contemporary, is the second in a series of exhibits that, per the wall text, “…looks at visual linguistics in relation to communicating fundamental human emotions…” It comes after Love Letters, which the gallery, fittingly enough, mounted close to Valentine’s Day. Continue reading
Now this is a show! Boredom must count as the biggest peril to an art blogger—well, it is mine. When art overdose sets in, exhibits start melding into one another. I feel as though I’ve seen them all before. It becomes difficult to muster 
excitement from the pieces that stand before you. So when I come across an exhibit that makes me rush back to my computer, eager to post my photos and my thoughts, I know that the thrill of art has come back. Continue reading