Nothing Spaces » art

Bernardo Pacquing’s “Earth Mounds”

Carina — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:55:34 +0000

I’ve been a big fan of Bernie Pacquing’s work, ever since I saw this piece from an exhibit at West Gallery, when it was still operational in Megamall in 2008. I don’t know why, but I’ve never really gotten a chance to see his work much after that. So, when I heard that he was mounting a solo show at Finale, I practically begged my parents to go with me. (The last we ventured into Makati on a Friday night, we were stuck on the road for two hours, so they were a little apprehensive.)

Thank goodness they agreed (I’m mostly incapacitated, transportation-wise, because I am not exactly the best commuter, and also, I cannot drive), and that the traffic was merciful.

Pacquing’s exhibit is called Earth Mounds, and I read it after I’ve had a proper look-through, so looking at each piece was sort of magical to me. This is really one of the most cohesive shows I’ve been to in a while, and it was such a big pleasure looking around and kind of realizing how things went together. I don’t think it really comments on anything much, but it really is one of the best shows I’ve been to this year.

my favorite piece from the Mound series

From the door, I started with his Mound series, and my mouth kind of hung in awe, and I’d let out a little chuckle, because it’s ridiculous how strong each piece was. And then I moved to the Arches series, experienced a heightened level of my initial reaction until I made my round about the room and was just completely floored by how, in tiny details, everything tied together. I even made like a pretentious art douche and wrote in a little Field Notes notebook, because I really just wanted to remember the little details about the show that made me smile.

In Earth Mounds, Pacquing uses the shape of the dome, lots of curves, and geometry. I don’t know if he intended it, but the installation pieces were also strong parts of the exhibit, providing a more tactile and tangible way of presenting the idea of mounds and domes. Most of his imagery is not representational, but Pacquing asserts forms of architecture, with the installations seeming like little buildings, little structures. The works on paper offer the feeling of standing as blueprints, working really well and closely with the rest of the pieces.

I’m also such a big fan of his color palette. In retrospect, the show also probably owes part of its cohesion to Pacquing’s mastery of color. See, I would never be able to think of these color combinations. But his nifty little mind was able to mix bright blues and yellows with soft pinks and a minty green. Look at this beautiful piece.

“Termitaria”

“Termitaria” (detail)

This particular one entitled “Termitaria” is, I feel, an excellent assimilation of the entire show. Combining the imagery of mounds, and playing with structural elements, with the inclusion of the material used for the installation pieces (wood), it is such a stunning and visual piece. It made me feel bad that I don’t have money to buy it, and my own house to put it up on.

So, this is a pretty late post (I went on the 6th of August), but you are a lucky lot because the show will be up until the 30th! Just go to Finale Art File between 10am and pm on a Monday-Saturday. It really is a beautiful show that you should see.

Here’s Finale’s address:
Finale Art File
La Fuerza Compound (Gate 1)
2241 Pasong Tamo, Makati City
(across Philippine School for Interior Design)

Nona Garcia’s ‘Fractures’

Carina — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:38:10 +0000

Nona Garcia is one of my favorite artists. She’s easily one of the most skilled painters in Manila today. (I dare you to argue this point. LOLJK, do not debate with me. I will probably lose.) In any case, I’d been looking forward to the exhibit for a while now, and it did not disappoint.

While a lot of ‘signature’ Nona Garcia pieces are missing from this exhibit (I’m pretty much a big fan of that series of kind-of portraits she makes, where she paints people’s backs. Strange Familiarity is one such exhibit that has my favorite pieces. She had a series up in Finale also last May, which I posted about), the pieces she did have up did not disappoint.

West Gallery has three exhibit rooms, and Nona filled up the three with different approaches to the exhibit’s title. By definition, fractures pertain to breaks, faultlines, fissures, interruptions, and so on.

Gallery 2, the smallest room of the three, featured an overwhelming series of broken objects’ X-rays mounted as a neatly arranged map on the wall, tellingly entitled “A Series of Fractures.” This arrangement has caused me to consider that these objects (including a typewriter, an umbrella, a chair), now twisted and useless, are at the end of their lives, as it were. However, it also seems that by presenting these broken fragments as negative images, we, the viewers are caused to reconsider them and take them as new things that stir new ideas.

Gallery 3 had a series of 4 oil paintings of exactly the same piece of paper crumpled into a ball. Each paired with an ornate and really gorgeous white frame, these pieces, to me, explore the nuances created by repetition. How each piece, although based on the same image, presented in the same manner, and rendered by the same artist’s hand, are still wholly and completely different from one another.

Somewhat relatedly, but I adore the use of negative space, both in the pieces (the subjects are concentrated in the center, surrounded by seas of white) and in the way they were curated. In the entire room, only one wall is graced by these pieces, the entire focus of the viewer oriented to that single wall. I really like that.

detail

Gallery 1, which is the main gallery, features scenes of flooded houses. Each photo is painstakingly cut, according to each element’s depth of field, and layered on top of each other, creating a stunning visual presentation of each scene. While the subject matter speaks literally of brokenness, the rendering speaks of a different kind of fracture, of broken pieces put together to form a whole.

The viewer probably expects the flat expanse of a photograph, so closer inspection of the pieces offer a pleasant surprise. The lighting (ambient, moody, a bright, shining light beating down from the top), and framing elevates these pieces to another place altogether. The many different layers makes you inadvertently wonder about the work that went into these pieces, the thoughts behind them, making you want to really spend time on the pieces, to take everything in.

Obviously, these thoughts did not immediately come to me as I was looking at them. For the most part, I was joking around with people, eating chicharon and puto, and drinking beer. But the more I think about these works, the more I see them come together.

Papa, mama, Erik Sausa (sorry!) and Brian Sergio.

MM Yu, Nona Garcia, Sir Chabet, Ringo Bunoan.

Hehe, I just found this photo cute. My mom & my dad on the staircase.

LOL Romeo Lee with a piece of puto.

Lee with mama.

Brudder.

Parents!

MM Yu.

Lee’s jacket. Haha.

Gallery 1.

Gallery 3.

ManilArt 10.

Carina — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:41:30 +0000

Geraldine Javier, Finale Art File
+ my reflection!

This year’s Manilart left me both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Trickie Lopa of Manila Art Blogger wrote in a really extensive and thorough entry about Manilart 10 sentiments which I mostly agree with:

Overall, I thought that Manilart 10 felt like a huge bazaar of paintings, more paintings, and copies of paintings. [...]

Because the fair already attracts a huge crowd, it would be great if the succeeding ones also become a venue to make artistic statements, to expose the audience to other visual art forms. The galleries that organize the fair should use its success to push for more experimental pieces. I would think that the fair should spearhead elevating standards— not just extend the galleries’ backrooms. Think of what Cinemalaya has done for Filipino independent film makers.

Mona, Soler, Stevesantos; West Gallery.

Stevesantos, Malang, Roberto Chabet; West Gallery.

I guess it’s a little hard to write about it, since we had a booth up and all, so our tastes don’t really mirror some of the other galleries’ but looking on the bright side, I did see a lot of excellent art from my favorite artists, and got introduced to the works of others I will definitely watch out for. It was a great experience for me to weed through all the fabulous art going around the country, and select pieces and artists that I liked. I kind of just tag along with my parents to go see exhibits, so it was kind of nice to look around and discover artists I would not have even heard of if it hadn’t been for the fair.

Valeria Cavestany, Manila Contemporary.

Mariano Ching, SLab.

Alfredo Aquilizan, The Drawing Room.
(This stretched out reaaaaaally long. It was awesome.)

Cos Zicarelli, Art Informal.

Poklong Anading and David Griggs, Pablo Gallery.

Ronald Ventura. This was up for auction.
Thank goodness I am poor, or else I’d have bought it.

Herman Nitsch, Galerie Zimmermann Katochwill.
(I believe they are Austrian! They had some excellent works up
by Manuel Ocampo, but I forgot to take photos of them. Sadface.)

Jon Santos, Art Informal.

Detail.

Christina Dy, SLab.

BABY SOCKS WE SAW ON THE SIDEWALK!

Phew! I have a lot of favorites that I wasn’t able to get photos of, so I’ll raid my dad’s memory card and see if he has any of them.

A group of artists also had a booth up along one of the sides! They’re trying to raise funds for a group show in Berlin’s Freis Museum. I think their stuff (shirts, and tote bags and pins featuring the works of the artists) is still available in Team Manila outlets. I mean, is this not the best shirt you have seen in your life?

(Slight exaggeration, but this is an awesome shirt.)

Was also able to meet (!) Manuel Ocampo and had one of the prints of his that I had signed. I got it from a McSweeney’s Quarterly Issue, and had been saving it for when I see Manuel Ocampo and beg for him to have it signed. Thankfully, he was really nice and cool about it. Completely the opposite of me.

Manuel Ocampo is a super prolific artist, internationally known, and also, he made the inside art of Beck’s Odelay. I know it’s stupid but I’m considering this meeting as lowering my ‘six degrees of separation’ from Beck to three.

Under the cut are more photos. I wasn’t able to take proper photos of some of the pieces that I loved, but I think this is a mostly fair representation of my favorite pieces. (I wasn’t even able to document all the pieces we had on display, but that’s my fault.)

Enjoy! Here’s to next year’s. :)

Jonathan Olazo, Paseo

Kawayan de Guia, The Drawing Room.

Valeria Cavestany, Manila Contemporary.

Argie Bandoy, Pablo Gallery.

Winner Jumalon, The Drawing Room.

Paulo Vinluan, Finale Art File.

Wire Tuazon, Finale Art File.

Pam Yan-Santos, Art Informal.

Cos Zicarelli, Art Informal.

I don’t know who made this. :( But s/he is part of the group going to Berlin.

Luis Lorenzana, SLab.

Jojo Legaspi, The Drawing Room.

Nona Garcia & Mariano Ching/Yasmin Sison/Haraya

Carina — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:07:09 +0000

So, I’ve been a little bit busy (in the head and away), but people have been asking about where I find out about exhibits, and stuff, since I mostly post entries of the exhibits that I go to, and not ones that are about to happen. (Sorry.) In any case, here are two exhibits that are spaced pretty much a month apart, so you can go to both! Or something. I’m really excited about the both of them is what I’m saying. Enjoy!

Nona Garcia’s exhibit has been up since the last week, but her reception is happening on August 3 (Tuesday). You can already drop by West Gallery now, but there’s an Art Fair going on in the other side of Metro Manila so you might want to go to that. In any case, the works are all already up, but there’s going to be a reception on Tuesday, so you could go to that also.

The show is going to be up until August 14, I think. So, you have about two weeks or so to see it. I’ve seen the works already. They’re primarily in black-and-white, but Nona played with a lot of mediums. It’s pretty interesting. I’m a big fan of her oil paintings (duh, who isn’t?) but she has a lot of really pretty pieces up for this one.

West Gallery
48 West Avenue, QC
(632) 411 0336
Open: M-S, 10am – 6pm

Another exhibit that I am excited to see! It’s a collaborative show by two of my favorite artists, Mariano Ching and Yasmin Sison, and their kid, Haraya. I’ve only spoken to them about it, and it sounds really, really interesting. If you couldn’t already tell from the title, the show is centered around childhood. They both have said that the show’s going to feature a lot of different mediums as well. I cannot frakking wait for this show, to be honest.

Blanc PMN is located at The Peninsula Manila G/F Shops 9 and 10 Ayala Avenue corner Makati Avenue, Makati City. Not so sure about the gallery hours, but you can call or send an SMS to this number +63920-927-6436.

I’m also excited about a lot of different shows that will happen in between, but I don’t have the invites yet. I’ll be sure to post them, once I get a hold of them. If you’re a lover of art, I would really advise you to check out these two shows. Probably out of personal bias, because I do love these artists, but there’s a good reason why I do, and it’s because they’re amazing.

To Sell or Not To Sell, That is the Question.

Carina — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:09:41 +0000

So, I’ve been toying with the idea of selling stuff I make online. I’ve been working on some badges/buttons (like the ones I used for my thesis, but also another new ‘set’ that, in my humble opinion, is pretty exciting), since people seem to love those. But then, I’m thinking of making some prints as well.

These are A5 in size (or half of A4) and 3/4 are references of things dear to my heart.

Yes/No? What do you think? Should I make more or should I just stick to my day job? (LOLJK, I don’t have a dayjob.) Let me know what you think, please. I’d really appreciate it.

Suggestions (of what else to make—as in, shirts, tote bags, etc?) are also most welcome.

Love,
Carina

P.S. Sorry for the stupid title. I haven’t even read that play.

A Not So Lousy Sunday.

Carina — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:23:41 +0000

While I am a firm believer in the age-old adage, “There’s something about Sunday night that makes you want to kill yourself,”¹ this Sunday night was pretty good. First, even though I had no money, I got some books from the Powerbooks sale:

“Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life” by John Sellers (I have no idea what this is about.)
“The Collected Works of T.S. Spivet” by Reif Larsen (Mikka lent me her copy and I needed to have my own.)

“Akimbo and the Elephants” by Andrew McCall Smith
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Díaz
I peeked inside the second book and it is… pretty much amazing. I’m excited.

We also went to Nona Garcia’s house. Pretty sure I’m not allowed to post photos of the works (for the upcoming exhibit this week; troop down over to West Gallery, y’all), so here are nondescript photos of things around her house, and exhibit-y things up-close. Oh, and of her cute (but snobby) little dog, Jacob.

Also, got this on Friday, from the Meiday gig/Hato send-off over at The Collective.

Also, today, my sister and I got a session of IPL Hair Removal done. But there are obviously no photos of that. Unless you want to see my kili-kili… in which case, I will probably not show you, anyway.

———
¹ OK, not age-old… more like, from 1994, as articulated by Angela Chase. (back to top)

ManilArt 10 Winners!

Carina — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:34:47 +0000

Was supposed to post the winners yesterday, but I had server issues, so apologies for that!

Anyway, because my parents are amazing people, I have drawn 5 names, instead of 2! So, I’m giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the ManilArt 10. I used http://random.org to draw the names.

#2 Mara
#8 Krinessa
#23 Jeric Rustia
#25 Nante
#29 Tim

Because I drew Tim’s and Krinessa’s names first (so they are, technically, the original winners), they will be the only people I can probably LBC/mail the tickets to. Please send me an e-mail to yankee@nothingspaces.com. To the rest of the winners, let me know if you can pick up the tickets from West Gallery, 48 West Avenue, Quezon City. Gallery hours are 10am – 5pm, Monday to Saturday. If not, send me an e-mail so we can arrange something.

Yay, congratulations!

For other ticket concerns, please send an e-mail to jonsy@manilart.com. I’ll ask about the tickets (if they will sell onsite, etc) and make an update for everyone else interested.

ManilArt 2010 Ticket Give-Away!

Carina — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:27:35 +0000

I’ve got four extra tickets to ManilArt 2010 that I’d like to give away to 2 lucky art-lovers. (2 tickets for each winner, so you can bring a date, or go on two different days, if it turns out that you have no friends.)

What is ManilArt anyway? MANILART10 is the second international art fair hosted in the Philippines, featuring the country’s leading art galleries. This is a place where art collectors and enthusiasts can view some of the finest examples of Philippine Contemporary Art today. (Here is a confirmed list of exhibitors.) There are also lectures and talks held over the duration of the art fair.

MANILART10 will be open to the public from 11 am to 8 pm, from July 30 to August 1, 2010. Admission tickets are priced at Php200 or approx. US$4.50 each. (You can buy tickets by e-mailing jonsy@manilart.com.) It will be held in SMX Convention Center.

Well, what’s so great about this? Well, my cynic-friend, the excellent thing about this is that you will be able to see some of the best works of art made by some of the best Filipino artists, curated by the some of the best galleries in the country today. That’s what’s so great about it, man-friend¹. You don’t even have to buy anything (but buying art is good for the soul—both yours and the artists’, since they get to eat and live another day); you can just go there to see all the pretty things!

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:

You can use the tickets on any day of the exhibit duration, but they will only be valid once.
They are complimentary tickets and cannot be sold. (Don’t be a douche!)
You must be in Manila at the time of the exhibit, or else we are just wasting time.
You have a valid mailing address. Gon’ ship these tickets to you, if you win, is why.

So, just leave a comment, and I’ll use an Internet randomizer to pick the winner. Since the event is going to be in a few days, I’m going to leave this post up until the weekend (July 24th, 3pm Philippine time!) and announce the winner then.

Yay for art!

Click to visit their Facebook page, where there is a gallery of some of the featured art. Here’s a few:

Kapitbisig” by Elmer Borlongan, 60″x48″ , oil on canvas, 2010 from 1/of Gallery

“After Yves Klein” by Annie Kabigting, 48″ x 72″, Oil on Canvas, 2010, courtesy of Finale Art File

“Growing A Peach Tree” by Amy Aragon, 36″ x 60″, Oil on Canvas, 2010, courtesy of Manila Contemporary

Please comment if you have questions, etc. I’ll be glad to answer them if I can. For basic information about the event, visit their official website.

———
¹ If you get where this is from, then you are automatically cool in my book. Unless you are an asshat.

No Thoughts 3: Photo Zine Out Now.

Carina — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:16:28 +0000

I just received this e-mail from we are now in space, announcing the release of the third issue of photo zine, No Thoughts. Unlike the second issue, which featured Michael J Demeo and Alyssa Noches’ photography (which they graciously sent me for free), the third issue features 11 photographers.

NO THOUGHTS is an alternative photography magazine dedicated to showcasing new and emerging talent from around the world.

Here’s a list of the featured photographers with links to their websites:

Corey Smith | http://highpoweredstreetdrugs.com/
Kelley Smith | http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelleynsmith/
Jamen Lee | http://www.jamenlee.net/
Jeff Luker | http://www.jeffluker.com/
Alyssa Noches | http://www.alyssanoches.com/
Michael J DeMeo | http://www.michaeljdemeo.com/
Tamara Lichtenstein | http://www.tamaralichtenstein.com/
Virgina Del Rio | http://www.flickr.com/photos/virginiadelrio/
Ariane Geffard | http://ritavogt.free.fr/
Cuathemoc Suarez | http://www.c-suarez.net/
Ryan Paonessa | http://www.ryanpaonessa.com

For $5 US, you get a 36-page black & white zine filled with fantastic photography. This fee includes shipping. Hurry up, because this issue is limited to 300 copies. Here’s a bit of sneak peek:

Still not convinced? Here’s a flip-through, so you can see what you’ll get for a measly fiver:

Money goes to funding for the future issues, future issues, which judging from the contents of this one and the one I already have, should definitely happen. You can purchase the zine by going to this page. There’s a buy button somewhere in there.

on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wearenowinspace
the blog: http://www.wearenowinspace.com

“It would mean so much to everyone involved in the zine if you bought a copy.”

Nilo Ilarde, Paulo Vinluan & Jonathan Ching // Finale.

Carina — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:52:29 +0000

Last Friday, we have discovered the wonder that is Friday Night Traffic. My family and I don’t really like going out, unless we absolutely need to, or if we are suffering from too much hermity behavior. Usually, these excursions don’t fall on Friday nights. So, when we went on our merry way to Makati for these shows, we had no idea what kind of traffic we were in for. But the shows and the late dinner made it worth the two-hour travel time.

Entering Warehouse 17 of the La Fuerza Compound along the Pasong Tamo Ext., which is where Finale’s base of operations is located, you are first greeted by a massive diamond suspended from the ceiling. This is the moment that you know that you are about to experience something really massive.

Not just in terms of scale, either. Nilo Ilarde’s show, Painting as Something and as the Opposite of Something, seems to be a commentary on art and how it is made. I don’t really want to put any meaning on something that might have other meanings that have nothing to do with my interpretation, or none at all. All I know is that there is a lot of thought put into his pieces. There’s a little bit of humor, wordplay, and I suppose it’s really hard to think of anything else when you’re faced with works as enormous as Ilarde’s pieces.

Mounted in Finale’s Tall Gallery are the following, among other pieces: a Hulked-up Beetle, an actual boxing ring and a wall of used up paint tubes.

I think that the question of what art is is still brought up by his show. At least, that’s what it made me ask, in the end.

(Click here for some detail of the middle painting.)

In the Upstairs Gallery is Paulo Vinluan’s Heads Will Roll, featuring works that have adopted an amalgam of very distinct styles. I haven’t been to any of Vinluan’s other shows, so I can’t really assess this show in terms of his style (i.e. how it’s progressed, how it hasn’t, etc.) but I see that his style is very uniquely his, and the overall effect of his works, to me, is that: “Yes, these parts belong where they are.”

I can’t explain it quite so articulately, but I just felt like his pieces, together and individually, worked. No idea what the message of the pieces are, unfortunately… I liked them a lot, though.

This particular stretch of works, I liked. From the left, I went, in my head: “Oh, this is really nice,” and then I moved to the one beside it, “Oh, wow, I want this in my house,” and then I moved on to the next one and went, “Oh, this is really, really nice, too.” Turns out my brother went through the same thought process. (Pictures of the individual works after the jump.)

Inside the Video Room is Jonathan Ching’s Where in the World is Botero’s Leg. According to a write-up on the Finale website, this exhibit toys with the idea of the fallibility of human memory, and how perspective touches a memory’s meaning and truth. Ching is very liberal with the use of symbolism, using a lot of seemingly random imagery to convey his message.

I admire Ching’s work because his strokes are so bold, and so heavy. It adds a feeling of depth and tension to the work, and not just aesthetically. I really feel frakking hopeless, at times, when I look at his work. The palette is a little Stygian, the strokes, bold; the imagery, dark.

I’m pretty glad I went to this exhibit ~~(even though I missed my nightly viewing of Magkaribal)~~. Gave my mind a lot to chew on.

More photos under the cut.

Nilo Ilarde

Wall of paint tubes!

My face!

Car detail.

This was written next to the car.
I suppose it’s the title. (I giggled.)

This hole was cut into one of the walls. It “leads” into the stockroom. See?

Top View!

Paulo Vinluan

Jonathan Ching

fin.