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in his 11th Solo Exhibition
Kenneth John Montegrande is distinctly one of the few young Filipino painters with an international reputation. He’s the first Filipino and also the first Southeast artist whose works are housed in the prestigious collection of Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese tycoon and mega art collector who founded and currently directs the Contemporary Arts Foundation, based in Tokyo, Japan. Montegrande is, in fact, the youngest artist whose work forms part of the Malacañan Palace collection. On the 15th of July 2019, two of his large-scale master works—Transfigurings of Freshest Blue and Perla del Mar de Oriente—were welcomed into the palace with a formal turnover ceremony held at The Old Main Office, Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace Compound. The rite was officiated by Director Edgar Ryan S. Faustino (Head of the Presidential Museum and Library), and witnessed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea (who stood on behalf of the President of the Republic of the Philippines). On that occasion the name Montegrande became a word of national distinction and began to share a significant place in the imagination of the Filipino people. On that day and in that same venue, he was accorded the signal honor of having his eighth exhibition entitled “A Glimpse of Montegrande (Selections from the David Jonathan Bayot Family Collection)”. The exhibition was open for all Palace visitors to view, from July 15 to August 16, 2019. And it’s notable that this exhibition is the first of its kind in the institutional history of Malacañan Palace. Montegrande’s paintings are compelled by an inner (if not innate) obsession to create, express, and grow something on canvas or, in the words of Joan Miró, to “give birth to a world” and “reveal…something alive.” He often translates his obsession into large-scale works, thinking that via such artistic magnitude, he could maximize the physical impact of his paintings on his viewers and invite the latter to think and feel more deeply about one’s Self in relation to all that comes with life and living.
David Jonathan Y. Bayot is the Go Kim Pah Professorial Chair Holder of the Liberal Arts at De La Salle University where he is the executive publisher of its university press.
While Montegrande is fluent in the painterly language of abstraction—where, through the syllables and phrases of colors and lines, he could conjure a dazzling array of figurations and speak a babel of discourses—he’s no less eloquent in the impressionist tongue(s)! Beholders of Montegrande’s art— enacted in the language of impressionism, expressionism, and the abstraction that go with them—are drawn to the delight of witnessing how the artist, with his rich, spontaneous, and gestural brushstrokes, produces swathes, swirls, and sketches of somber as well as exuberant colors, layered over the canvas in an eloquent manner. One of the most noteworthy things that mark this painter’s life-story, is the fact that he has not had an easy life. But by sheer talent, determination, and the capacity to dream against the harshness of life, he has developed and become the self-taught artist that the art world has grown to respect and admire. Especially now that he is bound for the highways ahead, ready to strike out and conquer new terrains of artistic fulfilment, it’s very much his wish to share the harvest of his art with people—especially his fellow Filipinos—who long to be remembered. His offer of scholarships for a number of deserving Filipino students—to enable them to pursue and complete their collegiate fine arts education—was from his viewpoint, the real feat of his latest exhibition last March 2021, where he held a two-man show with Maestro Juvenal Sansó at the Fundacion Sansó. In his heart of hearts, he believes that his vocation in life is not just to be a first-rate artist, but also to be in essence a first-rate KAPWA TAO—someone whose life-story could be, in a most substantial way, directed towards the goal of opening other people’s life-spaces—that these individuals may be inspired to dream big, to dream again, and to dream some more!
Kenneth John Montegrande did not always envision to become an artist, yet despite excelling in his other callings; as a member of the press, as a public relations professional, and later, as a spokesperson to the Department of Tourism’s National Parks Development Authority, painting beckoned him to become the artist that he is now. The thought that his works “Abstrak” and “Enigmatic Series II” would be included in the collections of the mega art collector Yusaku Maezawa, who collects Basquiat, Bruce Nauman, Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, or his “Transfigurings of Freshest Blue” and “Perla del Mar de Oriente” would be in the company of works by Sorolla, Luna, and Amorsolo, in the collection of the Malacañang Museum in 2019, certainly surprised him. Painting and art was far from his reality, when as a child, he had to sell snacks in Ermita to supplement their family income. As a professional, he would only start painting when got to talk to the artists of an art event he organized for Intramuros Administration just ten years before. He certainly has gone a long way from his early exhibitions, which were done with the help of friends and staged in informal venues like the Olive Bistro, or in The City State Hotel, and at one time, even as part of an event for a real estate group’s prime clients. He has risen rapidly through the art scene and achieved what many others take a longer time for. And his art has reflected his transformation. Where he used to work with small 18 x 24 inches format in subdued colors, he now expresses himself comfortably in bright colors and in grand scale of 8 x 12 feet. In 2021, he would have a two-man exhibition with the multi-awarded Juvenal Sanso; and plans are in the works for another two-man exhibition with a national artist in 2022. Gone are the years of self-doubt, when he would paint, despite objections from family and friends, and sometimes sharp criticism from art professionals, about his talent and intent in painting. The stellar rise of a persistent self-taught artist, whose faith held him steadfast in his course, within the span of a decade, is what is being celebrated in this, his 11th solo exhibition at Art Lounge Manila.
Ricky Francisco Curator
“Fifteen paintings, mostly squarish in proportion, and a mix of abstract expressionist works and cloudscapes in style, comprise “A Decade of Kenneth Montegrande.” All fifteen works exude an intensity that is typical of Montegrande’s works, an intensity triggered by stark contrasts and bold impastos.” Chiaroscuro is seen in his atmospheric cloudscapes; which he skillfully employs to express his faith, and the hope which it brings specially in difficult moments. For Kenneth, faith allows us to see the light when we are covered in the darkness. With titles mostly derived from or obliquely connected to the story of Jesus calming the storm, in the gospel of Mark, Montegrande shares how his faith enables him to calm life’s storms in his works. And although they are deeply personal, his paintings resonate the hope we hold on to, in these troubled times. His spirituality, which allows him to extoll that God is in control, is visibly expressed this through his works: “Be Still”, “After the Storm”, “A Quiet Time with God”, “Light of Wisdom”, “Promise of a New Dawn”. And although the works “Whisper from the Moon”, “Symphony of Life”, and “Clouds of Hope” do not relate directly with the Biblical passage he selected for the exhibition, the drama they create through the interplay of dark and light against the vastness of the sky, creates similar feelings of awe as when one is in deep prayer, as they insinuate a greater presence than one’s self; such as when we are in the raw and splendid beauty of a sunset or alone in the beach or the mountains by ourselves. Majesty and solitude are present in all of his cloudscapes. Though more cheerful because of the bright palette Montegrande employs for his abstract expressionistic works, the intensity is from the skillful use of combining analogous and complementary colors, as well as in the texture created by heavy impasto. Creating visual energy in these two forms, result in the intensity that marks a Montegrande work. Though mostly contained within the center of the canvas, most visibly seen in “Waiting for Another Sunrise”, “Marvelous Sunset”, and “Midnight Blue – Abstract Version”, the free form and energetic use of line, and surrounding it with calm space, create an exciting center that engages the viewer and excites both the senses and the imagination. In a decade, Kenneth John Montegrande has transcended various obstacles in order to achieve the success that he is reaping now. And for this, Montegrande is not only grateful, but also encouraging others who are called by art, to pursue their passion, as he is proof that persistence pays off. ON THE COVER BE STILL 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
P R I V A T E
COLLECTIONS
On Extended Wings
2019, Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 60” The Presidential Museum and Library, Malacañan Palace Collection Presented as part of the Malacañan Palace exhibition (July 15 to August 16, 2019) entitled “A Glimpse of Montegrande) (Selections from the DJ Bayot Family Collection)”
Transfigurings of Freshest Blue (after Wallace Stevens)
2018, Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 60” David Jonathan Y. Bayot Collection Presented as part of the Malacañan Palace exhibition (July 15 to August 16, 2019) entitled “A Glimpse of Montegrande) (Selections from the DJ Bayot Family Collection)”
A R T I S T
CHRONOLOGY 11th SOLO SHOW - July 23-August 5, 2021 “A Decade of Kenneth Montegrande” Art Louge Manila, The Podium, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
10th SOLO SHOW - February 1-10, 2021 “Grandeur Landscapes” Galerie Joaquin, U.P. TOWN Center, Ayala Malls, Quezon City, Philippines 9th SOLO SHOW - October 9-13, 2019 “Obsession 2” MANILA ARTFAIR Artes Orientes Gallery, SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premiere, Taguig City, Philippines 8th SOLO SHOW – July 15 – August 15, 2019 “A Glimpse of the Art of Montegrande (Selections from the Jonathan David Bayot Family Collection) The Old Main Office, Kalayaan Hall, Malacanang Palace Compound, Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines 7th SOLO SHOW – June 29, 2019 “Obsession 1” Artes Orientes Gallery, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines 6th SOLO SHOW – May 27, 2019 “Remarkable Imperfections” Altro Mondo Creative Space Chino Roces Ave., Makati City 5th SOLO SHOW – November 29, 2017 “Limitless: The Art of Kenneth Montegrande” Lotus Garden Hotel, Ermita, Manila. Philippines 4th SOLO SHOW – August 31, 2017 “Prime Palettes: The Art of Fine Living” In partnership with MEGAWORLD PRIME Venue 142, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City, Philippines 3rd SOLO SHOW – February 26-28, 2014 “Juan Heart, 1 Nation: Art With A Heart – A Benefit Art Exhibit” - Part 2 In partnership with Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Foundation Manila Grand Opera Hotel, Manila, Philippines 2nd SOLO SHOW – February 3-7, 2014 “Juan Heart, 1 Nation: Art With A Heart – A Benefit Art Exhibit” – Part 1 In partnership with Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Foundation City State Tower Hotel,Manila, Ermita, Manila, Philippines 1st SOLO SHOW – November 29, 2013 “Juan HeART, 1 Nation: An Art Exhibit For A Cause” Olive Bistro, G1 Adriatico Grand Residences, Adriatico St.,
GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE 60” x 60” Acrylic on Canvas
DESTINED TO FLY 72” x 72” Acrylic on Canvas
INNER STRENGTH 48" x 72" Acrylic on Canvas
PORTRAIT OF MY LOVE 72” x 72” Acrylic on Canvas
MARVELOUS SUNSET 60” x 60” Acrylic on Canvas
LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
PAUSE OF CLARITY 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
Artwork Title Medium Size
MIDNIGHT BLUE (Abstract Version) 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
WAITING FOR ANOTHER SUNRISE 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
LIGHT OF WISDOM 24" x 36" Acrylic on Canvas
WHISPER FROM THE MOON 60” x 60” Acrylic on Canvas
A QUIET TIME WITH GOD 48” x 48” Acrylic on Canvas
SYMPHONY OF LIFE 36" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas
CLOUDS OF HOPE 60” x 60” Acrylic on Canvas
PROMISE OF A NEW DAWN 48” X 48” Acrylic on Canvas
AFTER THE STORM 36” X 48” Acrylic on Canvas
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