Me & Jeff Koons.

I’ve been going around Hong Kong, so I haven’t had a real chance to sit down and write about the art fair. The last day was yesterday, but I only went for one day. In case you weren’t following my Twitter feed, here are some photos I took while going around the fair.

Nedko Sokolav.

Tracy Emin.

Peter Liversidge. Favorite new discovery. He has a swell series of proposals that I will post about later.

Robert Rauschenberg! Old favorite, but I saw an oriental series that I never saw before.

Peter Blake’s “Homage to Joseph Cornell.” I love Joseph Cornell. His works inspired the anthology that Jonathan Safran Foer edited, A Convergence of Birds.

Andy Warhol’s photo of Jean-Michel Basquiat. So many inner explosions after seeing this little ID picture.

Alexander Calder’s “Fleur Jaune.” The first photo I took was cropped, and I looked over at the title and looked for the yellow flower. :)

Yoshimoto Nara. The fair had an interesting variety of Nara’s work, from full-size paintings, to rough sketches and pencil drawings. It was a nice change from seeing just the work that I am familiar with.

Mariano Ching.

Dina Gadia. I am in love with her collage work.

Jose Santos III.

Fiona Banner’s “The Greatest Film Never Made.” Made me laugh.

Louie Cordero.

Roberto Chabet.

Ricky Powell’s photograph of Basquiat and Warhol in NYC.

Keith Haring.

And finally, my work! For Zoe’s pop-up space for Lightbombs Contemporary over at Art East Island.

I’ll post about it soon, but Trickie Lopa has already posted about her findings in these three posts:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3

The roster of artists currently on display at West Gallery is infinitely interesting. Veering away from the typical four-show format, there were five solo exhibitions on display, with one show leaking out of Gallery two into the open space by the food. On Thursday, I experienced everything from talent envy to hoarse voice syndrome, having had to shout at Iris (sorry, Iris!) because of the music from Romeo Lee’s exhibit courtesy of one Jay Taruc.

I hadn’t been out to view exhibits in a while, but on that day, I remembered how fun it was to just mill around and talk to people, to look around and munch on free food—and drink alcoholic beverages your parents bought for other people.

Annie Cabigting’s Dietro Mona Lisa

Two paintings of the backs of the famed Mona Lisa, echoing works that I most know from Annie Cabigting. I’m a big fan of her “back portraits,” where she paints the backs of people who are looking for things. Nothing much else to say about this show that’s not already apparent from the photographs, but I do like it because it’s cheeky, well-rendered, and isn’t a great departure from the works of hers that had been familiar to me.

The history geek in me loves the idea of speculations of two Mona Lisas (which explains the two works), and I love that she painted both.

Sarah Geneblazo’s Escape

The surprise of the night was Sarah Geneblazo, whose work I first saw that night. Escape is comprised of four gorgeous, reworked renditions of photographs by Brooke Shaden, made as an expression of release from a sexual harrassment incident last year. (source). I was immediately drawn to the eerie and mysterious mood of the pieces, three of which featured women with partially obscured faces, enveloped in darkness.

When I went to look at them up close, it was also a powerful feeling, even though they towered above me. I love that it’s a narrative; that it talks about experiencing pain and the eventual letting go of it. Sarah’s also very talented—obviously—which, I think, really adds to the power of these pieces. Escape is both gripping and enthralling, an exciting first solo show by a very talented artist. Looking forward to seeing more of her work.

This is my favorite of hers. I think it has to do with this little detail…

… Imagine being inexplicably moved by a painting of a knee! I’ve always had trouble painting things that gradually faded into black, so this was such a joy to see and observe. Sorry; I really enjoy small details like this.

Ronald Achacoso

Ronald Achacoso’s untitled exhibit is a collection of old collages, featuring an encyclopedic selection of images superimposed on abstract paintings.

Romeo Lee’s It’s More Fun in the Phileeppines

Romeo Lee’s exhibit definitely lived up to its name. It was so fun to see his works. I can’t believe how prolific he is; I don’t know how he can make so much art because he’s always out and about, but there you go. It really seems like ideas and images just spill out of his head and onto the canvas. It’s thrilling to see his work, especially altogether. It’s such a random collection of images, and it really does seem that you are seeing the world through his eyes.

While he works primarily in color, this black-and-white illustration on the wall is so striking and so grotesquely beautiful, a number of people have expressed the desire to bring the wall down.

Sam Kiyoumarsi’s White Suprematist Kills Brown Recluse

For White Suprematist Kills Brown Recluse, Sam Kiyoumarsi alters photographs from magazines, taking away from images by drawing and painting over them. It’s a monochromatic show, a display of blacks, whites, and greys. There is still a dynamic energy present in the pieces, perhaps lent by the brisk strokes of ink. It’s an interesting idea, especially with the non-photographic elements, but I’m a big fan of Sam’s photos and would have liked to have seen more of them.

All shows are on display at West Gallery until May 14, 2012.

———
West Gallery
48 West Avenue, Quezon City
Open: Monday-Saturday, 9am – 6pm

The past few weeks have been busy and even though sometimes I feel like I haven’t been doing enough, a review of events—I’d like to think—proves otherwise. So far, April has seen two art-related things, 16×16, which was for Young Star’s 16th birthday and a fundraising for Outerhope organized by Blanc Gallery.

For Young Star, 8 visual artists collaborated with 8 photographers, working on 16×16 canvases. I was partnered with Hannah Reyes, who is one of the most talented (and sunny!) people I know. It was such a great experience for the both of us and I think our styles worked really well together. Primer, a sponsor of the event, even chose our piece, “Keeping Things Whole,” as their favorite. :)

We decided to name our piece after a poem by Mark Strand called “Keeping Things Whole.” Hannah’s photos were mostly from her travels around the Philippines. Here’s the poem:

Keeping Things Whole
Mark Strand

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body’s been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.

Stole some more pictures from the event, but click here for the rest of the album by Young Star.

Sarie, Joey, Martin, Becca, me and Tim.

Sarie, Therese, Nice, Joey, Leloy, Martin, Becca, me and my brother, Luis.

I didn’t get to go to the fundraising night for Outerhope, but you can see the piece I made by clicking here. I hope my contribution helped them, even a little bit, though I have no news if it did.

On to the exciting part (as if these things weren’t enough)! Two great things are coming up this May. My friend Zoe has been working her butt off for Lightbombs Contemporary and has kindly invited me as one of the artists she wants to represent in Hong Kong. This May, Lightbombs is going to be part of Art East Island, which occurs parallel to Art HK, the International Hong Kong Art Fair.

I’ll be showing a few pieces along with Zeus Bascon, Michael De Feo, Jed Escueta, Dex Fernandez, Dan Findlay, David Griggs, Jonathan Jay Lee, Maya Muñoz, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Marc Standing and Pancho Villanueva. If you’re interested, here are some more details!

I’m so excited because I’ll be able to catch the art fair this year. The day after we get back, another group show will open! Through The Looking Glass: Jose Rizal opens on the 26th of May at Manila Contemporary.

I’ll be showing alongside Jacob Lindo! Who is extremely talented, and towards whom I feel talent envy. If you recall, I fangirled like a lunatic over his solo show at our gallery a couple of months back. He is amazing, and I am both excited and scared (that I’ll make crap!) but I’m really thankful that I’ll be a part of this show.

Things are falling into place (I think). I have a couple more news but I’ll save those for another entry. Once these things have taken a more discernible shape. Sometimes, I feel listless and down, but then when I sit down and think about my life, really think about it, I find that there are tons of things that are worth working hard for.

For the April 2012 issue of Rogue magazine, I wrote about artist, Arturo Sanchez. On a drizzly day last February, Joseph and I went to Art’s studio in Angono for the interview. When it was time for Joseph to take his pictures, I took a few behind-the-scenes ones, too.

In other news, make sure you grab a copy of that issue! Aside from writing this, Sarie wrote a feature on Vincent Moon (photos of which my brother took), plus there’s a really good visual contribution from Kris. The rest of the content—I’ve only skimmed through it thus far—seems excellent, too.

Also, just so you know, the cover is an AR incarnation of Solenn Heussaff.

Ah! I’ve been looking forward to Jacob Lindo’s show ever since I learned of it. He always seems to come up with really great ideas and compositions for collages, and a part of me definitely envies that, as someone who makes collages as well. The first of his works I’ve seen were the ones he made for ManilArt, and I guess I was expecting work more similar to that. For Partial Proof, he went into another direction, but retained a certain similarity to his previous work.

I posted about an exhibit on Roberto Chabet’s collages, and someone made a comment saying that he couldn’t really relate to it. The opposite happens with me, because I’m extremely drawn to collages. When someone, in my head, gets it right, I’m just going to keep talking about it and gush. Jacob Lindo has managed to craft three arresting series, all in one show.

The first of the three is called “Pillager’s Fetish,” an eight-piece series each with images of castles and classic statuary, encased in a diamond-shaped frame. There is a fluidity to these images that Lindo recognizes and relies on for his stunning compositions. Personally, I find these most near to his previous work that I’ve seen, but it’s certainly a welcome change.

Next up is “Partial Proof,” which I have decided that I am in love with. In it, he has made compositions comprised of amorphous textured shapes, fragmentary objects, and paper cut-outs of tangled squiggles, all in muted colors. It’s enjoyable to just stand before and take in. It was especially delightful to see them altogether.

The last series off to the right of Gallery 2 is called “Lost in the Woods,” and it’s an exploration of shapes and the motion of lines. Each piece has two blocks of color that have come to life because of a textured shape, a tangle recalling an image created using intersecting lines, imposed on top and acting as the detailing.

LOUIE CORDERO’S “WELCOME SPIRITUALIST CAMP”

Though not a departure from his known aesthetic, what sets Welcome Spiritualist Camp apart is Louie Cordero’s technique. I don’t really know him as someone who does collages, so closer inspection of his work brought surprise. It’s really good to see that, though. His pieces made use of cut images on top of one another, and painted with pointilist textures, creating even more visual layers. It’s a party for the eyes, for sure, because you just find so many things to look at. I can imagine how incredible his pieces would be had they been larger.

HENRY ROYALES’ “LEXICON OF SIN”

ROSS JAYLO’S “THE REALITY OF DREAMS”

———
All the shows are on display until March 26.

West Gallery
2/F, 48 West Avenue, Quezon City
Open Mon-Sat, 9 am – 6pm

On the last day of Imagining Identity, Sarie and I passed by Finale. Good thing we went when we did! They were taking down the exhibit already; the video room’s display was completely gone when we got there. We made a quick pass of the pieces, and Sarie lent me her Canon S95 as we hurriedly made rounds. It was so overwhelming because there were so many. Imagining Identity is a selection of Paulino Que’s collection of artists’ self portraits. Most are commissioned, I think, but some of them were acquired posthumously.

He released a book, too. These are just one hundred pieces, chosen from his entire collection. I’m not sure how many there are in total, but isn’t that crazy? There are quite a few stand-outs, but I didn’t care for a lot of them either. I wonder how he picks people to make art for him.

MM Yu and Nona Garcia

The exhibit’s sadly down already; I’m kind of regretting that I put it off until the very last minute, because I would have totally written about it if I had gone earlier, just so that more people will have (hopefully) stopped by to see the collection. Really quite a few were stunning and clever. It’s hard for some artists to render self portraits or just figures of people in general, because their style does not permit or because it’s hard to just sit down and make a likeness of yourself.

I think part of my awe also comes from the fact that one person owns all of these works. And it’s not even the entire collection. Amazing. Personally, I think it’s a really good idea for a collection. The book, “Imagining Identity,” was published under Finale, but last I heard, it’s sold out already. I’m not sure if it’s a limited edition run, but if it isn’t maybe they can do a second printing if people really want it in their lives. It’s pretty hefty.

You can read more about the show on Finale’s website.

Patty Eustaquio

Elaine Navas and Romeo Lee

Mariano Ching

I think Paulina would love Manuel Ocampo’s contribution.

Bea Camacho.
One of my favorites. Even though it’s not visually arresting, it’s pretty clever in my mind. It’s a graph of her body measurements at certain intervals.

Collage Drop-Outs is an ongoing exhibit curated by Mariano Ching and Isabel Ching (no relations!) on display in Finale‘s Tall Gallery. You can catch it until the end of the year. It was a good mix of different mediums, which was exciting for me since it sparked a lot of ideas for future (!) projects. I personally like working with found objects but I’ve only really explored the paper/pulp/wood variety, so it was nice to see such a big variation.

You can click on the photos to see details on works, or check the exhibit’s page on Finale’s website. I don’t have photos of the videos (there are at least three), so if you want to see those, you can go see it while it’s still up.

FINALE ART FILE
Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound,
2241 Pasong Tamo, Makati City

Mon. to Sat. 10AM to 7PM
Tels (632) 813 2310, 812 5034

It’s been ten days since my first solo show opened, and I don’t know why it took so long for me to wrangle up the time to post pictures. I think I was hoping people would go instead of just look at photos on blogs (hehe), but I realize that not a lot of people have access to the North, just because it’s so far away from everything else. Except my own house. In any case, these are the pieces I ended up putting up for display.

It was such a great night. Thank you for everyone who dropped by and made it super special. Thanks also to people who talked, tweeted, and wrote about it. I hope to see you in future shows that I am hoping to have. Links to people who wrote about this because I am super happy and thankful:

• TAG ALONG/Nante on Status magazine’s blog.
• Manila Art Blogger/Trickie Lopa. Mostly on Kaloy Sanchez’s.
• Candy magazine online/Macy
• Young Star/Ralph Mendoza
• Living Asia Channel/Chui
• Pilar
• Kat
• Hunter and Hoarder/Barby

More photos of the works and opening night under the cut. Again, it’s up until December 31 at West Gallery. Hope you can drop by and take a look.

Nothing in this book is true.

This is how they were all laid out:

And then, of course, the people who came by to see:

Karen & Sarie.

Therese.

Gia and me (photo by Sarie)

Sarie and Gia.

Sarie and me.

KD Ukulele with me!

Sarie, Nash, me, Chard & Shinji.

Carina, Belle, Don, Chui, Jansen.

Liana, Leloy, Kat, Sarie, me.

Fambly! Me with my brother, our cousins, and my cousins’ babies.

Tito Simon, Ian, Sheryll, Tita Nene.

NAN IS SO CUTE! Also cute: Liana, Gia and Karen.

Best fraaaans, Barby & Isa.

photo by Sarie.

Talking with them, plus Leloy, Mara, Sarie and Enzo.

My brudder, Sarie, and me.

These nice girls from Ateneo passed by! It was such a pleasant surprise.

Me, Ling Quisumbing (who made this show) and Gus Albor.

Nilo Ilarde looking at my work. (♥!) I am such a big, dorky fan.
Some of his work: I Miss the 20th Century, Cube (curation), Painting as Something and as the Opposite of Something.

Me with Bembol dela Cruz (work here) and Rain Dial.

With Kamyl.

Kamyl & Kat.

My cousin’s baby, Iniko, who we fed some lemons.

Kathy, my brother Luis & Shine.

Belle, Chui, and Zean with Don…

… who solved a mystery.

More photos here. I wish I had a picture with everyone who went!

My brother, Luis, had his first one-man show on the same day that I did. However, he also had another one-man show at Manila Contemporary that same week. (Insane, I know. He is cray.) Exposition features some of his larger work, which I love without bias.

Typically, I look for themes and meanings behind works of art. Coming from a show I put up myself, I have realized how potentially irritating and inaccurate it is to form analyses of works that have no literature to back it up. I don’t really mind so much; it’s more of I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. In any case, Exposition is pretty straightforward. I think the message here is more of the beauty that can be found in something as commonly depicted as skulls, and that this subject matter doesn’t necessarily have to be macabre or horrific.

I personally think that the fact that these were rendered so detached and void of anything thematic is partly what makes them so beautiful. The scale and the skill with which these pieces were made are what make these pieces so visually arresting. How is one moved by what is essentially a symbol of death, something that depicts the absence of life, feelings, and emotions?

It’s a funny feeling trying to explain why my brother’s work is so good (haha), so I’m going to stop now. If you find these photos to be stunning, however, I urge you to stop by the exhibit one of these days because they are so much more beautiful in real life.

Spot the Shinji.

This is Sarie with my favorite piece, for scale! (She’s about as tall as me.) It’s of a fox, and everyone seems to love it the most.

Detail.

Lion skull.

Our youngest sibling, Isabel, also passed by. We almost never see her around these parts, so it was nice seeing her there. I mean, she’s always fun:

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Exposition is on display until January 8, 2012 at Manila Contemporary (Whitespace 2314, Chino Roces Avenue, Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City). Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday: 11am – 7pm, Sunday: 11am – 4pm. It’s closed on Mondays and public holidays. Contact information: +63 2 8447328, info@manilacontemporary.com.

I went to the Ayala Museum for an exhibit by Ang INK (celebrating their 20th year!) last November 21 so I could meet up with Zeus Bascon, who’s a part of INK. He’s an artist and I’m a fan of his work with collages. I also went there because my friend, Franny, is also a part of it.

There were so many people.

By Pepper Roxas, someone who I’ve always associated with INK.

By Bru Sim. Took this partly because I felt like my sister would love it. :)

Here is Fran! And my fat face!

This is what she made. It’s kind of hard to photograph, because it’s glass on both sides, but I can assure you that it’s very, very lovely.

A close-up of a paper boat!

The Fran abides.

You can view 20 Taon at Ayala Museum’s Ground Floor Gallery until January 15, 2012. Follow the link for museum details.