MM Yu, Jonathan Ching, At Maculangan, and Cos Zicarelli at Silverlens

MM Yu, "Beliefs II", detail

Another terrific trio opened at Silverlens last week, three shows that also relaunched the gallery as a single space with three exhibit areas.  SLab and 20Square opened in 2008 as two distinct galleries under the Silverlens group, envisioned for non-photography exhibits.  These two spaces and the original photography gallery will now all carry the Silverlens name, with a soon-to-open Silverlens Singapore in the pipeline for the last quarter of the year. Continue reading →


Beyond Printmaking at Avellana Art Gallery

Noell El Farol, "Disposable Anting-Anting", detail

Avellana Art Gallery’s annual printmaking exhibit always provides an opportunity to catch up with the stalwarts of the Philippine Association of Printmakers Inc.  You get a mix of the old hands tweaking the tried and tested, along the craft’s younger practitioners introducing some fresh perspectives.   Beyond Printmaking lives up to its purpose.  It makes us believe in the art form’s vast possibilities, certainly aided by the wonderful way this show has been installed. Continue reading →


Ferdie Montemayor As 1

Ferdie Montemayor, "Lakad", acrylic on canvas, 50.8x203.2cm/ 20x80 in.

It’s about time.  I can’t remember when Ferdie Montemayor last went solo.  He has made his presence felt through numerous group exhibits in recent years.  Surely, an artist with as much fans as he does deserves to star in his own show.  This outing at Tin-Aw Art Gallery has been a long time coming, but perhaps, the wait has made it all the more satisfying. Continue reading →


Jigger Cruz Goes Bantam-Sized

Before he started exhibiting again in the middle of 2011, Jigger Cruz, now 27, decided to stop painting for a year.  He felt frustrated at his lack of commercial success.  This despite earning approval from critics impressed enough with his skill to get him into the finals of competitions like Metrobank’s (2003) and Philip Morris’ (2006). Continue reading →


Sea Yarns from Elmer Borlongan and Plet Bolipata

Plet Bolipata, "Le Taxi" and Elmer Borlongan, "Story of the Constellations" (at back)

Crochet is certainly having its moment.  Last week, I saw pictures of Agata Olek’s work in Barcelona.  She wrapped one of Fernando Botero’s hefty animal sculptures, a monolithic tubby tabby, in camouflaged-patterned crochet. She did the same thing to Wall Street’s iconic bull a few years ago. Street artists have transformed the old fashioned craft into another medium for graffiti. Dubbed yarnbombers, they use knitted lace to leave their mark on public structures, and these prove just as potent as cans of spray paint. Continue reading →


Feasting on Lao Lianben’s Tables

Lao Lianben, "Table With Soot", 20x30 inches, acrylic and graphite on canvas

Quietly and without fanfare—pretty much like his pieces— Lao Lianben exhibited his latest works at Blanc Peninsula sans any opening festivities. As always, his textured tablets, more wall sculpture than just paintings, invite quiet contemplation. This time around, Lao’s “non-colors” of black and white allude to tablescapes, settings that keep to the minimalist aesthetic that this noted abstractionist has practically patented. Continue reading →


Amniotic by Ivan Despi + Pauline Vicencio-Despi

Ivan Despi, "Alien Song", video still

When Ivan Despi and Pauline Vicencio-Despi bring it on, you can expect a visual and auditory feast.  The duo behind the video Babel, which debuted at Manilart 11 and was reprised  for Art In The Park 2012, recently married and now expect their first child.  They turn the wonder and awe at the life they bring forth into Amniotic, a video and sound art exhibit currently running at Pablo Fort. Continue reading →


John Frank Sabado at The Drawing Room

John Frank Sabado, detail from pen and ink drawing, "No Tresspassing"

You can’t miss the allusion of the bulols in gas masks.  To the indigenous tribes of the Cordilleras, the battle against over development never ends. John Frank Sabado, born in the forests of Benguet, feels this more keenly than most. Continue reading →


Here and There: Pow Martinez, Maria Taniguchi, Alice and Lucinda, Catalina Africa, Maria Jeona Zoleta, and Melted City

At Blanc Compound's Melted City: Hazel Lee Santino, "Lemert Park", oil on tracing paper on oil on watercolor paper

The past two weeks saw a flurry of shows opening in Manila, and I’ve spent the last few days catching up: Continue reading →


Thunder and Lightning at Salcedo Auctions

J. Elizalde Navarro, "Man With Kite", 1954, Oil on Wood, 45 x 36.8 cm. Sold for P800,000.00 plus buyer's premium

Things went crazy on Saturday afternoon, and I don’t mean the freakish March weather.  The standing room only crowd inside the Salcedo Auctions saleroom stayed oblivious to the darkening sky, the thunder and lightning that heralded blinding sheets of rain better suited to the middle of August than the beginning of summer.  All eyes focused on auctioneer Andrew Thomas as he presented lot after lot of the auction house’s sale of Important Philippine Art, and hammered the close on some truly spectacular sales. Continue reading →