10 Art Exhibits to See in Metro Manila This January
From a play on portraiture to paper cutouts.
(SPOT.ph) New year, new you. If you're tired of doing the same old on the weekends, then maybe it's time to check out various art galleries and museums in your city. It's a good thing that there are lots to choose from, and most of them have ongoing art shows.
Also read:
The Most Memorable Filipino Art Exhibitions of 2023
10 Best Shows We Watched Onstage This 2023
Check out these art exhibits in Metro Manila for the month of January:
Art Unconfined
Art Unconfined is a year-end exhibit that celebrates the fourth anniversary of Modeka Creative with small-scale works that interpret the theme that art as an expression is unconfined. It runs alongside Lynyrd Paras’ Talas Mata, Mata Talas, and Reuel Rendon’s Simultaneous Existence.
Runs until May January 6 at Modeka Creative Space, 20A La Fuerza I, 2241 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.
A Portrait of a Portrait (Part 2)
In the second edition of A Portrait of a Portrait, MO_Space Gallery gathers some of the foremost artists whose practice encompasses the '70s and '80s in Philippine art in a show speculating on a portrait's possibilities. Among the 31 participating artists are Juan Alcazaren, Victor Balanon, Elmer Borlongan, Gerardo Tan, Pardo de Leon, Julie Lluch, and Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan.
Opens on January 13 at MO_Space Gallery, 3/F MOs Design, 9th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Embodied
Embodied, a group exhibition, features the works of the artists Leslie De Chavez, Charlie Co, Alfredo Esquillo, Manny Garibay, Renato Habulan, Mark Justiniani, and Joy Mallari. The embodiment of a thing they represent through their works may be apparent in the figuration or the themes in their visual composition.
Runs until January 9 at The Drawing Room, GF, Building C, Karrivin Plaza, Chino Roces, Avenue Extension, Makati City.
Tuklas
Tuklas showcases the works of the new batch of graduates from the artist’s residency program of Eskinita Art Farm. The 2023 recipients of the grant hailing from different parts of the country include Ace Navarro, Andres Catig, Bry Barrios, Den Pascual, Jack De Castro, Melvin Pollero, Renwil Portodo, and Zeelah Aquilizan.
Runs until January 7 at the Eskinita Art Gallery, 59-C Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.
Return, My Gracious Hour
In the 2024 inaugural exhibit of Silverlens Gallery, Ryan Villamael continues his cutouts of flora and botanical configurations to represent periods in history— the past events and their relation to present contexts. He invokes Jose Rizal’s poem Memories of My Town by using archival materials that he associates with personal and collective histories while contemplating the tendencies and impulses of being human.
Runs until February 3 at Silverlens Galleries, 2263 Don Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City.
A Light in Everything
Tessy Pettyjohn’s second solo presentation, A Light in Everything, is a search for tranquility–state of life she finds in her art. Her pottery, sculptures, and clay art are “Intricately fashioned through the rhythmic and repetitive movements of her fingers, iterative gestures gather and merge as cohesive patterns that blossom into natural forms.
Runs until February 3 at Silverlens Galleries, 2263 Don Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City.
Hiasobi
In a two-man exhibition, self-taught and media-based artist Santos and potter Pablo Capati III take inspiration from the Japanese concept of hiasobi, which roughly translates to “playing with fire.” Their collaboration explores the very essence of hiasobi in varying contexts and through their own artistic processes and production.
Opened on December 7 at Aphro, The Alley at Karrivin Plaza 2316 Chino Roces Avenue Ext., Makati City.
Splendor: Juan Luna, Painter as Hero
The multimedia exhibit featuring the long-lost painting "Hymen, oh Hyménée!" by the revered 19th-century artist Juan Luna is extended for viewing at the Ayala Museum. Curators Ditas Samson, Tenten Mina, and Jei Ente worked with scenographer Gino Gonzales for the exhibit design.
Runs until March 4 at Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City.
Karakoa Journey: From Past to Present
Thirteen Artists Awards recipient Mervy Pueblo characterizes the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), the subject in her new series of work, as karakoa people or early Filipino native maritime warriors. Pueblo touches on the idea of migrant labor while giving an ode to OFWs for their “tenacity… seeking the means to uplift the lives of loved ones and the communities they leave behind,” writes Laya Boquiren Gonzales in the exhibit notes.
Runs until January 31 at Galleria Duemila, 210 Loring Street, Pasay City.
No Name Show 3.0
This annual group exhibition and gathering of artists to showcase their artworks while being anonymous is in its third edition. Comprising 176 participating artists, the No Name Show prompts the viewers to appreciate a certain artwork for its visual composition and without the perceived value that the artist’s name entails.
Runs until January 13 at the Gravity Art Space Gallery, 1810 Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City.