Art Fair Philippines Pays Tribute to Late Gallerist Albert Avellana

(SPOT.ph) Aside from returning to The Link, introducing a new section focusing on digital media, and incorporating biophilic design, the 2023 edition of Art Fair Philippines also pays tribute to two Philippine art personalities, Albert Avellana of Avellana ArtGallery and Norma Liongoren of Liongoren Gallery.

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Remembering Albert Avellana 

Albert Avellana, who was the former president of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines Inc., passed away in September 2022. Art Fair Philippines co-founder Trickie Lopa recalls how Avellana’s approach to art made an impression on her.

"I first met Albert when I started visiting galleries at that time, as a blogger. And his gallery has always been an outlier in the sense of its location, right? It was so different from the rest. But he was always championing work that wasn’t so mainstream; and he never stopped doing that," Lopa shares in an interview with SPOT.ph.

In the 1990s, when galleries in malls were the norm, Avellana eschewed this trend and launched Avellana ArtGallery at the midcentury San Juan Apartments along Roxas Boulevard. He later moved to the Rusty Lopez Compound in Pasay, and finally to one of the post-war houses at 2680 FB Harrison. In this house, the gallery became an incubator for artists who were just starting out, and for those who worked with different mediums.

Championing Unknown Artists, Unusual Mediums

Lopa pointed out that Albert’s focus on the work of the artist was more than their commercial viability. "He featured abstraction, number one; and fabric work—like that of Mac Vadezco—and those working with plastic and all sorts of media that weren’t so commercial. He would champion artists like that," she says.

"A lot of young artists started with him, especially the artists from T.U.P. (Technological University of the Philippines), giving them a break, offering them a place to show. He was generous in terms of his knowledge and the use of his gallery."

He championed artists from the older guard as well; those who have not been recognized as masters, but whose works in contemporary Philippine art were exemplary. These included abstract painter Florencio B. Concepcion through a 2007 retrospective at the Jorge Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines; and the Filipino-Chinese sculptor Ting Ping Lay, whose mentor was renowned Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti. Avellana donated works of Ting Ping Lay to the National Museum of the Philippines in 2020 to ensure that more people would learn more about the late artist. 

Albert Avellana’s Art Fair Memories

Avellana’s unique approach to art extended to his exhibits at past Art Fairs, as well. "His was one of the first galleries who came onboard and agreed to show at Art Fair," Lopa recalls. "And he always put up really nice shows. The quality of his exhibitions at the fair was always top-notch. We can count on his group to give us really good work, and to present it in such a wonderful way."

Lopa fondly recalls Art Fair Philippines 2019, when Albert set up his gallery along the stairwell of the fire exit. "I couldn’t believe that! At first, he said he wasn’t joining at that time, and then we said, 'Albert, it’s just the stairs!' And he said, 'It’s okay!' And that’s the kind of person that he was; he would adapt and show art no matter where it was. And that year, he made it work and made it look great. It was never a problem, there was always no drama, he would just go in, do it, and do it well."

In the hybrid Art Fair Philippines during the pandemic, Avellana launched impressive exhibits in his own gallery in Pasay. In 2021, he showed the haunting installation of artist Renato Agustin Ong’s Tales of Mount Busa at his new extended art space. At the 2022 edition, he opened a trio of exhibits: XOP (eXtraOrdinary People), a pocket exhibit of young, special artists; the Tribute to Ting Ping Lay; and the ambitious Art for Everyday, where 13 artists recreated household objects as art pieces which were then showcased in his gallery in actual living spaces.

This year’s Exhibitor Tribute for Avellana, which is curated by Boots Herrera (Director and Chief Curator of Ateneo Art Gallery), features a roster of 18 artists. It includes master printmaker Pandy Aviado, pottery artist Joey de Castro, painters Ferdinand Doctolero and Allain Hablo, abstract artists Eugene Jarque, Gary Custodio, and the late Allan Cosio. All of the artists are considered his good friends and frequent collaborators, and visiting this exhibit would be a celebration of sorts of Avellana’s contribution to Philippine art and an assurance that his legacy will live on. 

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Art Fair Philippines 2023 is from February 17 to 19, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at The Link, Parkway Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City. Tickets, which are available online, are P450. For more information, visit Art Fair Philippines' website.

Erratum (February 15, 10:20 a.m.): This article has been edited to indicate the correct group of student artists that started out at Avellana ArtGallery. Our apologies.