Lyra Garcellano with Jeff Carnay for Taxonomy
Three generations of contemporary artists make up the Silverlens Galleries’ offerings for the month: a celebrated Filipino artist in his 50s who now lives in France, a painter in her late 30s from the seminal group Surrounded By Water returning to performance art, and a young artist barely two years out of university experimenting with abstraction. Continue reading
Wataru Sakuma, "Roxas Blvd" at Map, Art Informal
Doing the rounds of galleries gave way to other projects these past few weeks, but this weekend proved a good time to catch up on Manila’s offerings: Continue reading
Geraldine Javier, "Red Fights Back", detail
As always, you get a satisfying variety at Silverlens. This time, their three simultaneous exhibits take us to Red Riding Hood’s lair, bring us some corners of the sky, and show some skinskin. Continue reading
Jose John Santos III, "Clockwise", detail
While briefing the press right before officially opening the doors to ArtHK 12, Magnus Renfrew, fair director, announced that beginning next year, Art Basel officially takes over the Hong Kong art fair. Henceforth, it shall be known as Art Basel Hong Kong, the third fair in the franchise after the original Art Basel (the one that actually takes place in Basel) and Art Basel Miami Beach. Continue reading
Rachel Rillo, "A Year's Luck"
We made it a point to come in early for Carlos Celdran’s fantastic Livin’ La Vida Imelda at SLab. With every performance sold out, we wanted to make sure to secure our seats. A move we did not regret as we had prime spots from which we spent the next two and a half hours doubled up in laughter. Continue reading
Nikki Luna, "Leaf Cuttings 1", detail
And so we begin again.
A young man in his 20s who has just come to his own joins forces with a staunch advocate of women’s rights, a painter resurrects from oblivion, while an expatriate Filipino reflects on his home country’s history. The silverlens ladies started their year—and ours too— by setting the bar high. If this trio of shows serves as harbingers for what we have in store for 2012’s art scene, we’re in for some pretty good stuff. Continue reading
Neil Oshima, "Gummy Worms", 2009
I’ve had the good fortune to view pieces from Isa Lorenzo and Rachel Rillo’s private art collection before, an invitation I wouldn’t have passed up. The chance of savoring Rachel’s cooking served as an equally strong lure as the superb art they laid out for our enjoyment. I think that it’s great that they’ve mounted selected works at silverlens, the gallery they own and manage. A Photography Collection allows their clients and supporters to share in their affinity for an art form that they both practice so well. Continue reading
I don’t usually post events like these, but when the proceeds go to a worthy cause, I feel I should help spread the word.
Now on its third year, MaARTe has been envisioned by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines as a bazaar to showcase one-of-a-kind artisanal items that celebrate Filipino craftsmanship. It opened yesterday, October 21, and will run until Sunday, October 23 at SLab. MAARTE complements Art Flood, the Silverlens group’s annual charity art sale. This year, Art Flood’s beneficiary is the Sagip Buhay Foundation. Continue reading
Tatong Recheta Torres, "Fandom Vulgaris", detail
Three confident artists make for three fearless exhibits. These three don’t shy away from taking their art to new directions. Whether or not their explorations work, the attempts in themselves make their shows worth visiting. Continue reading
Geraldine Javier, "Overkill"
In 1893, when Paul Delaroche first encountered the then new-fangled art of photography, he famously declared painting’s demise. The death of painting has since triggered numerous debates in the annals of art history. While developments in contemporary art have made this a non-issue, viewers of Strip 2011 Painters As Photographers may find themselves in agreement with M. Delaroche. For this exhibit, Patricia Eustaquio, Nona Garcia, Geraldine Javier, and Yasmin Sison, four artists known primarily for their paintings, essay into photography. Their works
Nona Garcia, "Whiteout Series"
prove that, should they choose to, they can very well leave painting behind. Continue reading