(SPOT.ph) We've all witnessed the shift that the local art scene has undergone in recent years, as it has consistently gathered momentum and attracted a more mainstream audience. The question now: How do you keep that momentum going? By continuing to go out there to appreciate art, for one thing. Here are the most interesting shows on exhibit this month.
Images of Nation
Images of Nation is a 45-piece exhibit by 14 of the 17 National Artists for Visual Arts. The masterpieces, owned by the Bank of the Philippines Islands, are arranged to inspire thriving Filipino artists by identifying and idealizing the states and stages of Philippine nation as portrayed by visionaries in the field of art.
Runs until May 19 at Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Ayala Center, Makati City. For more information, visit Ayala Museum’s website.
+63 | +62
+63 | +62 is a four-person show of artists featuring Melati Suryodarmo and Agus Suwage from Indonesia and Geraldine Javier and Leslie de Chavez from the Philippines. It is an attempt to begin a conversation through art over the metaphorical wall that divides our countries. Referencing the Philippines' (+63) and Indonesia's (+62) country dial codes, this exhibition explores how these two next-door countries, who are strangers to each other's cultures, are connected through their own rich art histories.
Runs from February 16 to March 16 at Silverlens, 2263 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. For more information, visit Silverlens’ website.
Meeting People at Subconscious Parties
Ikea Rizalon is famous for her use of thread on canvas, demonstrating that a humble material has no artistic bounds. In Meeting People at Subconscious Parties, she uses old photographs and magazine illustrations from thrift shops and friends’ collections, which are then assembled on canvas while playing around with acrylic paint, oil paint, and thread. These don’t only put visible lines, but also add texture—creating what seems to be interweaving stories.
Runs until February 19 at Kaida Contemporary, 45 Scout Madriñan Street, South Triangle, Quezon City. For more information, visit Kaida Contemporary’s website.
other echoes
Using still life as subject matter to his current series, leCruz explores inanimate objects as agents pantomiming the passing of time and fragility of existence. In other echoes, he takes his cue from T.S. Eliot’s poem “Burnt Norton,” and tries to encapsulate his personal views on temporality with his quintessential composition of images and use of color. His series utilizes trite still life images combined with the novelty of present-day mundane objects that ultimately result into their own absurdity.
Runs from February 16 to March 17 at MO_Space, MOS_Design Building, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City. For more information, visit MO_Space’s website.
Artipak Book Sculpture
Dismantled pages of books adorn the Cultural Center of the Philippines as Sven Wilbur Lim shows how he found his calling in the art through book sculptures. Despite being a licensed Electronics and Communications Engineer, he felt that he needed to pursue what his heart holds dear. The exhibit ultimately seeks to inspire those who dream; to show that the gift and talents given to us can be used in ways that we may not even begin to fathom, and that it is not too late to pursue our dreams.
Runs until March 3 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. For more information, visit CCP’s website.
From Above and From Below
History from “above” was regarded solely as a matter of what the powerful, the famous, and the wealthy people thought and did. In retrospect, disregard for the history of ordinary people who tried to accomplish was deemed insignificant and led to the history from “below” movement. From Above and From Below asks us: “What are the narratives that deserve to be uncovered and made known?” The exhibition, which features works by Buklod Sining art group student members and alumni, showcases different art practices from academic to contemporary approaches that attempt to set an artistic discourse about the relationship of art and the social sphere.
Runs from February 14 to March 14 at NCCA Gallery, 633 General Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila. For more information, visit NCCA’s website.
Investigatory Projects
We often lie with the carcass of our labors, which are tools that get us through another day. For artists, it’s often their brushes and canvases; for writers, it’s often their pens. Often discarded, these objects remain part of us, stodgy and unyielding. This distinction is brought to question in Investigatory Projects, where artists Gale Encarnacion, Kitty Kaburo, and Nicole Tee explore the materialism that resonates with current anthropological concerns on ecology and the environment.
Runs from February 16 to March 17 at MO_Space, MOS_Design Building, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City. For more information, visit MO_Space’s website.
Domènec. Not Here, Not Anywhere
Domènec. Not Here, Not Anywhere is a touring exhibition by Catalan artist, Domènec. Here, he explores the tension between utopia and reality in modern architecture. The exhibit, which was curated by Teresa Grandas and was first shown in Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, offers an overview of Domènec's practice for the past three decades where he uses modernist architecture and city planning as starting points to tease out issues related to the politics of urban development and its social impact on its stakeholders.
Runs from February 17 to March 26 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. For more information, visit Ateneo Art Gallery’s website.
Converging Realities
Converging Realities is Reybert Ramos’s social evaluation of the modern individual. His works find inspiration from double meanings and stereotypes that global pop culture has brought to Manila’s contemporary art scene. In this series, Ramos pushes his audience to deduce the symbolism incorporated in his dog-human hybrids—drawing from popular texts about media, politics, human nature, and prejudice.
Runs until February 19 at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City. For more information, visit Ayala Museum’s website.
Fluido
Fluido, a group exhibition by Dharma Bum, Lui Medina, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Paulo Vinluan, Barbara Fragogna, Renzo Marasca, Sebastiano Mortellaro, and Davies Zambotti, explores the theme of space and one’s place in the universe. The eight participating artists show how the present is a significant jump-off point for our collective future. By combining the work of these artists coming from different paths—both artistically and culturally—the exhibition finds its fulfillment and completion in the “neutral” place.
Runs until February 28 at ArtInformal Greenhills, 277 Connecticut Street, Mandaluyong City. For more information, visit ArtInformal’s website.
