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.

More pictures & the rest of the West shows

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.

Click here for the rest of the photos

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

Continue reading COLLAGE DROP-OUTS: FINALE….

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.

Continue reading EXCAVATIONS FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, PT. 2….

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.