Tag Archives: The Drawing Room


Riel Hilario and His Apostles

Riel Hilario, "Gazing into the horizon while it gazes back at you", carved and polychromed friutwood, 70x24x20 cm

When sculptor Riel Hilario sits before a chunk of wood, he has no preconceived forms in his head.  Like a shaman, he lets the wood guide him, allowing it to tell him what to do.  On occasion, he even lets his dreams dictate the directions of his hands. What he consciously aspires for is the  creation of contemporary sculpture using the woodcarving traditions he grew up with.  In this exhibit of new works at The Drawing Room, Riel taps into his Ilocano heritage to once again bring us his rebultos, art that is in the round, derived “from the block”. Continue reading →


Troy Ignacio Scratches Beneath The Surface

On some days, Troy Ignacio sits on a park bench at the center of Makati, an unobtrusive observer of the people around him .  He

Troy Ignacio, "Da King", oil on paper, 5ft x 4ft

quietly sketches what he sees.  It could be the working stiff laughing loudly at some unknown joke or a lady scurrying to complete an errand.  Like all kibitzers, he wonders at the stories that each person carries beneath their visages.  What secrets do their frames contain? Continue reading →


Dick Daroy Takes His Time

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 1985-2010, termite-ridden glass on collage

They captivated me immediately, these blackened, flaked, seemingly battered pieces from Roderico Jose Daroy.  They reminded me of photos salvaged from our office after Typhoon Ondoy had wreaked its havoc.  We lined them up on the driveway to bake under the sun.  They curled up and cracked, and never looked the same again.

There’s something fascinating about these weathered images that Dick Daroy has put

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 2007-2009, collage

on the walls of The Drawing Room for his exhibit, and of time.  He framed them in metal, embellished and duly ornate, or in dark wood, classic and severe, bestowing elegance and stateliness to his murky, smeared collages and drawings.  Mr. Daroy creates from photos, prints, paper objects that catch his eye.  He loves to accumulate things from his travels, and collects reproductions from old books and magazines.  He never hurries his process.  He lives with his images for weeks, or months, or years, however long it takes for them to feel complete.  He sticks them up on the walls of his studio and gets to know them, and only then does he work on them.  When you see his pieces up close, you realize that they cannot be rushed, he can use no shortcuts.  Each piece is made up of layers, each process adding another coating, another tale, that transforms the original.

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 2007-2010, collage

The exhibit carries 36 of these framed works in the main gallery.  A few more hang in the secondary space, The Drawing Room’s office.  For one of his pieces, Mr. Daroy used a portrait by Nazi photographer Leni Riefenstall and worked on it in his kitchen, where he prepares his family’s meals.  He ran over the piece with a burnt pot, until it turned dark and viscous, with only traces of the original image discernible from underneath.  Another has been drawn over with squid ink, while others have been exposed to the elements.  He put together a collage 25 years ago, in 1985, but had not found the perfect frame for it until this year.  He mounted this beneath glass that harbored a colony of termites, and let nature take its course.  A suite of 16 pieces hang on the gallery’s main wall, all of them identical in size.  These are damaged photographs from a trip to Vigan, crackled and frayed, worked over with charcoal.  The figures have not been obliterated, just transmuted into

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 2009-2010, collage with coaster

abstract forms.

I had never seen Mr. Daroy’s work before.  His last exhibit was eight years ago, before he embarked on a nomadic life, traveling Asia with his wife. I had a nice chat with him over the phone about this show.  To learn more about him, I turned to Jose Tence Ruiz,  Mr. Daroy’s fellow artist and colleague, also a fount of information on the local art scene.  Bogie sent me an article written by Reuben Ramas Cañete, Fade To Black, published 1999 in transit magazine.  And from this I quote:

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 2009-2010, collage with book and coaster

“Dick Daroy’s pieces takes time to get used to—both on the conceptual and material level.  Art dealers will no doubt shake their heads at the viability of preserving and selling works that are predestined to self destruct before one’s very eyes….and this perception is perhaps one reason Daroy’s works are seldom seen outside the museum circuit.  They require a power of utmost concentration and meditation to search for the sudden flash of insight so popular among Zen practitioners, and this itself is the reward that the few courageous collectors of Daroy reap.  Beyond the blandly commercial consideration of owning a work long enough to dispose of it to the next highest bidder, Daroy’s work speaks of facing up to the inevitability of death; of accepting the fading of life from light to black.”

Roderico Jose Daroy, Untitled, 1995-2010, collage

and of time runs from 21 August to 11 September 2010 at The Drawing Room Contemporary Art, 1007 Metropolitan Avenue, Metrostar Building, Makati City.  Phone (632)897-7877 or visit http://www.drawingroomgallery.com

A suite of 16 Untitled pieces, all charcoal on damaged photos, collage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7jeCDwRAAc


Mark Salvatus Gets Attached

Mark Salvatus, detail, "Wrapped:Persona"

I made it a point to come in early for the opening reception of Attached, Mark Salvatus’ show at The Drawing Room.  You appreciate Mark’s work by going through his process, the thinking that went behind the creation of his pieces.  I wanted a chance to speak to him before the crowds made their appearance.

This show brings together various projects, components of a series he calls Wrapped.  The work he exhibits here continue from work that he carried out in the various communities around the world where he spent time in art residency programs.  To quote Lisa Chikiamco’s notes, “…these projects examine the ideas of presence through the imprints left behind.”

Mark Salvatus, detail, "Attached"

Attached is also the title of the exhibit’s main piece, the latest work in this series.  Mark stationed himself in his downtown Manila neighborhood and asked random passers-by to trace possessions found on their person onto sheets of paper.  He then filled these outlines with pencil patterns that make these objects appear to be swathed in bandages.  Hence, “wrapped”.  Mark cut out each person’s collection of “wrapped” objects and framed them in glass.  In the show, we see the frames installed as vitrines lined up on the walls, one frame for each individual’s group of objects.  You get diverted going through the vitrines and identifying the objects through their wrapped outlines (was that a set of keys or a lizard with a squiggly tail?).

Another detail from "Attached"

On the gallery’s main exhibit wall hangs Wrapped:  Persona, a piece that includes some video element.  Mark started work on this in 2007.  He photographed individuals with their faces covered by a generic “wrapped” mask.  Mark then made an approximation of the shapes of these individuals’ heads, “wrapped” these with his pencil patterns, and cut them out.  He has dozens of these wrapped paper masks installed on the wall beside his video

Installation shot, "Attached"

screen.

Mark Salvatus makes my list of the most talented and intelligent artists working in Manila today.  His strength comes out when he mounts pieces that have gone through a complete conceptual process.  In other words, they don’t work as well in group shows where he is perhaps limited to doing wall-bound, more commercial pieces.  He has brought his art to Europe, the Middle East, and to other parts of Asia.  In May, he represented the collective TutoK at Melbourne’s Next Wave Festival.   However, I  do admit a bias towards his pieces produced from his immersion with inmates in the Manila City Jail, work shown in his exhibit Courtyard at Pablo last year.  I also loved Secret Garden, his piece for the 2009 Sungduan at the National Musem, for which he has been shortlisted for this year’s Ateneo Art Awards.  While I don’t find Attached as compelling as his previous exhibits, the works do prove the commitment he invests on his concepts.  If you find the time to speak to him, as I did, you can’t but admire the steadfastness with which he regards his practice of art.

Installation shot, "Wrapped: Persona"

Attached runs from 26 June to 17 July 2010 at The Drawing Room Contemporary Art, 1007 Metropolitan Ave, Metrostar Bldg., Makati City.  Phone (632) 897-7877 or visit http://www.drawingroomgallery.com or visit http://marksalvatus.blogspot.com

Video still from "Wrapped: Persona"

Attachees

Mark Salvatus



Of Skulls and Butterflies: ARTHK 10

Damien Hirst, "Transcience Painting"

 

Skulls and butterflies may as well have been the  mantra of ARTHK 10, this year’s edition of the Hong Kong Art Fair. You saw them everywhere, most notably those of the Damien Hirst variety. Continue reading →


Alfredo + Isabel Aquilizan x 2

For almost a decade and a half now, Alfredo Juan and Isabel Aquilizan have been traversing the globe, unfolding the stories of

Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, "Wings (2009)

their life together through their artistic collaborations.  Continue reading →


Leeroy New Explores The Corporeal

Leeroy New, detail, "Plane of Celestial Delights"

It’s been fascinating to follow Leeroy New’s creative process.  The core of his art stays consistent.  He explores the tenets of Filipino Catholicism and Philippine history and integrates these with his inclination for science fiction.  Continue reading →


Kawayan ROCKS!!!

Kawayan de Guia, "Rock and Roll"

Kawayan de Guia, "Rock and Roll" jukebox

One of the best shows I’ve seen this year.  I can say that right off the bat.  I thought Kawayan de Guia would have a hard time topping the installation he did for the CCP Thirteen Artists exhibit.  In Katas ng Pilipinas:  God Knows Hudas Not Play, he brings that concept further, develops it into a full-blown show, and made my jaw drop! He wowed all of us who happened to catch him putting this show together at The Drawing Room in Makati. Continue reading →


Roberto Feleo at The Drawing Room

Roberto Feleo, "Ang Pinteng ni Pedro Mateo", note flaming headress for decapitated Ifugao warriors

Roberto Feleo, "Ang Pinteng ni Pedro Mateo", note flaming headress for decapitated Ifugao warriors

When an artist of Roberto Feleo’s stature puts together a show of recent works, you try and make time to see it.  Admittedly, art took a back seat this past week. I stayed glued to the tv or to my laptop following current events as they unraveled, leading up to the momentous People’s Funeral of President Cory Aquino.  But an exhibit by Feleo does not happen every year, and with The Drawing Room just a fifteen-minute car ride away, I found myself taking a break from all the news. Continue reading →


Power Tripping with Don Salubayba and Jonathan Ching

Don Salubayba, "Fast Food Nations"

Don Salubayba, "Fast Food Nations"

Two shows this week, one in Manila, the other in Kuala Lumpur, both by Filipino visual artists, explore the concept of power. Don Salubayba examines how we wield it in our everyday lives. Jonathan Ching observes the effects of power that has diminished over time.

Don Salubayba, "The Epitome of Pogi Points"

Don Salubayba, "The Epitome of Pogi Points"

THE UNOFFICIAL THEORY OF POWER, DON SULABAYBA

I first encountered Don Sulabayba’s art in in 2004. He transformed one gallery in the third floor of the CCP into Spoonful Discard, an installation of plastic spoons and used pre-paid cellphone cards. I found his materials a bit rough, but even then, thought him an artist that

Don Salubayba, "The Great Delude"

Don Salubayba, "The Great Delude"

should bear watching. How gratifying to see a more mature body of work in this show, paintings that still bear his signature drips, predominantly faceless subjects, and floating layers of objects, but rendered in richer, deeper hues.

People who only see Don as a visual artist working with paintings overlook his contributions to his other passions, performance art via Anino Shadowplay

Don Salubayba, "A Scheme of Order"

Don Salubayba, "A Scheme of Order"

and his social involvement with TutoK. His multi-faceted interests exert obvious influence in his works on canvas. You will always get some commentary on political or religious issues. But never too heavy, always nimbly handled, usually with a touch of humor. Here he muses on the control held over us by material and non-material substances, the power that innocuous objects have on our daily routines.

The Epitome of Pogi Points comments on how Henry Ford’s Model T, the first vehicle marketed under a brand name, has been transformed from a necessary means of transportation into an object to showcase one’s social standing or even as a chick magnet. The car then becomes a tool of power: the flashier the car, the more goodlooking or socially-acceptable its owner.

Don Salubayba, "The Art of Misdirection" and "The Manipulation of an Inanimate Object"

Don Salubayba, "The Art of Misdirection" and "The Manipulation of an Inanimate Object"

The haunting Fast Food Nations illustrates Don’s thought process on the bombing of Nagasaki, the first time man used an atomic bomb to show power over another race. How ironic that the Americans used a bomb nicknamed Fat Man to subdue the Japanese sixty years ago, when today, we know that many Americans suffer from obesity brought about by their penchant for the calorific fried delights of their fast food chains. As these fast food chains have proliferated all over the world, Fat Man brings destruction of a different sort, killing through heart disease and other health concerns.

The story of Adam and Eve as narrated in the Book of Genesis is the subject of  The Great Delude. Here Don tackles the power of a story from the bible which, from constant telling and retelling, we have forgotten has no basis in fact.  It remains a myth.  Scheme of Order likewise takes on the effect of religious beliefs.  Don portrays a ladder of indulgences, an image found in medieval art, to illustrate the control of the Catholic Church.  We believe ourselves forgiven from sin if the church so grants this forgiveness,

Don Salubayba, "The Death of Imagination" and "The Epitome of Pogi Points"

Don Salubayba, "The Death of Imagination" and "The Epitome of Pogi Points"

even if in the past, the influential purchased clemencies as they saw fit.

Don departs for Sydney this week on a residency grant for his involvement with shadow plays.  As always, we wish him luck as we look forward with anticipation to the work he will produce when he returns.

The Theory of Power by Don Salubayba is on view from 30 May to 20 June 2009 at The Drawing Room, 1007 Metropolitan Ave, Metrostar Bldg, Makati City.  Ph (632)897-7877 or visit www.drawingroomgallery.com

DAYS OF THUNDER, JONATHAN CHING

Jonathan Ching, "Days of Thunder"

Jonathan Ching, "Days of Thunder"

In his first solo exhibit outside Manila, Jonathan Ching paints images of larger-than-life personalities who have to face the waning of their influence and confront their own mortality.   He does this through a series of large scale canvases, each one pairing a legendary notable with a portent of his doom.   We see former dictator Ferdinand Marcos asking for more life as he sees his legacy and hold over a society crumble.  His famous gigantic cement bust falls to ruin due to the ravages of time and the disgust of a populace he once held absolute sway over. In the exhibit’s title piece, Days of Thunder, Jon paints Evel Kneivel, paunchy and middle-aged, still attempting to sail over a mountain of used cars, unable to

Jonathan Ching, "Maybe Immortality is Just a Matter of Remembrance"

Jonathan Ching, "Maybe Immortality is Just a Matter of Remembrance"

let go of his celebrity.  Another large canvas depicts a proud matador and a bull, each one the nemesis of the other, fates intertwined.  One’s loss is the other’s gain, no one will triumph without undoing the other.

Jonathan Ching, "Though Paradise May Be Merry and Bright"

Jonathan Ching, "Though Paradise May Be Merry and Bright"

Jon Ching, "We Were Immortals (I am the Greatest)"

Jon Ching, "We Were Immortals (I am the Greatest)"

He dubs his smaller canvases his We Were Immortals series.  He paints Muhammed Ali, once the greatest, now wasting away with a crippling condition. Jon portrays the Lone Ranger as an aging superhero reliving his glory

Jonathan Ching, "We Were Immortals( I Was Always the Action Hero)"

Jonathan Ching, "We Were Immortals( I Was Always the Action Hero)"

days.  Yul Brynner looks out from a tv screen, speaking against the effects of smoking in an infomercial released posthumously. And closer to home, Jonathan depicts his father as a younger man, at the age when to his son he seemed invincible.

In a bit of a departure from the rest, he does a portrait of himself asleep, dreaming of a childhood when he had no fears to limit him.

“Look at them now” may very well have been the catchphrase he used to jumpstart his discourse on power and immortality.  If he asks that of himself, well, what would he see?  A Civil Engineering

View of "We Were Immortals" series depicting Jonathan's dad as a younger man and of himself asleep

View of "We Were Immortals" series depicting Jonathan's dad as a younger man and of himself asleep

graduate who pursued his dream of becoming an artist, and look at him now.

Days of Thunder by Jonathing Ching is on view from 30 May to 13 June at Valentine Willie Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur.  Visit www.vwfa.net
or www.jonching.com

Jonathan Ching, "We Were Immortals"

Jonathan Ching, "We Were Immortals (I Was Magnificent)"