The Maestro and the Master: Roberto Chabet and Bencab in Singapore

Roberto Chabet, "Psychopathology of Everyday Life 2.1", "Piero", and "Cargo and Decoy"

Pinoy art lovers couldn’t but strut on the streets of Singapore —after they stopped to catch their breath from all that scurrying from one affair to the next.  Almost all the fringe events organized around Art Stage Singapore last week involved Filipino visual artists. “That says a lot”, art writer Gina Fairley remarked as we discussed the very palpable Philippine presence in an important week for Southeast Asian art.  Mok Kim Chuan, Head of Southeast Asian Paintings at Sotheby’s observed, “For the first time, Filipinos, not the Indonesians, got all the attention.”

Roberta Dans, Annie Sarthou, Isa Lorenzo, and Bencab at STPI

While two days didn’t give me enough time for everything (I completely missed Manuel Ocampo at vwfa), I’d like to think that I caught the two most important exhibit openings of the week:  To be continuedRoberto Chabet at ICAS La Salle, and Bencab’s Glimpses at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Continue reading


Unveiling the CCP’s Hidden Treasures

Victorio Edades, The Builders, 1928

Victorio Edades, The Builders, 1928

What a pleasure to drive down to the bay area on Sunday afternoons, when Manila’s streets decongest of jeepneys, buses, FXs, and

Solomon Saprid, Penitensiya

Solomon Saprid, Penitensiya

pedestrians.  What a treat to check out the Cultural Center of the Philippines, an unheralded venue of contemporary exhibits, usually by young visual artists.  What a thrill to head down specifically to catch Suddenly Turning Visible:  The Collection at The Center. Continue reading