Tag Archives: maria jeona zoleta


All Around Town: DAGC Gallery, Pablo Fort, Manila Contemporary, Blanc Peninsula, and Pinto Art Gallery

Noi Gonzales, "Pakikisama", at Pinto Art Gallery

I’ve been stranded in the seven kingdoms of Westeros these past few weeks, ensnared by the five mammoth volumes of The Game of Thrones.  I thought it high time to come back to reality, to catch up on Manila’s art scene—my original form of escape.  I wanted to see some exhibits that were due to close, and to make sure I made it to some of this weekend’s more promising openings.

My two-day art binge took me from the heart of Taguig’s Global City, to the streets of Makati and yonder, all the way up to the hills of Antipolo. 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 →


Maria Jeona’s Teenage Mutant Fantasies

Maria Jeona Zoleta, "Playground Love"

Even with a title like Tricky Sexy Sodomy or The Case of The Attention Seeking Whores, by Maria Jeona’s standards, you could call this show restrained.  No bloodstained feminine napkins, no panties and bras hanging anywhere.   Certainly a touch more circumspect than we’ve seen from her before. Continue reading →


Ateneo Art Awards 2011: Anatomy of Autonomy

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.

Continue reading →


Six Young Artists On The Radar at SLab

When Gary-Ross Pastrana conceptualized On The Radar:  6 New Symptoms, he went back to the original brief for SLab, the gallery where the show now runs.  SLab or Silverlens Lab had been intended as a space that welcomes visual arts

Maria Jeona, "Identity crazy, your own worst enemy, hair and makeup by Maria Jeona"

experiments, a complement to silverlens, Manila’s first gallery devoted to photography projects.  What better way to revisit this thrust than to put together an exhibit of six artists who have just started making names for themselves?  As the exhibit’s curator, Gary gave them a bit of a nudge and a push, required nothing drastic, but squeezed out more from what they are currently doing. Continue reading →


Smiley Happy People and Maria Jeona

Maria Jeona, detail, "Monogamist Kultur at Si Sexy at Maraming Stretchmarks at Malalaking Butas ng Ilong Long Long"

Early last week, I spent 14 hours straight in serious contemplation of art, and the better part of the next few days writing about it.  Even I needed a break from the art overload.  Enter Maria Jeona and her first solo show, mounted at SLab’s 20Square, the perfect antidote to all that cerebral activity.  She gave me just what I needed to get back into the swing of Manila’s art scene after a (very brief!) hiatus. Continue reading →