A SOLO EXHIBIT BY
The rhythm of music and the visuals of an artwork are two mediums that transcend language, as the two draw out emotions that deem words unnecessary. What takes ten words to eloquently express are heard in a stanza, and are felt in a single brush stroke.
Lilianna’s love for music is part of her working process. The unique rhythms and emotions of jazz, funk, hip hop, Kpop and K-hiphop are what inspire this body of work. Lilianna created her own language in her art, with each shape of the paper cut outs representing an expression of an emotion that comes together, capturing a moment in time. These moments whether they are beautiful, sad or mundane, are snapshots of our lives.
The medium of paper reflects the malleability of human emotions, which can bend in any which way in a given moment. The way in which the paper is carefully placed, the way the work is oriented each contribute to the overall rhythm expressed in the work.
Lilianna’s strategic use of color further enhances the emotions of each piece. They range from neons representing the giddiness of a first love, to the metallic tones imagining the eternal, black and yellows for those warm ramen nights, and primary colors that bring you back to the nostalgia of hanging out, playing video games, and the pure satisfaction when Dhalsim’s kick K.O.’s your buddy in the final round.
All together, Lilianna’s work expresses the feelings and the makings of a beautiful life, in some ways where your every day seems the same, but special when every moment is framed.
Reason is the natural organ of truth, imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but it’s condition.
— CS LewisMy work lies between the cross hairs of design and art, where snippets of life’s truths are expressed, illustrated and made a little more clear. The imagination is the vessel of creativity that I hope to jumpstart in every individual.
When I was a child, I was always intrigued by marble and the veins they had. I would find pictures in the grains for fun, much like one would when staring at clouds and finding shapes within them. Like these scenarios, as my objects sit in their designated places, with the story I give, my hope is you build upon its story glance upon glance, alone or shared with others.
My exploration of what pure imagination is and thought continues, finding sign posts in the pockets of life. Find it in the forms and concepts. Find it in between your interactions with the world my objects reside in.
2023
sculpted black iron, lacker, metal leaf approx: 10" x 8" (25 cm x 20 cm)
P 135,000
2023
sculpted black iron, lacker, metal leaf approx: 40" x 47" (102 cm x 119 cm)
P 275,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 70,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 70,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 70,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 75,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 75,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 70,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
31" x 25" (79 cm x 64 cm)
P 70,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
Da-dididi-da
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
Babababa Bababana
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
Fangirl
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 32,500
When Your Eyes See 2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 35,500
When Your Mouth Speaks 2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 35,500
When Your Ears Hear 2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 35,500
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf
individual sizes: 47.5" x 20.5" (121 cm x 52 cm)
P 165,000
2023
sculpted paper, acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, pencil, metal leaf individual sizes: 16.5" x 16.5" (42 cm x 42 cm)
P 100,000
2023
sculpted paper, pencil, acrylic paint
30.5" x 60" (77 cm x 152 cm)
P 135,000
Lilianna Manahan finished her Foundation Studies in Art and Design at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in 2004 and completed her BFA Industrial Design degree at the University of the Philippines. She later on worked with Kenneth Cobonpue as part of his research and design team. In 2012, Lilianna began her own design practice under her own name, Lilianna Manahan. In 2014 she was awarded as one of the six Rising Asian Talents at the first Maison et Objets Asia.
Her work has been described as alternately whimsical or industrial, depending on the objects she designs. The study of process to highlight a craft and craftsman runs central in her work. In the past, her work had a range of materials but now is focusing on metal, stone, and ceramic, sometimes doing the finishes herself. The size of her works and installations run from the minuscule to large-scale. Her pieces pay attention to details, whether in their functional or artistic elements.
Lilianna works and resides in Manila, Philippines.
