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
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
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
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
Mariano Ching, "Portrait Series: Dog-Faced Boy"
The glossy, hyper realistic, gigantic celebrity portraits of American artist Richard Phillips stimulated the concept behind Even Bad Days Are Good, Mariano Ching’s solo exhibit now on view at SLab. Phillips’ glammed up subjects, sourced from photographs of the famous, icons of popular culture, and even soft-porn movie stars, look out vacantly from within their frames. They stare stiffly back at viewers, frozen in their perfection, devoid of emotion. Continue reading
Two ladies, both counted among the most exciting visual artists working today, take over SLab and 20Square to give us two very distinct experiences: Continue reading
Luis Lorenzana, "The Summon of Emperor Fragile with the Green Yuki Girls", 48"x36, oil on canvas
Luis Lorenzana’s personal journey as an artist can rival his paintings’ fantastic elements. The Tales of The Beer Fairies, now running at SLab, takes us to Luis’s fanciful woodlands. Here, trippy beer bottles flutter around, getting drunk on the emotions of humans who wonder within their proximity. The paintings take the point of view of the fairies. Through their eyes, humans themselves appear like enchanted creatures— with soulful eyes and clown faces, possessing two heads, and levitating through fields of green. Continue reading
I had not realized how much I missed seeing an exhibit of just paintings until I dropped by SLab this week for their trio of
Chati Coronel, "Hula Hooped Bubble Gum Moon", acrylic on canvas, 5ftx4ft
openings. At the moment, all the other shows worth visiting in Manila feature sculpture, installations, a variety of media except paintings on canvas. I’m not complaining. But sometimes, you do enjoy simply engaging your sense of sight, viewing a show with nothing too cerebral, just pieces that make you feel good by merely looking at them. In that respect, Chati Coronel’s An Hour In A Glass Balloon works perfectly.
Chati Coronel, "The Knitters", acrylic on canvas, diptych, 5x4.5ft per panel
Chati has just moved to Manila after seven years in LA. This exhibit brings her back to the Manila art scene, where she used to be an active participant. She has shown with Surrounded By Water, the seminal artist- run space of the late 1990s. She also spent time in Vermont on a residency grant, before her long-term move to the States. Now she brings out a suite of large-scale paintings (they stand at 5 and 6 feet tall) inspired by the retro palette and patterns that fill her grandmother’s house, the family home
Chati Coronel, "A New Buddha Head", acrylic on canvas, 6x4 ft
she has returned to.
I don’t normally go for art that can be described as pretty. But while you can say this about Chati’s paintings, you know they are also so much more. Her brilliant colors exude joy and ebullience, with dreamy, romantic titles (Hula Hooped Bubble Gum Moon, Turning Dakini). Her svelte and elongated females hint at the elegance of Mogdiliani’s women. They possess sophistication and a certain je ne sais quoi, nothing that feels contrived. I especially liked Wedding Day, one of her two diptychs, with its barely discernible figures. She painted them white, invisible amidst the patterns that swirl through her sky blue backdrop.
Chati Coronel with her acrylic on canvas diptych, "Wedding Day", 6x4ft per panel
It won’t take an hour to enjoy Chati’s glass balloon. And even if you did spend more than that viewing the show, you’ll do so because her paintings are easy, uncomplicated, relaxing.
An Hour In A Glass Balloon runs from 1 to 29 September 2010 at SLab, 2F YMC Bldg, 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. Phone (632) 816-0044 or visit http://www.slab.silverlensphoto.com
Chati Coronel, "An Hour In A Glass Balloon" and "Turning Dakini", both acrylic on canvas, 6x4 ft each
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNMAw5IOoI4
Now this is my kind of group show. The concept is simple, and you don’t get overwhelmed by the range of pieces on view. Four
Pow Martinez, "Walking Corpse"
artists seem to be a good number for the venue, both to give each artist enough space to showcase their work, and for the viewer to take in the variety of styles present. Continue reading