Filipino Artists Their Culture, Their Art

FILIPINO ARTISTS

THEIR CULTURE, THEIR ART

roy C. espinosa

ABOUT THE COVER

The book cover of "Filipino Artists: Their Culture, Their Art" showcases the painting "Flipino Fandango" by Frank Caña, which captures the essence of a traditional Filipino folk dance derived from the Spanish version "Fandango." The painting is dominated by the color red, which symbolizes passion, energy, and vibrancy, while touches of blue and yellow add depth and contrast.

The painting depicts dancers in traditional costumes, illuminated by the light of the "ilaw" or lamp. The intricate details of the costumes and the movement of the dancers create a dynamic composition that captures the essence of the traditional dance. The use of light in the painting also symbolizes the importance of illumination and enlightenment in Filipino art and culture.

The title of the painting, "Pandanggo sa Ilaw," adds to the cultural richness and diversity that is at the core of the book's theme. The use of the Tagalog language in the title highlights the importance of local culture and language in Filipino art.

Overall, the book cover is a striking representation of the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines and the vibrant art that has emerged from it. The use of color, movement, and traditional imagery captures the essence of the book's theme and is sure to catch the eye of anyone interested in Filipino art and culture.

Frank Caña • Flipino Fandango • Acrylic on Canvas • 48 x 48in • 2022

FILIPINO ARTISTS

THEIR CULTURE, THEIR ART

Philippine Copyright 2022 Roy C. Espinosa

ISBN no. 978-621-95380-6-0

Roy C. Espinosa Publisher

Ben-Oliver Matias Editor

Timberly S. Fuentes Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Ruth C. Espinosa Paolo Gerero Writers

Frank Caña Cover Design

John Renoir Layout

All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, distribute, or transmitted in any form or by any means. Including Photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods. without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright laws. For Permission request. write to the publisher.

Published by:

The Filipinas Institute for the Advancement of Arts and Culture (FILARTS), Inc.

Block 4 Lot 13-A Gemini Street Cruzville Subdivision, Brgy. Kaligayahan, Quezon City 1124 Philippines

Email: filartspublishing@gmail.com

Quantity sales, special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and other organizations. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

First Printing June 2023

YAHUWAH The Summer Light of Maharlika Mixed Media

35 x 35in

2021

YAHUWshua is the Life Mixed Media

35 x 35in

2021

Introduction

Welcome to "Filipino Artists: A Celebration of Culture and Creativity," a coffee table book that takes you on a visual journey through the rich and diverse art scene of the Philippines. This book is a tribute to the artists who have captured the essence of Filipino culture and traditions through their works, and to the country that has inspired their creativity.

Filipino art has a long and fascinating history, dating back to pre-colonial times when indigenous tribes created intricate carvings, weavings, and pottery. Over the centuries, Filipino art has evolved and transformed, influenced by the various cultures that have left their mark on the archipelago. Today, Filipino artists continue to push boundaries and challenge conventions, creating works that reflect their unique perspectives and experiences.

Through this book, you will discover the works of 50 talented Filipino artists who represent the diversity of the country's art scene. From painting and sculpture to photography and installation art, each artist brings their own distinct style and vision to their craft.

But this book is not just about the art itself. It is also a celebration of Filipino culture and identity, and the ways in which they are reflected in the art. You will learn about the traditions and practices that inspire the artists, and the challenges they face as they navigate a rapidly changing world.

"Filipino Artists" is a testament to the resilience, ingenuity, and creativity of the Filipino people. It is a tribute to the artists who have captured the beauty and complexity of the Philippines through their works, and an invitation for you to explore and appreciate the rich cultural heritage of this vibrant and diverse country.

Roy C. Espinosa Visual Artist, Publisher

Publisher Note

It is with great pleasure that we present the 8th coffee table book from our publishing house, titled "Filipino Artists: Their Culture, Their Art." This book is a celebration of the rich and diverse artistic traditions of the Philippines and the talented artists who continue to create and innovate within them.

In this book, we showcase the works of some of the most prominent and influential Filipino artists, spanning a wide range of mediums and styles. From the bold and colorful paintings of William Yu to the intricate and delicate sculptures of Jun Vicaldo each artist's unique vision and perspective is given a platform to shine.

But this book is more than just a collection of beautiful images. It is also a tribute to the vibrant and dynamic culture of the Philippines, which has been shaped by centuries of history, tradition, and creativity. Through stunning photographs and insightful essays, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the cultural context that informs each artist's work, and the ways in which they draw upon their heritage to create something new and original.

As a coffee table book, "Filipino Artists" is designed to be a visual feast, with large, full-color images that capture the intricacies and nuances of each piece. But it is also a book that invites reflection and contemplation, encouraging readers to engage with the art and the ideas behind it.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the many artists, writers, and scholars who contributed their time and expertise to this project. Their insights and perspectives have helped to make this book a truly comprehensive and illuminating exploration of Filipino art and culture.

Finally, we would like to thank our readers for their continued support of our publishing ventures. We hope that "Filipino Artists" will be a source of inspiration and enjoyment for years to come, and that it will deepen your appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the Filipino artistic tradition.

Visual Artist. Arts & Culture advocate. Publisher. Art Show Organizer. Founder of (FILARTS) The Filipinas Institute for the Advancement of Arts and Culture.

PREFACE

The Philippines stands as a beacon of creativity in the vibrant tapestry of global artistry, with its artists weaving threads of culture, heritage, and innovation into charming masterpieces. “The Filipino Artists: Their Culture, Their Art” is a celebration of the rich artistic legacy of the Filipino artists, showcasing their incredible talent, cultural influences, and the profound impact their art has had on the global community

With inspirations from natural formations to bustling streets of urban centers, the book is an invitation to embark on a visual voyage. Traverse through the Filipinos’ diverse traditions, beliefs, and passion for the arts as vividly interpreted by the select artists in this book. Indeed, the vast artistic landscape is a captivating journey of discovery and appreciation.

Spread in these pages is a mosaic of artistic styles, techniques, and mediums that embody the essence of Filipino Art. From the intricate craftsmanship of sculptures to the vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes of contemporary paintings, the breadth and depth of Filipino artistic expressions are boundless. Witness the fusion of indigenous influences with Spanish, American, and Asian inspirations, resulting to a unique blend of aesthetics that reflect the country’s complex history and cultural heritage.

But beyond the surface lies a deeper narrative - stories of resilience, identity, and social commentary. Filipino artists have always been keen observers of society and their art serves as mirror reflecting the triumphs, struggles, and aspirations of the Filipino people. Their works bear witness to the complexities of life, from the joy of celebrations to the agony of injustices that shape the nation’s collective unconscious.

Let us celebrate the Filipino spirit and the enchanting world of Filipino art.

Ben-Oliver M. Matias Editor

Republic of the Philippines

Office of the Vice President

MESSAGE

Assalamualaikum.

My sincerest gratitude to The Filipinas Institute for the Advancements of Arts and Culture Inc. for the inspiring work you have done in recognizing Filipino artists and showcasing their finest works in the coffee table book, "Filipino Artists, Their Culture, Their Art."

This publication is a testament to the organization's heartfelt passion for strengthening the engagement of contemporary Filipino artists whose creative pursuits are pushing the boundaries and challenges of this rapidly-evolving era. May this recognition inspire them to unveil their individual sensibilities as Filipinos, and deepen our collective appreciation for the diverse, vibrant cultural fabric of our society.

I am positive that this important publication will feed into our national agenda of raising consciousness for the arts and culture, encouraging more artists to find beauty, inspiration, and meaning in the enrichment of our nation.

Patuloy nating mahalin ang Pilipinas.

Shukran. Maraming salamat.

MESSAGE

I want to take this moment to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on the successful release and publication of your book Filipno Artists and their Culture.

The National Committee on Art Galleries appreciates your effort in continuing to preserve, develop and promote Philippine culture, art and values. Moreover, this undertaking is aligned with ensuring the contributions of art and culture to the priorities contained in Philippine Development Plan of 2023-2028.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication in bringing this book to life. I am sure this book will be an important source of information for all those who want to learn more about Filipino culture.

Again, congratulations!

Maria Teresa B. Rayos del Sol Head National Committee on Art Galleries

PAMBANSANG KOMISYON PARA SA KULTURA AT MGA SINING

MESSAGE

I have a friend Oying Madrilejos who showedme a beautiful painting “Si Malakas at Maganda”. It speaks a proverbial thousand words. He said it will be part of the book of Mr. Roy Espinosa. That is when my friendly relationship with Roy started.

It is inspiring to know that somebody is dedicated enough to showcase Filipino art. These books are necessary to demonstrate the panorama of aspects of Filipino life. Many would say that haven’t we have enough art books to exhibit Filipino art? The answer is a big no. There is always a new perspective to illustrate the mother and child, the farmer in the field, the fisherman, Flora and fauna, old churches and houses. Then there are contemporary subjects that will intrigue even the stalwarts of conventional art.

The book includes the masters and young promising artists. I find this very important because talent is not confined not only to the senior artists but also to the young. This helps in promoting the continuity of excellent Filipino art.

I am a doctor by profession. I am by no means an art connoisseur. This book is most welcome to me and other similar minded people. This makes art very accessible to the community.

The book gives us a glimpse to see Filipino art. But what is Filipino art? Roy Espinosa partially answers this question. And hopefully future works will give us a distinct picture of who we are as a people as shown by our creative Filipino artists.

Bravo, Mr. Roy Espinosa!

Froilan de Leon Nephrologist / Collector

MESSAGE

Our first family piece of art was handed down to me by my father, which he bought way back in 1975. The painting depicted “daklis” in Ilocos Norte. “Daklis” is a traditional fishing method used by the people of Ilocos and Cagayan, Philippines. It has become a community activity that involves villagers, young and old. The whole v illage works together to bring in the day’s catch. A very large “daklis,” or dragnet, is carried out several hundred meters into the

water. Half of the participants hold one end of the net while the other half receives the other after it is taken to sea, forming a U-shape. They then pull the net toward shore, closing the gap between the two groups. The “daklis” and all its contents are brought to the coast for the villagers to share.

My art collection personally came because of the spirit behind “Daklis,” pulling together resources to share, especially during the pandemic. It responded to a cry for help from those affected by lockdowns, particularly Filipino artists and their families. What impressed me a lot more were efforts on the part of artists’ groups meant to raise funds for their fellow artists and most vulnerable sectors. Filarts, under the leadership of Roy Espinosa, spearheaded several initiatives to assist artists and their families during those challenging times. Mr. Espinosa, an unassuming, talented, and spirited gentleman, ultimately became my bridge to a vast world of arts.

Since there were no plans to travel abroad during the pandemic, my family considered setting aside travel money to help artists. Each piece of art had exciting stories to tell. I had the privilege of making friends with countless artists I immensely admired for their talents, creativity, ingenuity, and deep insights. My corporate and academic worlds opened to a wider arena and a much broader perspective of life. Unknowingly, the art pieces I collected increased tremendously and started to pile up. I decided to hang these pieces at home and in our corporate offices. Sharing these pieces with my co-workers helped them cope with their mental stress. The Art pieces brought wellness among those who gazed at them and beyond what is seen only by the eye. I then realized that in buying a work of art, I don’t only help artists and their families but also help myself and those around me heal in the process.

About the Publisher

FOREWORD FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES VP Sarah Duterte

MESSAGE FROM Tess Rayos Del Sol Head – National Committee on Art Galleries SCH - NCCA

MESSAGE FROM COLLECTOR Dr. Froilan Deleon

MESSAGE FROM COLLECTOR Mr. Raul Luis Manaligod

Symphonies of Devotion

Musicians of Colors

Let there be light

Church Portraits And Then Some

Olympic Gold

Master Storyteller

A Legacy of Joy

Vibrant Kaleidoscopic Visions

Painting Providence

Painter

Melissa Yeung Yap

Ambrocio Mallari

Gerry De Guzman

Aris Carandang

Matt Relox

Aris Ventures

Dante Palmes

Jerry Contridas

Ingrid Aimee Peñaflor

Jovito Andres

Alex Sibug

Frank Hari

Erwin Pineda

Esther Garcia

Rex Celiz

Josephine Adame

Amador Barquilla

Ritche Yee

Erzil Morales

Ronnie Rudinas

Alfonso Vargas

Nani Reyes

Julius Clar

Roy Ama

Leslie Castañeda

Mylene Quito

Gene Artango Villasper

Lloyd Lusica

Jose Armin Virata

Billy Yu

Roland Rosacay

Roy C. Espinosa

She’s Got HeART

Echoes of Reverence

Artist Away From Home

Preserving the Past for Future Filipinos

Art Journey Of The Mangyan Artist

Iridescence

The multidisciplinary artist

The Artist as a Technological Man

Coalescence

Joy and Light

Illusions in Pastel

Rainbow Colored World

Bionic Hybrids

Of Lighthouses And Dark Places

Best Of Both Worlds

The Dynamic Lady Painter

Celebrating Celebrations

Rebel Soul

Exemplifying the Beauty of Hope

Renewal and Revelation

Spawning Mother Nature

Pieces of my soul

Synergy

Trajectories and Musings

Golden Blooms

Of Fabric Prints

William Yu Symphonies Of Devotion

Born in Davao Oriental in 1954, William Sayman Yu is a calligraphy and visual artist. His father was the one who taught him calligraphy and his artistic talent was further honed when William Yu took painting in the International Correspondence course in London. He then worked as an apprentice of the National Artist Cesar Legaspi. The works of western modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso inspired him to create his own: cubist expressionist. Further, Yu authored the book Halelismo and the Neo-baybayin calligraphy of the Philippines which aims to discuss and nurture painting as a form of worship to the Heavenly Father ABINU YAHUWAH RUWACH ELOHIYM, and to give importance to the Neo-baybayin as a way to further express literary words in the Philippine script. One of its copies is now housed in the University of the Philippines library. Moreover, he imparts these ideas into his art practice. Hence, his paintings have Neo-baybayin texts done in calligraphy, that highlights the attributes of God. Yu's recent oeuvre is symphony of his passion for promoting calligraphy, painting, the Philippines as a nation encompassing its rich biodiversity, and the divinity of God.

A horse often symbolizes power, courage, and freedom. In 1, Yu depicts a herd of horses facing in different directions to display their prowess and vigor, and to represent a person's spiritual aspect: free and bold, a manifestation of William Yu's devotion to God.

The Worshipper of Abinu YAHUWAH RUWACH Elohiym Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 35in 2022

Daily scenes are also evident in the works of Yu such as 2 which depicts a woman cooking food, giving light to the culinary world where cultures converge through recipes and conversations over the table. As it brings pride to the influence of local cuisine of the ethnolinguistic tribes, it also acknowledges the trades of ingredients like spices, and the immigration of different nationalities like the Chinese that took place in the country, shaping the rich flavorful Philippine cuisine.

Roosters crow to suggest that dawn is coming, to warn an intruder that is coming their way, and to assert their dominance in the flock. In 3, Yu captures multiple roosters crowing to not only appreciate the beauty of their nature but also to serve as a good example of being vigilant and alert. This piece raises attention to cockfighting in the Philippines. Although it is considered a legal sport it also undeniably presents cases of animal abuse that need to be re-address. Here, Yu deviates from celebrating cockfighting as a way to honor animals like chickens as part of God's masterpieces. Similarly, his 4, exhibits the Philippine eagle. It immortalizes the national bird of the Philippines and raises awareness of its existence.

Some of Yu's paintings suggest prosperity and abundance as it features a Woman with a fish and Man and a Woman with a fish. As the saying goes,

what you reap is what you sow. It correlates to the harvest of resources like fish gathered by these fishermen or the palay collected by the farmers. It also prides itself on the positive characteristics of many Filipinos: hardworking and diligence.

—Timberly S. Fuentes

Abinu YAHUWAH Elohiym is the Light of The Countryside of Maharlika Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 76in 2022

Glory be to Abinu YAUW HAQODESH Elohiym Acrylic on Canvas 32 x 35in 2022

King YAHUWAH Elohiym The Alep and Taw of Maharlika Rev 1:8

YAHUWAH Dabar (The Word) Acrylic on Canvas 33 1/2 x 48in

Abinu YAHUWshua Elohiym is Grace

Acrylic on Canvas 27 x 27in 2022

AbbAH YAHUWAH RUWACH Elohiym The Provider

Acrylic on Canvas 35 x 35in 20222

Musician Of Colors

Roger San Miguel

Art and music are two different creative disciplines that seldom cross paths due to the difference of senses used to perceive them. Yet, the Filipino contemporary master artist Roger San Miguel is regarded as the “Musician of Colors” — a title not lightly bestowed, but earned for his unquestionable mastery of the brush, possessing a rare skill that infuses his works with a melody that sings directly to the viewer’s soul.

Born more than eighty years ago in idyllic Buhi, Camarines Sur, the town at the edge of the eponymous lake, Roger was the eighth of ten children. He has shown astonishing creativity early on, paired with a hunger to be recognized for his talent. He recounts that once during his childhood, he entered a painting competition and won all the prizes, to the shock of his teachers and the admiration of his peers. It was at that point that he felt destiny calling.

Summer Kissed • Oil on Canvas • 30 x 40in • 2020

And call destiny did. From the wonder child of sleepy Buhi, he became a very respected painter, held in the highest esteem by fellow artists, whose skill in portraiture was considered to be among the finest. Such is the preeminence of his skill that he had the privilege of being commissioned to create portraits of three National Artists — Napoleon Abueva, J. Elizalde Navarro, and Benjamin Cabrera.

To further cement his place in Philippine art history, San Miguel was tasked to recreate “Sayaw”, Fernando Amorsolo’s stolen monumental masterpiece which used to hang in the Metropolitan Theater, a task reserved only for the most outstanding artist of the time. He went on to create a mirror-image version of the mural that graces the Met to this day, a masterpiece in its own right.

Word of his greatness reached foreign lands, and international recognition was to be his lot. Enamored by the power of his paintings, collectors and art dealers from around the world flocked to his atelier in A. Mabini. The artist went with his family to the United States during the height of the political instability of the 70s, exhibiting his work to great acclaim in the high-end galleries of Beverly Hills. Roger became one of the first Filipino artists to be exhibited abroad, with his works being shown in the United States and Europe, acquired by illustrious patrons and institutions. He fondly remembers as a proud moment seeing his sold works gracing the window of the Aaron Brothers Gallery, who once brought him massive rolls of canvas to paint on.

The music of this master’s paintings seem to lie in his unique fusion of cubism, impressionism, and neo-expressionism, painting figures composed of curvilinear forms in earth tones that seem to throb with their own movement and life. This is extremely evident in his trio of paintings from 2020.

In his "Aranque Vendors”, shades of blue coalesce into a stunning composition of five women sharing fruits and flowers, their figures mesmerizingly fragmented into facets that melt and merge into each other, evoking a calm and languid energy, as if watching the dawn break through

stained glass.This masterful fragmentation of form is taken to a higher degree in the frenzied “Aranque Vendors”, where the artist captures the chaos of the marketplace through the sharp shards of color that make up the figures emerging from and disappearing into the shadows, relieved by patches of brightness that keeps one’s eyes dancing over the composition.

His command of light is emphasized in “Trio Medley” where he conveys joy through the golden light enveloping the subjects, and glinting off of their musical instruments. Here, San Miguel shows us why he is called the Musician of Color – it is as if we can hear the melody of his musical trio, their joyful serenade jumping out of the canvas and into the viewer’s very soul

— Paolo Gerero

Trio Medley • Oil on Canvas • 24 x 36in • 2020

Top: Aranque Vendors Oil on Canvas 24 x 24in 2020

Bottom: Sunflowers From The South Oil on Ccanvas 36 x 48in 2021

Opposite Page: Sharing with the Same Purpose Oil on Canvas 24 x 36in 2020

Let There Be Light

Pancho Piano

Few and far in between are the artists whose lives exemplify the spirit of their works. Such a man is Bicolano artist Pancho Piano, one of the Philippines' most successful artists. Born in the historic, stormhardened town of Lagonoy, Camarines Sur, raised in the deeply spiritual Bikolnon culture cradled by mountains, forests, rivers, and the sea, it is no surprise that these primeval forces of nature and spirit would find their way into his oeuvre, evoking a sense of awe and brightly-illumined grandness tempered by an ethereal gentleness — an enigmatic contrast that characterizes his body of work, which also manifests in his demeanor and persona. This love for his kinamundagan, the land of his birth, burns so intensely that it finds expression not only in his art, but also fires up his advocacy; his light shines as a distinguished son of Bicolandia for his immeasurable contribution to the advancement and preservation of culture and arts of the region.

Piano earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Nueva Caceres in 1978, and eventually followed the call of his heart in 1984, when he studied Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines through the prestigious Jose Joya Scholarship Program after being discovered by the master abstractionist himself, earning his degree in 1987. From that point forward, there was no stopping him. His entire being was

Si Magayon Asin at si Haliya 60 x 96in

Acrylic on Canvas 2017

laser-focused into the cultivation of his art practice which, to date, has yielded a brilliant body of work that outgrew his humble beginnings and embraced the kinaban, the world, with more than fifty solo art exhibitions through the years here in the Philippines, as well as in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Georgia, Australia, Malaysia, Saipan, Japan, Brunei, and the United States of America.

In testament to the power of his vision, the quality of his work, and the importance of his advocacy, Piano received many recognitions, awards, and residencies from various institutions over the years. He is counted among the winners of major national art competitions, such as the Art Association of the Philippines Centennial Painting Competition (1998), and the AFP Mural Painting Competition (1998 and 1999). He was given the Most Outstanding Bikolano Artist Award,(2009), My SM My City Award for visual Art (2010), Orgullo kan Bikol Award for Visual Art (2011), was the resident artist of Tagaytay Highland Resort in 2013, and is a recipient of thirteen different awards naming him Artist of the Year from various Bicolano institutions. He is also the Founding Chairman of the renowned Bikolnon art group, Salingoy, and the founder and President of the Bikol Expressions Art Group. He is a member of the Future Legends in New York, a member of the board of the Tagapagtaguyod ng Sining at Kultura ng Pilipinas, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Knights of Rizal Juan Luna Chapter Pasig City.

Piano’s masterful works grace many important collections, both public and private, here and abroad. Among the most notable are his iconic stained glass artworks for the Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga, Albay Cathedral, and the Apolinario Mabini Shrine in Batangas, and immense murals for the Pinaglabanan Museum in San Juan City, the Philippine Embassy in Brunei, and the Lingayen Church, all of which exhibit his mastery in utilizing light, be it through actual rays penetrating colorful glass panels, or depicted by masterful strokes on canvas, suffusing the narratives of faith and history dear to his heart.

This mastery is further revealed in a trifecta of works from 2017. In “Bikol Kingdom”, Piano personifies Bicolandia as a majestic maiden who commands the flora and fauna of the land. Bold colors permeate the canvas, alluding to the primal forces of nature that rule supreme in the region, with strong but fluid brushwork illuminating their beautiful and terrible balance.

The maiden is transformed into a mother in “Fluvial”, where the artist juxtaposes the mother as emblem of the region with the Mother of the Region

the revered image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, whose feast is characterized by a grand fluvial procession in the Naga River that is considered as the crowning glory of Bicolano piety. With colors that evoke the glow of dawn, the tableau of classic subjects is given a refreshing breath of modernity by Piano’s signature abstraction.

Piano then transfigures the mother into a goddess in the final canvas, “Si Magayon asin si Haliya”. She is apotheosized as the legendary Magayon, the personification of the gorgeous and dangerous Mayon Volcano, rejoicing in the presence of the moon goddess Haliya, in a background of ethereal and jubilant explosions of color and virtuoso brushwork, an embodiment of the light of heavenly kamurawayan which the artist captures with glorious intensity.

In depicting his magnificent and complex visions, Pancho Piano bends light to his will, literally and figuratively, and himself becomes a point of illumination for his beloved region and the rest of the nation, shining bright as a unique and enchanting point of light, the only one of his kind in the world.

— Paolo Gerero

Mother and Child Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 36in 2019

Church Portraits And Then Some

Al Perez

I first became aware of Al Perez in the early 1970s, when his paintings of churches were featured in a magazine, if my memory serves me right. That feature was probably a review of his first solo art exhibit at Galerie Bleue. It was a most auspicious beginning for the 25-year old Perez, because not only was his exhibit graced by the heavyweights of the Philippine art scene, all the paintings on show were also snapped up by art collectors, including the then first lady Imelda Marcos. Dubbed as the portrait artist of Philippine churches, Perez never tires of painting churches, although the formal qualities of the churches he paints today are a far cry from those that he painted in the past. Perez's early church paintings were academic, mere retinal transcriptions (as the art critic Leonidas Benesa would put it) of the subject matter before him. Even so, it proved to be what the art collectors wanted. Thus, Perez saw the need to travel all over the country in search of interesting churches to paint. What Perez sought to paint were not churches of recent vintage with their smooth concrete walls and pastel painted facades. He prefers Spanish-era churches with their gray crumbling mossy stone walls.

Perez's art evolved though. Perez abandoned his academicism and his palette of

Hagonoy Bulacan Landscape Watercolor 25 x 19 in

somber earth colors, and presently employs the whole gamut of rainbow colors in his quasi-abstract expressionist, quasi-cubist works. Perez still paints churches, but no longer in a realistic manner. Best example is his painting of Minalin Church where the small image of the church is set against a great expanse of sky painted in the cubist manner in pastelly shades of pink, green, and gold.

Perez's seeming obsession with churches sprouted from his childhood days. He narrates that it was his grandmother who played a big role in his choice of themes. Perez describes his grandmother as being intensely devout who would always bring him to the Sta. Elena church in Hagonoy whenever she went there to hear mass or attend other church activities. It is no wonder, therefore, that one of Perez's earliest artwork was a drawing of that church.

The devoutness of his grandmother must have rubbed off on him for Perez likes to paint to this day, aside from churches, images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary amidst swirling splashes of color. But Perez's output isn't all about the sacred. He also painted still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. To silence his teasing colleagues who claimed that he was only capable of painting wholesome stuff, he invited Ara Mina, Rosanna Roces, and ten other showbiz celebrities to pose nude for him and showed the finished artworks in another sold-out exhibition.

Perez' art journey looks smooth to me, because even though his parents Raymundo and Leonila initially opposed his wish to take up Fine Arts, they eventually relented and allowed him to enroll at the University of Santo Tomas, where he received his BFA degree major in Advertising. He even managed to further his studies in two art schools in New York. Perez's first job after graduating was in an advertising company. He later went on to work at the Ayala Museum where he was part of the group of painters and woodcarvers from Paete, Laguna who created its historical dioramas.

Perez had exhibited solo 30 times here in the Philippines and one time abroad. A newspaper column, "Philippine Sights and Wonders", which highlighted the country's churches and cultural treasures, appeared during the nineteen-eighties in the Manila Bulletin. This column spread Perez's renown, and earned him invitations to exhibit in places like Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Germany, Belgium, France, and the USA. With his many sojourns abroad and his series of sold out solo shows, Perez easily disproved the myth that an art career is a one way road to poverty.

—Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Jesus Christ The Savior Acrylic on canvas 19 x 26in

Morong Church Rizal Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 24in

My Patron Saint Sta Elena • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 24in • 2022

Opposite

Joe Datuin Olympic Gold

power of his art and the brilliance of creativity. This excellence is further emphasized by his nomination to the Order of National Artists of the Philippines in 2018.

Among the countless artworks by Datuin, his monument “Ang Bagong Pinoy” and its four complementary mosaic murals collectively titled “Ang Pagbabago”, and his gigantic “World-Class Filipino Bloom” flower clock hold foremost importance. Initiated by the National Parks Development Committee, Department of Tourism and powered by Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc., and Bisazza Philippines, Inc., the masterpieces are located in a prominent place at Rizal Park. Former President Benigno C. Aquino III described them as symbolizing the spirit of idealism and renewal and deserving of praise for their endeavor to reflect the soul of the nation.

“Ang Bagong Pinoy” is an enlarged replica of Datuin’s Olympic-winning sculpture, “Dancing Rings”. Measuring 10 feet tall, the sculpture is made of glistening stainless steel, and placed on top of a sleek black granite pedestal that also functions as a water fountain. The sculpture symbolizes the renewed and reformed Filipino society, which triumphs over adversities and struggles to reach its full positive potential.

The triumphant moments for the Philippines in Olympic history are few and far in between. Yet, Joe Datuin has done it not only once, but twice – winning the Grand Prize I.O.C. Olympic Sport and Art Contest Sculpture Category in 2008, and the 1980 Moscow Olympic Poster Design Competition, bringing immense honor to the nation and cementing his place in Philippine art history. These twin Olympic victories are merely the tip of the colossal iceberg that is his art career, which spans more than four decades of award-winning excellence.

Born in 1956 in Dagupan City, Philippines, Joe Datuin then moved to Tondo, Manila. From these two points of origin, Datuin began an artistic journey that would one day lead to glorious acclaim and well-deserved fame. After graduating from Rajah Soliman High School with recognition as Outstanding Artist of the Year, he earned his degree in Fine Arts from the University of Santo Tomas in 1977. From there, he went on to stage 20 solo exhibitions and an astounding plethora of group shows here and abroad, and won more than 40 awards and recognitions which are testaments to the

“Ang Pagbabago” is a suite of four mosaic murals spanning 32 feet wide each, composed of premium tesserae on concrete ground. The themes explored by the artist support the aspiration of “Ang Bagong Pinoy”: peace, love, unity, and prosperity. Peace is imagined by the artist as a flock of soaring doves; love is symbolized by the flickering warmth of flames; unity is represented by the interweaving lines of fiber-like forms; and prosperity is depicted as a sunrise over a metropolitan skyline. Together, they create a stunning visual and thematic buttress to the valiant message of the sculpture, but as stand-alone artworks, they also merit sincere admiration.

The flower clock “World-Class Filipino Bloom” is a fusion of the artist’s brilliant ideas and handiwork, and the beauty of nature. Conceptualized as a tribute to the excellence of the Filipino which blooms every hour, every minute, and every second all over the world, contributing to positive change wherever they may be, the art piece is composed of stainless steel hands and hour markers with a fulcrum that houses a fully-functioning clock mechanism on a gigantic 10-meter “clock face” made of masses of plants in striking hues of red, yellow, blue, and green.

Through these masterpieces and the rest of his immense and intense oeuvre, Joe Datuin shows that he is truly one of a kind, an artist whose creative powers seem to have no bounds, masterfully transforming whatever he has on hand into distinctive masterpieces that capture the force of his vision.

—Paolo Gerero

Dancing Rings • Stainless Steel • 10 x 6 x 6ft / 2011 • A monumental replica • Rizal Park Collection

World-Class Filipinos Bloom (Flower Clock) • Stainless Steel and Foliege • 10 meters diameter • 2011 • Rizal Park Collection

Jun Impas Master Storyteller

Jun Impas believes in the beauty of the ordinary. However, his oeuvre is far from ordinary — the quality of his work and the power of his narratives elevate his mundane subjects to the realm of the epic.

Like his body of work, his journey also reads like an epic tale of humble beginnings and glorious denouement. Born in Danao City, Cebu, one of the ten children of a fisherman and a housewife, Jun’s beginnings were difficult. Them moved to Surigao City when he was young, and there grew up and began taking on life’s challenges. Making ends meet with part-time jobs, he eventually became a billboard and poster painter for a local cinema where he began to be acquainted with his capacity for capturing the human form. That awakening led him to pursue painting seriously, and moved to Cebu to professionalize his career. He joined local art groups, learned techniques from peers, and supplemented his growing arsenal of skills with lessons from art books. His constant honing of his craft led to his recognition as a painter par excellence, with a consistent presence in local exhibitions. Eventually, he gained a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts Major in Painting from the Universidad de Santo Tomas in Manila.

Balaanong Komedya • Oil on Canvas • 60 x 96in • 2021

A testament to Impas’ undeniable prowess are the awards he received over the years from various local and international competitions. These include the Martino Abellana Annual Art Competition (2003), Philippine College of Surgeons Painting Competition (2003), Petron National Art Competition (2004), China Asean Youth Artwork Competition (2008), GSIS National Art Competition (2009), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas National Art Competition (2011), Fernando Amorsolo Painting Competition (2011), Portrait Society of America International Competition (2013 and 2014), Portrait Society of the Philippines International Competition (2019), and the Art Renewal Center International Competition (2020).

In addition to these awards, the artist’s works have been shown extensively and collected nationally and internationally. With 13 solo exhibitions and many other group exhibitions, Impas’ works have reached the United States, Italy, and the Vatican.

It’s no wonder that the artist reached such heights of recognition; the quality of his work speaks for itself. Rendering human figures, significant cultural events, and scenes from everyday life, Jun has a way of transforming the ordinary into something grand through his mastery of realism that captures the essence of ephemeral moments in the eternity of the canvas. This formidable virtuosity is extremely evident in his suite of paintings from 2021-2022.

In “Balaanong Komedya”, Impas presents his own masterful take on Dante’s Divine Comedy with a surging, writhing crowd of bodies struggling in the dual spaces of salvation and damnation, seeking to escape the former and achieve the latter. The dramatic tableau is composed of figures of the everyday Filipino, which makes the pain and ecstasy of their masterfully rendered chiaroscuro bodies truly palpable for the common Juan.

In “Central Park” and “Daybreak”, Impas reflects on the life of the affluent vis-a-vis the honest laborer – two different settings, flooded by the same tropical sunlight, one showing the manicured idyll of the wealthy, and the other, the beginning of the day for the simple working man in the pristine countryside, complete with trusty carabao. In both scenes, the artist excels in showing that beauty exists regardless of status – it simply is, and like death, is one of life’s greatest equalizers.

In “Sketch” and “Sketch 2,” the Impas invites us into his personal space and shows, through a painting of a painting within a painting, the intimacy of his artistic process. In mesmerizing detail, Jun makes us participants in his process of creation, as we stand in for the artist while beholding these works — our gaze is his gaze, and the nakedness of the sensitively-rendered models is a metaphor for the artist baring his most sacred space where his stories become incarnate, in this canvas ours to behold.

— Paolo Gerero

Central Park Oil on Canvas

Sketch 2

Oil on Canvas 36 x 48in 2022

Opposite page Top

Day Break Oil on Canvas 36 x 48in 2022

Opposite page Bottom

Sketch 1

Oil on Canvas 36 x 48in 2022

A Legacy Of Joy

Aris Bagtas

Among the most prolific and soughtafter contemporary artists in the Philippines is Ernesto “Aris” Bagtas, Jr. He is the pioneer of the art movement dubbed “Filipinism”, which seeks to celebrate the beauty and diversity in visual art. The movement is characterized by depictions of Filipino identity expressed in traditions, cultural activities, and piety commonly associated with the countryside folk.

Born and raised in Obando, Bulacan, it is no wonder that Aris would gravitate toward depicting rural and cultural themes in his work — his hometown is idyllic as it is historic, a haven where old-world Philippine lifestyle lives on, studded with colonial beautifully-preserved colonial architecture and enlivened by colorful fiestas. The joy of these celebrations is echoed in his vibrant palette and the palpable joy in his neo-realist canvases. Even in works where he explores more sober themes, there is an undercurrent of vivacity that bubbles under the surface, like a seed about to burst forth from Obando’s fertile soil.

The brilliance of Bagtas manifests not only in his works but in his life and engagements as well. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of the East and became a faculty member of its College of Fine Arts for several years, in the process carving out a niche for himself. Later on, he became a key person in the National Commission for

Culture and the Arts (NCCA), serving as a member of the Executive Committee on Visual Arts. He also became the Vice President of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) and the Kunst Filipino International Art Group. His excellence earned him recognition and awards from the most prestigious competitions in the nation — the Philippine Art Awards (PAA), Metrobank Art and Design (MADE), the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Art Competition, and the AAP Art Competition.

His works are inspired by the barrios, but his presence is international. Aris has held solo exhibitions here in the Philippines, as well as in France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Kingdom of Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, South Korea, China, Canada, and the Netherlands. His works are featured in prestigious collections, including significant commissions in St. Camillus Church in Essen, Germany, and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Malolos, Bulacan.

This wealth of skill and experience is reflected in the trio of his works from various periods in his career. The earliest and most impactful is from 2012, titled “Huling Hapunan” — an acrylic on wood tondo measuring 48 inches in diameter. Filled with expressive and highly-emotional characters, Bagtas reinterprets the classic theme of the Last Supper in his signature style that transforms the sorrowful event into a vivacious dinner among friends, where one could

almost hear the apostles chatting. The only hint of melancholia is in the eyes of Christ, who seem to watch with somber sweetness the animated gathering of his closest followers on the night before his death.

In “Pag-Ibig na Walang Maliw”, a 24 x 18 inch depiction of the Madonna and Child from 2018, Aris reimagines the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus as a Filipino mag-ina, ensconced among the capiz windows and carved pasamano of a bahay na bato. The Virgin, cloaked in an azure-and-white veil with bold floral patterns, carries her son clad in a pink camisa and malong, referencing all three major island groups of the Philippines in one frame.

The largest and most intricate is also his most recent work from 2022, “Debosyon at Pag-aalay”. At 55 x 120 inches, the artwork is an allegory that celebrates the historic church of Binondo and its people. Filled with bright colors and graceful wave-like motifs, the painting depicts the church building, its Porta Sancta, its notable clergy and pre-eminent lay personalities, and the raison d’etre for their devotion — Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, who was a parishioner of this church centuries ago, and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

Despite all of his success, Aris remains humble and seeks to give back to his community by regularly holding art-driven initiatives for charity and art workshops for less fortunate but artistically talented youth.

—Paolo Gerero

Debosyon at pag aalay Acrylic on Canvas

x 120in

Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz binondo church collection

Pag-Ibig na Walang Maliw Acrylic on CAnvas

Bishop Bart Santos collection

Vibrant Kaleidoscopic Visions

Franklin Caña

To behold Franklin “Caña” Valencia’s artworks is to be transported into a world of fragmented forms, with his canvases as portals to a universe of hitherto-unknown worlds, intersecting in luminous hues, coalescing into images and challenging perceived reality. This universe is “Cañaism”, whose namesake creator and master used his iconic middle name as a signature upon the suggestion of his friend and mentor, National Artist Malang.

Very early in life, he began to display the acute mind of an artist. As he played with colorful jolens - the quintessential Filipino glass marbles - in the streets of Kamuning, Quezon City, his attention would shift from the game to the irresistible call of creativity; holding up his marbles to the light, he would see the world through a different lens. Seemingly trapped within the jolen are magical versions of his mundane milieu, deconstructed and reconfigured by refractive glass into fragments of color and light. That experience

Old Binondo Church • Acrylic on Canvas • 30 x 40in • 2022

left an indelible mark on the artist’s consciousness, and like a beloved tale being told and retold, would find expression in his oeuvre repeatedly and inform his signature style, filling his canvases with luminous prismatic patterns of segmented circles, reminiscent of “C” and “D” forms.

The jolens of Kamuning are the seeds of Cañaism, and he would always return to these roots even as he earned a degree in Fine Arts in Advertising from the Universidad de Santo Tomas, and became a veteran advertiser later on. He would go back to the kaleidoscopic forms discovered in his childhood and make them a cornerstone of his visual language, which he organized into a quadripartite categorization: Woman-Nature, Mother and Child, Kaleidoscopic Urbanscape, and Kaleidoscopic Abstract. His mastery would lead him to be positively noticed by a diverse audience, with exhibits in the Philippines, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Arizona, Hongkong, and Singapore.

In “Blue Urbanscape”, Caña shows off his signature process of abstraction through fragmentation in its full, unadulterated strength. He distills the essence of an urban landscape, reminiscent of the crowded Kamuning, into an image composed of powerful strokes and bold textures. This chaos of form and texture is tempered by his sensitive choice of colors; blue dominates the canvas, evoking a sense of silent anticipation, a slumbering city about to be awakened by a sunrise already shining upon distant forests.

As if the artist zoomed in on one of the structures at the periphery of the city and forest, “Bright Night” shows us a tender moment in a mother’s vigil over her sleeping child. Here the abstraction gives way to a delicate stylization of the subject — the familiar, beloved form of the mother and child are rendered in a style bordering the geometric and natural, and as the eye goes further into the horizon, the natural asserts itself even more forcefully, as seen through the forms of the abaca trees and shrubs that tend more towards realism than abstraction, merging the geometric and organic in a pleasing composition.

The third painting seems to be a continuation of the narrative, situated beyond the abaca trees of the maternal vigil, and this time in the golden light of morning. “Golden Abaca” is a celebration of bounty and industry, where the feminine is honored alongside nature’s gift of plenty, represented by the women gathering the fibers of the abaca plant bathed in radiant sunlight. In this work, the signature abstraction of the master shines forth once more, and the magic of the marbles becomes evident in the luminous fragments of light overlaying the scene, and the graceful geometry of the forms within, giving us a glimpse of the brilliance of Caña’s kaleidoscopic world.

— Paolo Gerero

Golden Abaca • Acrylic on Canvas • 28 x 50in • 2022

Celso Pepito Painting Providence

Celso Duazo Pepito is a contemporary Filipino artist from Cebu celebrated for his masterful cubistic style that features the beauty of the ordinary — ordinary folks in their ordinary clothes, living their ordinary lives, elevated into extraordinariness by the artist’s thoughtful infusion of symbols of hope for a better tomorrow, love of fellowmen, and steadfast faith in Divine Providence.

And Divine Providence is genuinely at work in the artist’s life. Unlike most of his peers in the art scene, the young Celso did not show any inclination for the arts at all. He describes his younger self as having “zero talent for drawing and painting”. His first and only memorable creative moment — one that garnered him an award as Artist of the Year during his high school graduation — was to make the lettering for the stage decoration of their graduation ceremonies.

Perhaps it was the epiphany that opened his eyes to the possibility of pursuing a life in the art

world, or perhaps it was the challenge of living up to the award, but one thing is for sure: Divine Providence was at work in those circumstances, as it led Pepito to begin exploring his artistic self. Know ing that he is severely lacking in the foundations of art, yet desperately wanting to follow its siren song, the young artist was never to be found without a sketchbook and pencil in hand. He painted life as it happened around him and to him. He sketched even when traveling by ship and plane, continuously honing his craft until he got to the point of mastery where he would win contests and become notable in his skillful renderings of the things he observed around him.

This journey led him to earn a Certificate of Fine Arts in 1981, after which he fully embraced his vocation as an artist and began painting professionally. He went on to become a distinguished artist in his home province, and began exhibiting on the national and international stages as well, going as far as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States.

Because of these distinctions, he was elected the first-ever president of the Cebu Artists Incorporated and became active in helping promote his fellow Cebuano artists on the national scene by organizing exhibits and magazine exposures.

But Divine Providence wasn’t done with the surprises for Pepito yet. Painting for thirteen years in the impressionist style heavily influenced by the works of Martino Abellana, a major twist came for the artist when his friend Wenceslao “Tito” Cuevas joked that his style was obsolete. This led him to undertake a very challenging journey of finding his own artistic style, one that would make him stand out from the crowd. After much hardships, he finally settled on a cubistic style and repertoire of subjects that reflect his identity as Cebuano, as Filipino, and as his own man.

After some time, another epiphany came to Pepito, this time a spiritual call. In his quest to infuse deeper meaning into his art, Divine Providence was at work again when the artist came across an invitation to a three-day retreat in the spirit of Saint Josemaria Escriva. He came out with a fresh outlook, and from then on espoused the saint’s ideology of “doing ordinary things extraordinarily”. In his case, he uses his artistry to spread the message of hope, charity, and faith to effect positive change for the nation and the world.

This ideology of doing ordinary things extraordinarily is reflected in the artist’s trifecta of paintings from 2022. The masang Pilipino is depicted in the artist’s signature style dominated by cool tones, evoking calmness and peace. But despite the ordinariness of the subjects, his message is clear: the mundane — such as young boys observing men catch fish by the shore in “Duc in Altum”, a quiet embrace between a fishmonger mother and her son in “After the Toil”, and a family of fisherfolk laden with their marine bounty in “In Commune with Nature” — when infused with love and beauty, mastery and mystery, becomes elevated into reflections of the Divine Providence that moves us all.

— Paolo Gerero

After the Toil • Acrylic on Canvas • 16 x 20in

• 2022

• Mr and Mrs Edgar Capulong collection

Passion VS Love

Acrylic on Camagong Wood

36 x 20in

2022

Billy Sundy Hudson collection

Duc in Altum

Acrylic on Canvas

24 x 24in

2022

Mr & Mrs Porferio Jun Yusingbo collection

PAINTER OF NATURE'S BOUNTY

Philipp Badon

One of the most striking aspects of Badon's art is his use of color. He has a keen eye for color combinations and often uses contrasting hues to create a sense of tension and energy in his works. His color choices are bold and daring, yet always seem to be perfectly balanced and harmonious.

Badon's art is also deeply influenced by his Filipino heritage. He often incorporates elements of Philippine culture and history into his work, creating pieces that are both deeply personal and universal in their appeal. His art is a testament to his love of his country and his desire to explore its rich cultural heritage.

Despite his many talents and accomplishments, Badon remains humble and dedicated to his craft. He continues to create new works and push the boundaries of his artistic expression, always seeking to learn and grow as an artist. His passion for his work shines through in every piece he creates, and his dedication to his craft has made him one of the most respected and admired artists in the Philippines.

Philipp Badon is a Filipino artist born in Quezon City in 1957. He studied Fine Arts at the University of the East in Manila, where he honed his artistic skills and developed his own unique style. Badon's art is multi-faceted and diverse, reflecting his versatility as an artist and his willingness to explore different techniques and styles.

One of the defining features of Badon's art is his emphasis on facial delineation. He is known for creating deconstructive mask-like heads that are reminiscent of the work of Pablo Picasso. Badon's approach to facial features is both bold and innovative, with exaggerated lines and shapes that create a sense of depth and dimensionality.

In addition to his fascination with facial features, Badon is also deeply interested in abstraction. His art often features complex compositions that are abstract and non representational, yet still manage to convey a sense of emotion and energy. These compositions are the result of Badon's expressionist gestural mode of rendition, which involves using bold strokes and dynamic movements to create powerful images that are full of movement and vitality.

In his abstract work "White Waterfall" is a stunning piece that captures the beauty and power of nature. The use of white, Orange and Red hues creates a sense of tranquility, while the cascading lines suggest the motion and energy of a waterfall. The painting's simplicity and fluidity make it a captivating piece that can be appreciated by both art enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.

Overall, Phillip Badon is a true master of his craft. His art is both innovative and timeless, reflecting his unique vision and his deep understanding of the human experience. He is a true inspiration to artists everywhere, and his work will no doubt continue to inspire and captivate audiences for generations to come.

— Ruth C. Espinosa

Confession Day • Acrylic on Canvas • 32 circumference • 2022

Yellow Cloud Over Black Mountain Acrylic on Canvas 32in circumference

Dangal

Living Statuaries

Born in Camarines Sur, Bicol, Priscillano Rodrigo Vicaldo Jr. also known as Jun is the youngest of six children of a farmer. When he was young, Jun would catch himself playing with clay along a nearby river. As he grew up, this clay became one of Jun's sculpture materials that became pivotal in his artistic career. He took his college at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts wherein among his professors was the National Artist for sculpture Napoleon Abueva. Among Jun's classmates were Agnes Arellano and Peter de Guzman (“lakansining” John Paul Olivares). Jun’s expertise in modeling life-like sculptures using clay made him a credible team player in art-related gatherings that took place in many sculptors' studios. Jun then studied at the La Salle SIA School for the Arts in Singapore, and then worked under the tutelage of Manuel Casal (Olivares). Throughout his career, Jun gained many awards from competitions such as in Art Association in the Philippines, and Government Service Insurance System.

Known for his “classical and modern styles”, Jun produced a number of sculptures that can be seen in significant places in the Philippines such as Subic and Olango, Adamson University, National Historical Commission Building, Naga City Robredo museum, Naga Cathedral, Penafrancia Shrine, and Magdalena Laguna (Olivares). Moreover, among his stupendous works are Creation of Adam, Jesse Robredo, Jose P. Carreon Jr., Porta Maria, Twist, and Elegy.

The "Creation of Adam" was a commission by Attorney Manuel Gaite. It draws reference to Italian artist Michelangelo’s fresco painting on the Sistine Chapel entitled the Creation of Adam. It depicts naked

Filipino Artists Their Culture, Their Art

Jesse Robredo at Robredo Museum Naga city

adam semi-lying down on the ground, raising his left hand, almost touching the pointed right index of God’s physical representation. Here, Jun transform this inspiration into a three-dimensional form where viewers can circle around and appreciate its wholeness. It once again vaunts Jun’s craftsmanship in life-like figures.

His sculpture "Jesse Robredo" is displayed at the Robredo Museum in Naga City, Bicol. Recognized by many Filipinos, the late public servant Jesse Robredo was the former secretary of the Interior and Local Government of the Philippines. He is known for his good governance and character. Unfortunately, he passed away last August 2012 due to a plane crash. This sculpture commemorates and honors Robredo. He is succeeded by his wife lawyer and former vice president of the Philippines Leni Robredo along with their three successful daughters Jessica, Janine, and Jilliane

The piece "Twist" is made of polymarble and commissioned by the late Rico Manlapaz. It depicts a man sitting on the ground with his hands holding his titled-downward head. By its title twist, the posture and the protruding muscles evoke a sense of emotional torment and agony. Its hands covering the head suggests he is protecting himself from further pain and damage. As one draws more attention to the piece, it lingers an awareness of human vulnerability.

Whether the medium is clay, bronze, welded brass, cast bronze, welded stainless, or polymarble, Jun never fails to capture the life force evident in his incredible works. His works continue to bolster the rich and dynamic history of Philippine sculpture. Currently, he is still active in solo and group exhibitions. He is in the transitioning stage of moving his art studio to Alitaptap, a community of artists located in Amadeo, Cavite.

Filipino Artists Their Culture, Their Art

— Timberly S. Fuentes

Creation of Adam Welded brass commissioned by Atty. Manuel Gaite.

Jose P. Carreon Jr. • Synthetic bronze • Life size

"Twist" made of polymarble commissioned by the late Rico Manlapaz

"Elegy" Cast bronze on repurposed lapida base

Porta Maria welded brass and stainless our Lady of Peñagrancia flanked ny two angels. Jubilee monument Adamson University

Chronicler Of Our Past

Dan Libor

Cinema advertising, the industry engaged in the production of huge movie billboards or "cartelons", was a field many starting painters from decades ago aspired to break into. It was seen as a somewhat steady source of income, ( the proverbial bread and butter) because of the brisk demand then by movie producers and theaters for those hand-painted movie ads. Now a lost art, cinema advertising's seeming demise was caused by the influx of digitally-printed tarpaulins which ad clients must have found cheaper and of a higher quality because of their faithful reproduction of movie images.

Cinema advertising was Dan Libor's stepping stone to a future career as a "serious painter". He started early. He was still a teenager when he was hired as cartelon painter in the early 1960s. His colleagues during those days were the young Ephraim Samson, Loreto Racuya, and Freddie Villanueva - all of which made names for themselves later on as serious painters.

Libor was born on April 26, 1946 in Pasay City. He majored in Painting at the University of Santo Tomas College of Architecture and Fine Arts. After college, he was hired by Ideal Theater as Operation Manager in charge of lobby displays. As such, he was obliged, together with his helpers, not only to conceptualize and paint movie ads, but also to fashion 3-d giant replicas of movie monsters like Orca and King Kong, and also of a rocketship, using wood, abaca, and other materials. But the demand for hand-painted movie ads began to wane in the 1990s because of what I mentioned before as the influx of digitally- printed tarpaulins. Thus, cartelon painters were forced to seek out other means of livelihood, with the more fortunate and truly talented among them finding their place in the mainstream art scene.

Among those was Libor, whose favorite subject of turn of the century Philippine genre scenes became his signature theme. He was not the only one who do this. There was of course, Fernando Amorsolo and Amorsolo's uncle Fabian Dela Rosa and much earlier, Jose Honorato Lozano, Justiniano Asuncion, and Simon Flores. But these painters' genre scenes depict people contemporaneous with them. Unlike Libor, they didn't paint scenes of everyday life from the era before them.

We can see from Libor's body of works his fascination with the past. His art parallels that of

Bencab, whose Larawan series was also a harking back to the past. But while Bencab used as references vintage photographs of real Filipinas garbed in baro't saya, Libor's images were drawn without referring to any photograph whatsoever. The people he drew were his own "inventions". Another difference between the paintings of Libor and those of Bencab is their palette or color scheme. Bencab's art has pop traits. He painted his backgrounds almost flat and in shades of blue, tangerine, violet, and pink. Libor avoids using those colors in their full intensity. He leans more towards subtle tonalities and subdued colorations.

Libor loves painting crowd scenes. Scenes depicting dozens of people are the most difficult to compose and render. But Libor proved himself up to the challenge. Market and fish harvesting scenes were the staples of his art. He also gathered in a few paintings persons from different Philippine ethnic tribes. Libor's consistent portrayal of happenings from an era long gone attest to his aspiration to doc-

ument and chronicle images and events from our storied past. Libor had found his niche. Art lovers of the present and of generations yet to come will see him as belonging to that illustrious group of Filipino painters - which includes no less than the National Artists Amorsolo and Bencab - who purveyed nostalgia as theme of their art.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Pamilihan bayan Ng Santa Ana Pampanga Oil on Canvas 35 x 48in 2016

Pamilihan bayan noon Sa Cabiao Nueva Ecija Oil on canvas 27 x 42in

Pamilihan bayan Noon Ng Arayat Pampanga Oil on canvas

Talipapa Sa Dalampasigan Oil on canvas

Ako'y Pilipino Sa ISIP, SALITA, AT SA GAWA • Acrylic on canvas • 27 x 42in

Biyaya ng Dagat • Oil on canvas • 24 x 32in • 2020

Manuel Sinquenco Old World Charm

Growing up in a hard-up environment in Tanay, Rizal drove Manuel “Manny” Sinquenco to learn to paint diligently in the hope of being able to improve his family’s impoverished situation if he becomes a foremost painter. As a young teenager Manny thus started painting old houses in miniature canvas, laces and collados which he sold in art galleries for a measly sum just to earn a living.

Sinquenco’s penchant for depicting old houses in his paintings has become his signature subject, an advice he heeded from Art Circle Gallery owner Pipo Alcantara. With influences from Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s abstract art and modernism, Manny incorporated varying styles of abstract, cubism, and comic illustration thus paving the way to establishing his own painting style – Old World in modern contemporary technique. Picturesque and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, Sinquenco infused a fresh approach to a rather “old” subject and make it contemporary yet not losing its nostalgic charm.

Manuel Sinquenco combines decorative and natural realism style in his art works. He uses horizontal and vertical structures to create several flat

parts to give the impression of space.Adistinct characteristic in Sinquenco’s art works are the interposal shapes inside the visuals. The interweaving bars, rectangles, and polygons are like a labyrinth – a painting inside a painting.

Sinquenco’s Banggerahan series departs from his usual signature “whole picture” depiction of a subject, such as a house or a church captured in panoramic view, focusing on just a particular portion of an old house (but of course!). Here you get to see even the minute details of the subject in colorful visuals with its old rustic concept yet alluding a modern feels. A Sinquenco masterpieceabstract, cubism and realism at its finest, creating an impressive visual nostalgia on an otherwise common theme.

2016 is a banner year for Sinquenco as he was awarded with the “Natatanging Pintor Na Tagataguyod ng Sining” award by the BAKUSI foundation and held his first ever solo exhibition “Deep Colors, Changing Hues, New Point of View” at the Philippine Heart Center displaying seventy-two paintings ranging from still life to landscapes and modern abstract as subjects.

Manuel Sinquenco indeed has come a long way; from being a struggling young artist grateful to earn however small income he derives from painting to being one of the distinguished Filipino artists of today.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

24

2022

12

2022

Good trading Acrylic on canvas

x 36in

Banggerahan 1 Acrylic on canvas

x 12in

Banggerahan 2 Acrylic on canvas

Bong Ducat Drops Of Beauty

Women’s University (PWU) Fine Arts program director Ibarra De la Rosa whom he met at the Dimasalang Group art sessions.

Ducat is noted for his depiction of nature- plants, flowers, trees, meadows. Using his signature droplet-like strokes in vibrant colors, Ducat painstakingly interpreted searing renditions of his subjects. In “Antipolo landscape”, the artist’s attention to details is evident: the segregation and complementing of colors, the consistency in his smooth and clean brush strokes. The painting squeals of liberation – the wide expanse of the landscape captured vividly by Ducat’s hand alluding peace and tranquility. On the other hand, a quick look at Ducat’s “Antipolo trees” would give you the nationalism kind of feels. The red, white, blue and yellow color of the trees reminds you of the colors of the Filipino flag. The vision somehow collates the trees to Filipino patriotism - strong, resilient, able to withstand the test of time.

Benedicto Ducat, better known as “Bong Ducat” by colleagues and peers, is one of the wellknown Filipino impressionists of his time. Born on May 6, 1957, Benedicto “Bong” Ducat growing up as a young boy in Tondo, Manila has already shown his exceptional drawing skills by joining and winning art contests in his schools. His artistic potentials paved the way for Bong to eventually take up Painting at the University of Sto. Tomas College of Architecture and Fine Arts where he was conferred the prestigious Benavides Award for outstanding achievement in his academic field. He later earned his Master’s Degree at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Fueled by his love for painting and his desire to share his knowledge and skills, Bong Ducat for over three decades has taught and mentored painting students at Philippine art schools such as the Technological University of the Philippines and at the Philippine Women’s University. Currently, Ducat is a professor at the University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts and Design.

Bong Ducat is noted for his Pointillist style of painting, the technique of using tiny dots of distinct, unmixed colors to create a form or image. This painting influence he credits the late Philippine

Over the years, Ducat’s painting style has shifted focus, from pointillist painting to semi-cubism in the path of Modernist art masters like Vicente Manansala. This is evident in his lotus flower series. In this series Ducat is able to present a technical comparison by using both painting techniques to the same subject, thus creating two differing approaches on its outcome. This comes not as a surprise for he is an art professor, after all.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

Babaeng may Banga Painting Sculpture on Wood 27 x 13in 2020

Dalagang Pilipina Naglalako Painting Sculpture on Wood 26 x 15.25in 2020

Naglalaba Painting Sculpture on Wood 17 x 14in

Nagluluto sa ilalim ng Mangga Painting sculpture on wood 23 x 15in

Orchid Series 2 / Oil on Canvas / 14in diameter / 2020

Painter Of Nature's Bounty

Eric Manuel Presado

Eric Manuel Presado followed his bliss and found full unalloyed satisfaction by selflessly imparting his knowledge of art and art making. A Special Art teacher for ten years at the Mabini Elementary School in Quiapo, Presado had taught specially-inclined children there the rudiments of drawing and painting.

Presado's advocacy started with his involvement with Imee Marcos' "Super Kulayero (Super Colorers)" movement in the latter half of the 1970s, the goal of which is to encourage artistically-gifted children to help turn drab walls into concrete ''canvases" for colorful murals. The Super Kulayero was actually a spin-off of the 'Kulay Anyo ng Lahi (Color and Form of the Race)' project of the First Lady Madame Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Participants in her project, which include four future National Artists, had their designs magnified and copied on walls of selected buildings by billboard painters. The Kulay Anyo and the Super Kulayero were the first concerted thrusts to propagate public art in the Philippines, and Presado can say with pride that he was among its ardent and tireless proponents, being one of the mentors of the Super Kulayero kids. as Assistant-Professor of fine Arts at Philippine Women's University (PWU), Presado would take his students on painting excursions to the rural outdoors This was for them to also feel the exhilaration Presado felt everytime he paints "en plein air". The teaching method though at the PWU isn't traditional all the way, because the students were also encouraged to innovate. One result of their search for things novel was when Presado, together with a group of students, came up with a real avant-gardish way of exhibiting their paintings. And that is by flying them - like kites!

Presado, who is adept in the use of various painting mediums, likes watercolor the best. Watercolor can be applied in three ways: like tempera in which white paint is used for the highlights, or like the dry brush method favored by Andrew Wyeth, where he utilized pointed brushes and very little water. The third way, which Presado prefers, is the wash technique, where much water is used to thin the colors. Looser brushwork is also employed in paintings of the watercolor-wash type, where accidental effects like the melding and flowing of the still wet colors into each other are adjudged as aesthetically pleasing. Presado chose well, because his still lifes exhibit that fluidity and spontaneity, not to mention the economy of brush strokes, that art lovers sought and admired most in watercolors.

Presado's favorite subject matter also reveals much about the psyche of a man who considers his boyhood in his native Bicol as one of, if not the happiest phase of his life. Presado paints not only rustic sceneries, but also and more frequently, the bounties of both land and sea - fruits and vegetables, and edible marine creatures like fish and crustaceans - which can be had in the province for free. We can thus identify Presado with those painters who crave to go back, not to the past, but to the places of their boyhood, to savor once more the air and food and to frolic again in the swimming holes that make life there blissful. Painters like Presado are lucky, because even though they can't go back frequently to their hometowns, they can instead make their hometowns go to them by re-creating them and the idyllic memories they evoke through their paintings any time they like

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Opposite Page

Sinigang na Bangus

Watercolor on Arches Paper 12 x 16in

Waterfalls

Watercolor on Arches paper 12 x 14in

Sculpting terra cota clay

Dale Bagtas Filipinism

Evident in his art works, this artist only wants to portray happiness – paintings that convey and radiate joy and good vibes, with no room for sadness or negativity. He wanted his audience to feel better by transforming any pain or sadness into a feeling of hope and blissfulness. Dale’s strong faith in God and religious beliefs will always be a favourite subject; his own take on the mother and daughter theme such as the “Balloon of Love” as well as his own rendition of the last supper could well be considered the “happy” version of the subjects, making it different from the traditional interpretation.

Dale Bagtas has received major awards in prestigious art competitions; his pointillist styled masterpiece “Between Heaven and Earth” won the grand prize in the oil/acrylic on canvas category of the 2021 Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) competition. Dale also brought home the top prize at the 2019 GSIS Art Competition for his piece, “Happiest Place”. In the same mold is “Happy Heart, Happy Life”, an acrylic on canvas in vibrant red tones and hues that screams of love with its hearts, flowers, and candy shapes, the sort of things associated with love, feelings, and emotions.

Bulacan-born painter Ariosto Dale Bagtas comes from a family of artists; having a famous visual artist as a father and a promising caricaturist for a younger brother, Dale has easily embraced the arts. Ever since a young boy, Dale has shown great painting skills and natural talent, winning in competitions at a tender age. Although some of Dale’s art works are religious figurations, an influence he got from his father, Dale is also known for his abstraction, developing his own unique signature style to be able to emerge from the shadow of his father. Dale employed the pointillist technique in abstract expressionism approach and started “Filipinism”, a style which became synonymous with him; for the art community, it means a way of showing the Filipino identity of the artist thru their works.

“My favorite subject is abstract, a nonrepresentational work of art which I can express my feelings, emotions and imaginations”, says this 2016 Artist of the Year standout graduate of Interior Design from the University of the East in Caloocan City, Philippines. Dale currently keeps his hands full, wearing two hats - that of a visual artist and an interior designer.

Dale is grateful that his art is warmly embraced and loved by his patrons and collectors and strives to continue taking the path is he destined to be on.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

Teddy Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 24in 2021

Happy Heart, Happy Life Acrylic on Canvas 8 x 6.5in 2022

An Endless Journey Called Art

Tarlac born Wencyl Buenafe Mallari is a fast rising visual artist who is slowly carving a name for herself, coming out of the shadow of his father, award winning artist Ambrocio Mallari. Growing up having an artist in the family, it is but natural that young Wencyl would eventually get interested in drawing. Eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, Wencyl started doing charcoal portraits, landscapes, and still life drawings with the enthusiastic guidance of his father.

Right after high school, Wencyl studied painting for a year before taking Architecture in college, all the while doing paintings, joining exhibits, and competitions. She even had a joint exhibition with his father (Likha ng Central Luzon) in 2004 at Intramuros, Manila. In 2011, she also joined his father in a special project commissioned by Theme Builders Philippines in Donetsk, Ukraine to create the interiors and murals for Funtura Donetsk.

When Wencyl first started painting, her style inclination geared towards realism, an influence she got from her father. She looks up to Leonardo Da Vinci and admires the works of German landscape painter Jacob Philipp Hackert, Irish realist David Gray’s classical figures, and the hyper realism of young Swedish artist Anna Haldin Maulle. On the local art scene, he counts Cebuano realist Orley Ypon and surrealist painter Jaime Gubaton as his inspirations.

Following her mantra “Art is a process of endless learning,” Wencyl welcomes the modern age creating a new style, from conservative realism to contemporary figurative painting using surrealism and symbolism. Here in her latest oeuvres, she explored the unconscious mind and created art resulting in dreamlike realistic imagery. Her works tap into the dual mystic of nature and femininity. The pensive, realistic figures with lush flowers, corals and sea nature and undulating flourish that glows with inner light radiate enigmatic imagery of innocence, purity and blissfulness. Wencyl’s portrayal of strong and elegant women subjects aims to feature the worth of a woman, her essentiality to nature and to the world.

For Wencyl, her artwork is an extension of her heart that comes from her deepest thoughts and emotions from learnings of life. It is her soul and believes that it is somehow a little bit part of us.

Last year, Wencyl staged her first solo art show “WILDERNESS” at the ManilArt 2021. Wencyl Mallari has come a long way; steering away from his father’s trail and creating her own clear path to the art world.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

Glowing Wonder Oil on Canvas 48 x 36in 2021 Lovely Bloom Oil on Canvas 36 x 35in 2021

"Your calm mind is your ultimate weapon againts your challenges, So relax."

"The Moonlight echoes with the hush of the wind. The darkness swims the fragrance from a thousand petals, The beauty radiated with the beam of light, and I, wandering free to the silence of the night."

Midnight Bloom Oil on Canvas 48 x 48in 2022

Morph Oil on Canvas 48 x 36in 2022

Of Vision And Visual Art

The most important sensory organ for an artist is the eyes, as it is through them that artists see and depict the world in their works. Vision is of paramount importance that the word denotes not only the sense of seeing but also an artist’s unique way of showing the world how they think, feel, and believe, making the word an act of receiving and a means to give as well. This is intimately true for Fe Madrid Pepito, a Philippine contemporary artist from Cebu, who is also a doctor of optometry.

Dr. Pepito began her love affair with creativity at an early age, exploring the rudiments of art during her elementary days with the various media accessible to a child. This exploration continued well into her adulthood and became an integral part of her optometry training where she was required to draw for certain requirements concerning physiological optics, which honed her skills intensely.

Her subjects reveal an observant and contemplative spirit, always seeing the world through a serene lens. Her oeuvre is a showcase of the beauty that we often miss because we look but do not see

— still-life paintings of household objects that seem to convey stories of longing and waiting, sceneries that whisper with wind, the rustle of leaves, alive with the gurgling of streams meandering through mossy rocks and sea shores caressed by gentle waves, and delicate flora that could only be products of intense and laser-focused observation and understanding of how we truly see and understand things.

The artist’s journey into creativity is intimately intertwined with her love story with her husband, artist Celso Duazo Pepito, who is also featured in this book. She met him while she was working at the art supplies section of a store in Cebu while she was still in high school. After earning her degree in optometry, she worked for only six months in the field before choosing to follow the call of art and heart and joined Celso as a full-time partner in his gallery in Cebu.

In working and living with an artist spouse, Fe began to see more possibilities for her art. Side by side, they honed their skills together as they built a hearth and home. While Celso worked with oils and acrylics, Fe created masterpieces in pastel, a medium that not only lent itself to the making of

stunning visuals that capture the eye but also of textures that engage one to reach out and feel its surface crudities, a feast for the senses. Eventually, she found herself experimenting with her husband’s paints and finally shifted to oils on canvas.

Her first exhibit, one which made her feel like she has finally found her place as an artist, was at the Mayflower Hotel in 1994. Since then, she has gone on to conquer the local art scene, constantly exhibiting with Cebu Artists Incorporated. She has also exhibited on national and international platforms, counting Metro Manila, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, California and New York in the USA, and Trujillo and Lima in Peru as cities on her map of art exhibitions.

The years of constant sharpening of skills and vision are beautifully reflected in her paintings

“Love of Nature,” “Love of Nature 2,” and “After the Toil”. Water ties all three together, as splashing falls, gentle stream, and life-giving river. In all three works, the pervading mood is that of a languid serenity, where time moves slowly and life is kind, where peace prevails and nature reigns supreme — the artist’s vision, her heart of hearts, revealed for all to see.

— Paolo Gerero

She’s Got HeART

Melissa Yeung Yap

immersion in local cultures also led her to pursue what she calls “modern ARThropology”, which is her take on studying and connecting with communities through the unitive power of art.

The artist’s creative awakening began early in life, and not in the usual fashion. She recalls having to compete with her brothers in watching television, of which they only had one back in the day. Her brothers would always get the upper hand in choosing what shows to watch, and little Melissa would end up doing crafts instead. Fast forward to the present day, she no longer has to compete with anyone in watching the shows she likes, but she continues to pursue creativity and has made significant waves with her art, not just in the world of art cognoscenti, but also in communities who benefit from her passion and philanthropy.

Truly committed to her purpose, Yap has been conducting art therapy workshops for underprivileged children since she was thirteen. As the years went on, she continued to help heal youngsters in calamity-stricken areas, such as war-torn Marawi and areas ravaged by natural disasters. Fully believing that the paradox of poverty amidst a backdrop of rich cultural heritage must be resolved, she took matters into her own hands and founded the Got Heart Foundation in 2007 to help communities create

One of the most recognizable names in contemporary Philippine art is Melissa Yeung Yap, and rightly so; her artworks are a refreshing mix of floral and natural motifs in a modern contemporary style infused with indigenous and cultural elements ethically sourced from and produced by Filipino indigenous communities that are as beautiful as they are culturally significant.

Melissa is a social entrepreneur known for generously devoting her days to working with and helping uplift marginalized communities, especially indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, farmers, and traditional artisans. Revolving around the theme that she coined “IndiGenius”, Yap celebrates the genius of indigenous communities by immersing herself in their cultures, learning as much about their ways and their material and artistic heritage, and respectfully using and collaborating in the making of their cultural products — textiles, carvings, and other artisanal items — in her own art-making processes, treating them with dignity and fully honoring their origin and meanings to the communities where she sources them from. This

Shadow Glow Tnalak & Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 12in

sustainable livelihood models, helping them build wealth as they showcase their culture to a wider audience. The Got HeART Gallery is her platform for showcasing the works of local and indigenous artisans and supporting their practices and communities.

Her philosophy in art is to utilize creativity not just as a means to express herself, but to use art to improve lives; not just hers, but also those of her audience and her beloved communities. This is reflected in her careful and thoughtful creation of paintings, sculptures, and assemblages that are best described as little windows of serenity. She intends her artworks to become little islands of peace and rest in the chaotic ocean that is life.

This philosophy is beautifully reflected in the quartet of artworks here presented, which are composed of indigenous weaves incorporated into paintings of floral motifs. Whether in pastel hues, earth tones, pensive blues, or stark black and white, Yap’s rich visuals soothe and calm the tired soul, engaging the viewer to reflect on the simple beauties of life and nature, an oasis in the midst of our busy days.

Melissa’s works are highly coveted by collectors, and have been exhibited in significant galleries nationally, and have also been shown and collected in London, Vienna, Tokyo, Wales, Singapore, and Fukuoka. At present, she continues to create and infuses everything she does with heart.

—Paolo Gerero

Cotton Candy Clouds

Tnalak & Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 18in 2021

Indi x Modern Foliage Tnalak & Acrylic on Canvas Wooden Frame carved by Paete Carvers 4 x 5ft 2022

Indoor Forest

Tnalak & Acrylic on Canvas 1.4 x 1.4 meters

Butterfly Kisses

Tinalak & Acrylic on Canvas 18 x16in 2022

Serene & Content

Indigenous Philippine Fabrics Tennum Yakan Tnalak, Manobo Weave Maranao Balud Weave & Acrylic on Canvas + handa carved frame 48 x 48in 2023

MYY for XYZ

Indigenous Philippine Fabrics Tennum Yakan Tnalak, Manobo Weave Maranao Balud Weave & Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 24in

Echoes Of Reverence

Ambrocio Mallari

Ambrocio Payang Mallari was born in Concepcion, Tarlac, in 1957. When he was young he would draw figures while pasteurizing carabaos. His exposure to arts started when he and his uncle went to Manila and worked as billboard artists. Since then, he started to study painting materials, techniques, and methods which eventually supported his exploration of oil as medium on canvas in 1975. After 8 years, his artistic practice further improved when he went along with Filipino artists to Israel to produce paintings done on velvet cloth. This experience made him understand the art world and culture of Israel, a preparation for enriching the culture of the Philippines through his paintings. His recent realistic oeuvre is an inextricably interweaving of Philippine history, culture, and biodiversity. It highlights the anecdotes and tales that form the nation, and it unfolds linkages between regional roots and neighboring cultures.

Mactan is among Mallari's history-based pieces.The piece evokes a sense of bravery and patriotism as Lapu-Lapu relentlessly defeats

Ferdinand Magellan in Mactan, Cebu. Moreover, Mallari's Wang Od depicts the famous tattoo artist of the Butbut tribe in Kalinga named Maria Oggay also known as Wang Od. She is known to practice tattooing hunters to symbolize their achievements, and women to adorn their bodies for the past decades. In the present time, she has been inking tourists wherein the design is mostly based on her observation of the customer's qualities. As this painting celebrates the life and works of Wang Od as the first Filipina tattoo artist in history, it, however, points out the tendency to exploit indigenous people culture..

Music and folklore are among that forms a culture. Mallari's Himig features a captivating young woman in indigenous attire ardent in playing the flute. In the Philippines, flute is commonly used through the nose or lip, and is commonly practiced by the Bontok, Kalinga, Ibaloi, Isneg, and Maguindanao groups.His Malakas at Maganda shows the two characters coming out from a bamboo section, while an eagle who could be Amihan can be seen perching on the lower side. Here, Mallari crystallized cultural treasures: music and folklore by visually materializing it on canvas. Haring Ibon draws the relationship between the locals and the endangered bird found in Mindanao. Locals would look after the birds and would inform professional photographers regarding their location to document their interaction in the wild. With their careful observation and documentation, photographers will immensely help scientists to further understand their behavior, and preserve their species. On the other hand, Haring Ibon adds to the region's identity and boosts its tourism. Maalat heightens the awareness of managing local resources, particularly salt production which presently shows declination, with that most salt as a commodity is sourced from abroad. On the contrary, here Mallari exhibits a glimpse of the revival of the Philippine salt industry by depicting an abundant supply of the product. Taken as a whole, Mallari's recent oeuvre never fails to echo his reverence for the Philippines. The familiar imagery that holds valuable stories strengthens nation-building as it brings pride and attraction to many, especially Filipinos.

—Timberly S. Fuente

"Wang Od" Oil on Canvas 48 x 36in

Haring Ibon Oil on Canvas 48 x 36in 2021

Opposite page Maalat man Matamis din Oil on Canvas 24 x 36in 2020

Himig ng Luntiang Paligid Oil on Canvas 36 x 48in 2021

Upper photo Kagandahang di Kumukupas Oil on Canvas 36 x 48in 2020

Si Malakas at si Maganda Oil on Canvas 40 x 30in 2020

Artist Away From Home

Gerry De Guzman

Vienna, Austria is one of the world’s finest cities that is blessed with an abundance of art. It is the home of Gustav Klimt’s iconic painting “The Kiss”, Albrecht Durer’s famous “Young Hare”, the glorious Bruegel collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and Hieronymus Bosch’s jaw-dropping “Last Judgement”. It is a city studded with splendid architecture, steeped in millennia of creative culture, truly a home for the soul that seeks to be immersed in beauty and meaning.

In the midst of all this magnificence, we find the Filipino artist Gerardo “Gerry” de Guzman. He has been there since 1993, enjoying the marvels of the magnificent city and imbibing its art and culture.

But before he came to Vienna, his artistic foundations were built in the Philippines. Born the eldest son of the retired Lt. Col. Artemio and Elisa de Guzman on March 23, 1964, Gerry grew up in a time of battling zeitgeists. He first took up Business Administration at the University of the East, Manila, and followed the siren song of the creative life by taking up Fine Arts Major in Advertising. He became noted as an excellent realist with a penchant for creating life-like portraits infused with an intensity of emotion that captured the attention and admiration of his clients and peers.

De Guzman began teaching art at the University of the East in 1983, instructing students of Special Interests Classes on drawing and painting. His dedication to teaching and his proficiency as an instructor was recognized by a “Most Outstanding” award in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, he created a number of murals for the Plaza Art Fair Inc. in Manila, where he was featured as a display artist. During the same period, from 1991 to 1993, he was an assistant instructor alongside the celebrated Filipino artist Rody Herrera at Hererra’s private art school, after which he moved to Vienna.

In Vienna, away from home, de Guzman found a community of kababayan creatives, the Filipino Artists in Vienna, of which he became a member from 1996 to 1998. The call to teach was strong in him still even in a foreign land, and he decided to work as an art instructor at M Gallery, where he taught alongside the noted artist Jackie Mauersberger from 2004 to 2016. While teaching at M Gallery, he also became a member of the international art group Euro-Asian Worldwide in 2012.

Seeking to bring together the artists of the Filipino diaspora in his adopted home, he founded the art group Filipino Visual Artists in Vienna (FVAA) in 2019. The group continues to operate in Austria to this

His brilliant, highly technical, and evocative works such as “ Rose, ” a delicate monochrome charcoal portrait of his wife, " Gina, " a sensitive portrayal of the Filipino farmer’s best friend, the carabao, and the luscious still life composition of topical fruits, crafts, and fabric in " Ani " are testaments to his skill with the brush, offering a tiny glimpse to the breadth and depth of his artistic prowess, which is the driving force behind his success in Vienna, the city of art where he fits right in.

With two solo exhibits and countless group shows in the Philippines and abroad to his name, Gerry continues to work on honing his craft and plans on having more solo exhibitions in the future. He also wishes to pass on these skills in painting, as well as his prowess in sculpture, photography, and taekwondo to his two sons as their legacy, truly a pamanang di-mananakaw.

—Paolo Gerero

Kalabaw - Water Bufallo • Watercolor • 17 x 25in

My wife Gina • Charcoal Drawing • 9 x 12in day, showcasing and supporting Filipino artists and promoting Philippine culture half a world away from home.

Rose Oil on Canvas 20 x 24in

Preserving The Past For Future Filipinos

Aris Carandang

that Carandang enjoyed seeing in his childhood have been demolished, and many more are in disrepair.

His passion for heritage conservation led him to recreate what was lost, preserve what remains, and reimagine what used to be in his unique and highly engaging art. Using a variety of materials that belong more to a construction site than on canvas — concrete, wood, epoxy, glass, and capiz shells — Carandang creates reimagined versions of heritage structures in highly textured assemblages that invite the viewer not only to see but also to touch. Through constant experimentation, the artist has developed techniques to transform hardware-sourced materials into veritable works of art that honor the craftsmanship of the builders of old.

Carandang shares that his exposure to the different disciplines of art, aside from the architectural wonders of his hometown, was during his stay in the Immaculate Conception Seminary, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and his master’s degree in Pastoral Theology. However, beyond that, he has no formal training in the arts and

Quaint houses of adobe and wood, shuttered by capiz windows and trimmed with calado carvings elegantly lining tidy streets highlighted by golden sunlight. A magnificent church facade of hand-carved stone, standing out in sharp relief against a cerulean sky. This is the old-world charm that Aristotle “Aris” Carandang seeks to preserve and recreate in his art that pays homage to Filipino architectural heritage that day by day succumbs to encroaching urbanization.

Born the last of eleven siblings in Plaridel, Bulacan in 1977, Aris was exposed early in life to the beauty of heritage structures through the examples preserved in his hometown, composed of several Spanish-era houses called “balai,” “casa grande,” and “bahay na bato.” Being a town founded during colonial times, the central part of Plaridel, then called Quingua, features a magnificent church with a magnificent bell tower and facade. These cultural and architectural treasures, unfortunately, aren’t always kept in the best condition. Several of the old houses

Grande De Concordia

his oeuvre is the result of self-motivated explorations of materials in order to incarnate his desire to promote cultural consciousness and concern for our built heritage such as that which he observed in European countries. He intends to use his art as a means to engage Filipinos, especially the young, to look back with respect at our rich heritage and actively take part in its preservation.

This intent is clearly evident in the loving way that the artist has assembled the trio of artworks presented here. Every element — be it miniature brick or capiz pane, calado trim or wooden door — each one is deliberately crafted to perfection and carefully arranged into their proper places. The miniaturization of details such as the balusters, the hinges, the grills, and the sliding latches are realistically and mesmerizingly done. The coloring is something special as well — Carandang manages to evoke the serenity of early mornings and golden afternoons with his thoughtful use of weathered earth tones, punctuated by pops of vibrant color that keep the compositions fresh.

The pandemic was a blessing in disguise to Carandang, who shares that he was forced into full-time art-making by the dire circumstances of the protracted lockdowns. Making his signature artworks helped him stave off depression and allowed him to earn a living. In thanksgiving for his success, the artist gives back by helping in the sick and less fortunate whom he encounters online.

Recently, Carandang had a collaboration with a fashion designer who used incorporated his signature structures into intricately-designed couture, which were shown at the Acacia Hotel in February 2022.

—Paolo Gerero

Casa Via Mixed media 28 x 42in 2022

La Casa De Laguna • Mixed media • 36 x 48in • 2022

Lumang Pinto • Mixed Media • 24 x 30in • 2022

Art Journey Of The Mangyan Artist

Matt Relox

Let me borrow a term that pertains to folklore or mythic narratives from long ago: Ethnic Genre. I supposed ethnic genre could also be used to categorize the subject matter of painters who like to portray or narrate in paint not only the visual attributes of members of ethnic tribes, but also their doings or way of life. Ethnic genre is different from ethnic art, which is but the aggregate of art objects the tribal natives create themselves.

Matt Relox specializes in ethnic genre. He was born in Mindoro - in Bansud, Oriental Mindoro specifically - a Philippine island whose indigenous inhabitants are the Mangyans. Relox is not of Mangyan ancestry himself, but living in relatively close proximity with these people whose way of life and peculiar clothing are very much different from those of the lowland inhabitants, Relox couldn't help but be inspired to document his impression of them in paint and other art mediums.

You are blessed among the blessed • Oil on Canvas • 40 x 30in • Jimmy and Pauline Regino collection

A recent series of his are depictions of Mangyans engaged in their daily routines of gathering and selling fruits and vegetables, sharing a family meal, fixing bamboo tools, or just plain resting at the top of the ladder of their hut. These black and white artworks were accomplished using pen and ink and rendered by the cross hatching of lines. Relox dubbed his meticulous cross-hatching technique as "million strokes of sincerity", which is his way of telling us of the tediously long yet rewarding time he spent completing an artwork.

Born to Fabio - a barber and farmer - and Lilia Manato, one of Matt Relox's early memories is of his father drawing while singing. Nothing unusual in that, except that the drawings he would finish, usually of human figures, was the corresponding visual interpretation of the lyrics of the song. Relox mimicked that extraordinary performance. He memorized a song of his father and sang it before his amazed classmates, while doing his own drawing interpretation of the lyrics.

Relox started on his art journey early. He became a professional artist even before he graduated from high school, when he was hired by an outdoor advertising firm in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. In 1979, after finishing high School, Relox began working as textbook illustrator for Rex Printing, where he was later on promoted to Art Director. Relox has had four solo art exhibits so far and had joined three hundred group shows. He is about to hold his

fifth solo at the La Habra Gallery in La Habra City, California. Relox is now based in the USA where he won a slew of honors and awards, the most prestigious of which is the Gawad Amerika Award.

In practicing his craft, Relox said that he doesn't favor one medium in particular. He uses nearly all of them: watercolor, oil paints, pastels, graphite and colored pencils, and pen and ink. Relox spoke extensively about watercolor though. He asserted that he is not intimidated by its supposed recalcitrance and unpredictability. He, in fact, thrives on it and welcomes the challenge. Relox said that, for him, the accidental yet aesthetically pleasing effects in watercolors were not mistakes. He sees them as watercolor's tendency of taking his artworks beyond the original concept of the painting he had in mind. Many times in the past those accidental effects were what gave Relox's works the fluidity so desirable in watercolor paintings. Relox added that euphoria would suffuse him once a work is finished and all that's needed to fully complete the work is his signature. Artists know about this feeling. It is not money primarily that gives artists the most bliss, but rather the realization that they have contributed something to the art world's compendium of acknowledged, would be, or near masterpieces.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Bunga ng Magandang Binhi • Oil on Canvas • 14 x 20in

Pangati • Pen and Ink on Paper • 14 x 20in

Ikaw ang Pag asa

Oil on Canvas

20 x 14in

Ang Mabuting Pastol

Oil on Canvas

20 x 14in

Iridescence

Aristotle Reveral Ventures

Currently based in Marikina City, Aristotle Reveral Ventures also known as Aris holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology majoring in Drafting from Northwest Samar State University. He is currently working as an advertising installation supervisor, artist-designer, and site photographer at MC Graphics Carranz International. Since 1995 he has been participating in group exhibitions and received numerous awards. Aris is the founder of the Eastern Visayas Young Visual Artists Association also known as BAGHID. He is also an active member of the Antipolo Visual Arts Incorporation. He worked as a Senior High School teacher at the Calbayog Art and Design School of Eastern Visayas.

Aris’s oeuvre are comprised of cubism, abstract expressionism, and a combination of both. He also delves into Philippine folk tradition by visually representing a wine tapper called Mananguete. His piece entitled Mananguete features a smiling man who is holding a sanggot. The hat he is wearing protects him from the scorching heat of the blazing sun as depicted in the upper left corner. Originating from

Musikanta • Acrylic on Canvas • 18 x 24in • 2022

Tolambungan, Lanao, mananguete is a folk dance that demonstrates how men and women “work on tube or coconut wine (Barilea).” Mananguete connotes wine tapper hence the dance shows how a mananguete: prepares his sanggot by sharpening it, cleans his container made of bamboo, climbs the coconut tree, extracts the sap, and lastly, tastes the tuba (Barilea).

Like his cubist figure Mananguete, his Musikanta portrays a man singing while playing guitar. The flat brush seems to be his commonly used tool as also evident in his abstract expressionist pieces Shredded Life, Hurma 1, and Intersections. which are dominated by vibrant and illuminating brushstrokes. His Hurma 1 depicts a potter at work. It celebrates the long tradition of pottery making in the Philippines, as it not only points the viewers to the Philippines’ rich heritage and culture but also builds up our nation’s identity.

Steampunk is another of Aris’ inspirations. His Steampunk-Mother and Child features a mother and child stylistically done in cubism. Steampunk elements can be seen such as the gear and gas masks. Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that depicts steam as the main source of energy. Here, the mother and child wear a gas mask as protection from smoke that most likely coming from their enemy. This scene serves as a springboard of linking stories and events that transpired during the industrial age. Above else, this piece magnifies the intimate affection of family members in times of adversity.

Moreover, smoke-like forms and lines are motifs of his oeuvre which gives an eerie and mystic flare. The sun too is a motif of Aris’s oeuvre. It is represented as a round golden ball with or without rays. It undeniably characterizes the hot weather present in the Philippines, especially during summer, and it also reminds us of the sun sewn on our Philippine national flag. Iridescent like the sun depicted in all of his works, Aris’s oeuvre glows as it adds color to our very own Philippine treasure.

— Timberly S. Fuentes

References:

1. Visayan Folk Dance: Mananguete presented by Kyla Marie Barilea through Prezi link: https://prezi. com/p/hxopo-gz7osq/mananguete-folk-dance

Mananguete • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 18in • 2022

Shredded • Life Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 18in • 2022

Hurma 1

Acrylic on Canvas

18 x 24in

2022

Intersections

Acrylic on Canvas

24 x 24in

2022

Steampunk Mother & Child • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 18in • 2022

The Multidisciplinary Artist

Dante Palmes

transformed into abstract representations of his views and life experiences. For Dante, “Life is indefinite yet beautiful; there is no one-sided explanation to it.” In the same way his abstract creations behaved, he just shrugs off other people’s opinions and would rather focus on what the art work means to him.

Impasto, a painting style which uses thick palette knife strokes to create depth or emphasis, provides Palmes the perfect platform to create a vivid representation of life and nature on canvas. The thickness and texture of the paint created moods and emotions into the art work, allowing you a peek as to how the subject can make you feel. One classic example is the “Colony of Fronds”, with its bright and crisp color palettes, one could surmise the feeling of youthfulness and femininity is being manifested.

Painting. Sculpture. Abstract. Mixed Media. Wood. Metal. Canvas. These are just some of the things associated with Dante Palmes, a multidisciplinary Filipino artist from Bay, Laguna.

Academically speaking, Palmes has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts major in Advertising from the Philippine Women’s University and a Master of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. Add to that the national certification he received for completing the course on Shielded Metal Arc Welding conducted by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

To further hone his artistic skills, Dante Palmes competed in major art competitions, emerging a perennial winner in most instances for both painting and sculpture categories. During his stint as Graphic Specialist in Saudi Arabia, Palmes was one of the privileged Dhahran Art Group (DAG) artists chosen to create a mural painting presented to the king, His Royal Highness King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of Saudi Aramco Company’s 75th Anniversary in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. To date, Dante has held ten (10) major solo art shows and participated in numerous group exhibitions in both local and international art scenes. Multi-disciplinary best describes Dante Palmes’ art works. He paints and sculpts using mixed media, wood and metal. One thing that is common though in all his works is his penchant for nature and life as subject,

Leaves and wood dominate in this particular series of paintings by Palmes. In true Dante Palmes style, each painting’s interplay of shape, size, color and rhythm allow the viewers to delve into his mind and feelings. His art works showed his keen attention to details to the natural world – mysterious, magical, simply stunning - leaving the viewers the freedom to draw out their own interpretations.

— Ruth C. Espinosa

The Artist As A Technological Man

Jerry Ybañez Contridas

and Printing Supervisor. It is a permanent position, which provided him with the wherewithal to pursue further studies, again at TUP, where he received his Master's Degree in Management and another bachelor's degree in Technical Teachers Education major in Printing.

Freed of financial worries, Contridas can now indulge his craving to do art. On his free times, Contridas takes his motorbike out and ride around the metropolis and beyond to paint outdoors. When asked who among the realist painters is his favorite, Contridas declined to name one saying that they are too many to mention. Among the abstractionists, he named Raul Isidro and Ombok Villamor as his favorites.

Isidro and Villamor's abstracts must have dazzled Contridas so, that he now finds himself not merely dabbling in abstraction. He explored and experimented and tried out different abstract styles, swinging from one extreme style to the other. And he opted to go big too, with one of his abstract works measuring 8 X 8 feet, more or less.

The story is familiar: the life journey of a boy born into a family with meager means, who struggled hard to make something of himself, and attained in the end his dream of being a successful artist. The boy I speak of here is JERRY YBAÑEZ CONTRIDAS.

Contridas was born in Calbayog, Western Samar to Pedrito M. Contridas and Norma Ybañez. His artistic ability manifested itself early, during his elementary school years. Contridas initially aspired to earn a degree in Fine Arts but was forced by his straitened circumstances to take up instead Graphic Arts and Printing Technology at the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), a course which to his mind guaranteed immediate employment upon graduation. It was a four year course, and Contridas completed it by his own effort by working as a lay out artist at Hiyas Publishing House.After college, Contridas was assigned another position in addition to being a lay-out artist, that of printing machine operator.

Years later, he moved up further in life when he was employed by no less than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, where he now served as Banknote

This big painting was apparently inspired by both the Suprematist and Constructivist styles which were invented by Russian artists in the early 1900s. I say that because of the geometric shapes Contridas depicted in that work, like circles, squares, triangles, and a profusion of straight lines which are the primary components of Suprematist and Constructivist paintings.

The other style of abstraction which Contridas tried his hands on is Abstract Expressionism. Nothing could be more antipodal than Suprematism Constructivism and Abstract Expressionism. Because where suprematist and constructivist paintings are orderly and composed with precision in mind, abstract expressionist paintings, with their free-flowing colors and shapes, looked as if spontaneously done. Contridas' swinging from one extreme style to another exposes not only his restless and curious nature, but his versatility as well.

Contridas must have meant his abstract expressionist paintings to be reflections of his buoyant feeling as exemplified by his usage of vibrant

and dancing colors, and the geometric ones of his milieu at work, because the elements portrayed there are perhaps pared down representations of the parts and components of a printing machine. Contridas' espousal of these two opposing styles reveal the two contrasting facets of his persona: the painter of pure art and the technological man.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Merging Journey Series I Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 48in

Merging Journey Series II Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 48in

Koi Series • Acrylic on Canvas • 48 x 96in

Into The Midst II • Acrylic on Canvas • 48 x 60in

Ingrid Aimee Peñaflor Coalescence

Graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines, writer and visual artist Ingrid " "Giddy" Aimee is currently residing in Quezon City. Her write ups were featured in Southeast Asian and Filipino magazines published by FilArts Inc. The subject matter of Aimee's recent oeuvre is mainly moving amorphous shapes that seemingly invite the viewers to follow where it aimlessly hovers through vast space. As the speed interchanges from slow to fast, the forms also scatter relentlessly causing different kinds of exchange with the surroundings. This series of coalescence can be pointed to the concept of immanence which believes that there is a divine being responsible for the interaction of all matters.

Aimee’s painting entitled "Bumfuzzle" resembles heavy smoke that is getting bigger and brighter as they progress upwards, covering the entire space. The obscure remote view makes it as if the viewers are trapped within, which makes their gaze limited to the surrounding gasses, transmitting threat and danger. Yet, it could also serve as a connection between the earth and the heavens. In the Bible, a pillar of a cloud is a reminder of God’s covenant with His people. In Exodus 13, a pillar of cloud serves as a guide for Israelites during the day while a pillar of fire during the night. It serves as a historical and biblical reminder that elements such as fire and air were among the instruments used by heavenly beings to communicate with humans.

Moreover, her Cicatrize, Cordolium, and Cosmogyral liken to combusting substances that part of it vaporize in the process. The strong red hues outweigh the intense explosions, giving off a scorching heat appeal. Her "Dauntless" and "Enigma" can be comparable to flickering flames that endlessly move across the void, evoking a sense of vigor in the depth of uncertainty. Here, fire as an element undeniably serves as the main inspiration for this

Eunoia 3 • 10 x 15in • Acrylic on Canvas • 2019

piece, a growing theme of Aimee's works. Her Eunoia is composed of three horizontal bands, the middle part is monochromatic red and the rest are black and white. Here, Aimee played with symmetry, space, and color to depict a balanced composition that is dominated by splatters that remind of water droplets. Her Solasta features three fluffy multi-hued clouds positioned in one column, with space in between. Like her Bumfuzzle which has an element of air or gas, here highlights the scientific process of cloud formation involves other aspects as well such as earth, water, sunlight, and sky. Recalling the process, supports one's imagination on how these clouds came to be vibrantly colorful, providing an array of hypotheses.

Taken as a whole, Aimee's oeuvre magnifies her painting techniques and methods in depicting these elemental subject matters in motion. These subject matters also link to her tendency to explore different processes leaning toward abstraction. Her oeuvre also reflects her interest in movement and the explosion of elements as it breaks from the idea of rigidity and constraint and delves more into spontaneity and interaction. Presently. she is part of the group exhibition entitled Singularities

— Timberly Fuentes

Bumfuzzle Acrylic on Canvas

Dauntless Acrylic on canvas

Andres Joy and Light

Jovito

The town of Angono in the province of Rizal is known for being a nexus of art and culture from pre-colonial times to the present day. It is the home of the oldest work of art in the Philippines, the ancient Angono petroglyphs carved into a rock shelter thousands of years ago, the colorful fiesta in honor of San Clemente, and the famous Higantes Festival. Two national artists, Carlos “Botong” Francisco for Visual Arts and Maestro Lucio D. San Pedro for music, hail from this town by the shore of Laguna de Bay, which is aptly called “masining na bayan.”

In this culturally and artistically rich milieu, we find Jovito Andres, a Philippine contemporary artist who studied Fine Arts with a major in Painting at the University of Santo Tomas from 1984 - 1988. who has a gift for portraying joyful scenes filled with glorious light. His canvases are filled with smiling children and country folk, frozen in the act of rambunctious play, honest toil, serene contemplation, and gentle nurturing. Suffused with radiant luminosity, his figures are idealized depictions of Filipino life from decades gone by — evocative reminders of simpler, gentler days. Pairing the

Tres Marias • Oil on Canvas • 36 x 48in • 2021

stylized realism of his figures with cubistic, abstract backgrounds that seem to shimmer like faceted gems, Andres has achieved a timeless style that appeals to both eye and heart.

After earning his degree, Andres went on to establish a career in the arts and had his first exhibition at Le Soufflé in Makati City, and from there it was a continuous climb, going as far as Cebu City to showcase his works at the Artes Figuras Gallery II for his sixth show in 2006. He has also been consistently showing his signature works in group exhibits nationally with Grupo SIning Angono. Among his most significant national projects is the 2007 desk calendar of the pharmaceutical company Merial Philippines. His works also appear in the books written by art critic Manuel Duldulao, “Century of the Philippine Art” and “The Art Collectors Guidebook,” as well as in “Life, Love, and Beauty (Images of Women through the Eyes of Filipino Artists).”

Aside from local engagements, Andres has also been exhibiting internationally, bringing Angono and Filipino pride with him to the Rizal Center in Chicago, the Philippine Center in New York, and Holland’s Club in Singapore, among others. His works are also constantly featured in stationary giant Hallmark’s annual L.I.F.E. Christmas card collection, a testament to the cross-continental appeal of his artworks.

The quaint charm for which Andres became widely known and highly coveted is displayed in its full glory in his four-piece suite from 2021. The first painting, a tender opus in mostly blue and green, depicts a father’s love for his unica hija. Seated on a stylized rocky outcrop, the father contemplates a flower as he cradles his beloved daughter. The daughter’s orange dress, the most vibrant part of the composition, matches the color of the flower’s pistil, drawing the eyes back and forth between the two points.

In the second painting, three young boys are sprawled out on a grassy patch in golden afternoon sunlight surrounded by traditional Filipino toys and a pair of gagamba, battling for dear life on the stick held by the central boy, as the others look on with rapt attention.

The third artworks pays homage to the festive Filipino Christmas spirit, the longest celebration of the season in the world. Against a faceted blue background suggesting the depths of night, three children are shown holding traditional parol decorations, as a pet dog prances nearby.

Andres gives the age-old theme of the Three Graces a Filipinized twist. With painstaking strokes that delineate every flower and leaf and blade of grass,

the artist shows his mastery of the brush and understanding of color and emotion in this mesmerizing composition.

Aking Princesa • Oil on Canvas • 30 x 24in • 2021

—Paolo Gerero

Illusions in Pastel

Alex Sibug

Soft pastels are one of the most underrated yet difficult media to master for any artist worth their salt. Compressed sticks of dry pigment seem simple enough a concept, and indeed, seem straight forward enough to apply on paper substrate. However, given the physical properties of the medium, a certain dexterity is required to ensure smooth application, and even more skill to do so in a manner that captures reality. It takes an artist of immense technical ability and an intimate understanding of how vision works to be able to successfully manipulate the medium and transform mere sticks of compressed powdery color into images that trick the eye into believing the reality of the composition.

Such an artist is Alex “Bugsy” Sibug. His exquisite artworks in the difficult medium of soft pastels are done in the technically exacting trompe l’oeil technique. The term comes from the French tongue, which literally means “to deceive the eye.” Meticulously and painstakingly rendered to mimic reality, Sibug’s compositions are the quintessential definition of illusion, successfully tricking the viewer’s eyes into believing tha the pigments carefully and strategically laid out on paper by the masterful hand of the artist is a three-dimensional reality that emerges from the substrate and into the viewer’s space, or recedes

and beckons into hitherto undiscovered dimensions through sheer talent in the manipulation of his chosen medium. Bugsy’s introduction into the world of art began early in life. At the tender age of ten, he began studying under the tutelage of celebrated Filipino master artists Fernando Sena and Gabriel Custodio. During this early learning phase, like many artists, he studied various media and techniques before falling in love and committing himself to oil pastels. At twelve years old, Alex showed so much potential that he was able to have his first solo exhibition at The City Gallery, Rizal Park – the youngest artist to perform in such a capacity. From that point forward, he continued honing his craft through constant practice and through joining various competitions that allowed him critical insight into the betterment of his craft.

With his fervor for art, Bugsy studied Visual Communication at the University of the Philippines and discovered digital media, which he used extensively in working in the industry of advertising. Finally, heeding the call of the muses, he left the corporate world and pursued art-making and teaching full-time. Sibug creates in order to alleviate the exhaustion and frustration of daily living, finding peace in the meditative act of applying soft pastels

on paper. The products of this pursuit have been exhibited in group shows in notable galleries since 2014. He had his first solo exhibition aptly titled “Pastelista” in 2019.

In this quartet of evocative works, Bugsy demonstrates why he is considered a pioneer of soft pastel artistry in the Philippines. In the first painting, he successfully captures the beauty of floral forms with outstanding delicateness and nuance –every petal and leaf stands out in realistic detail and invites the viewer to touch their illusory softness. In the second and third, the subjects jump out of the canvas in striking color and detail, and one could almost feel the various contrasting textures that the artist so skillfully depicted in so difficult a medium. Finally, in the last of the suite, Sibug departs from his usual playful and quirky still-life compositions and depicts a sober and solemn tableau of health workers, gowned and gloved, against a background of mesmerizing and almost hypnotic colors – a beautiful tribute to the many health workers who risked life and safety in order to serve and stay true to their calling during the height of the pandemic.

—Paolo Gerero

Blossom • 24 x 18in • Soft pastel on paper • 2022

Childs Play 1 • 18 x 24 in • Soft pastel on paper • 2017 • Private collection

Cat and Fiddle

pastel on panel

Shdwbx 2 Soft pastel on paper 24 x 18 in. 2020

Hope and Despair Soft pastel on panel 32 x 24 in. 2020

Hari's Rainbow Colored World

Frank Hari

One hundred fifteen years after Pablo Picasso created the proto-cubist painting, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Cubism continues to cast its spell on the present generation of artists. Cubism, was one of the pioneering styles that eschew depicting natural appearance in art, the dictum propounded by Picasso when he declared that "Nature and art, being two different things, cannot be the same thing." Filipino artists, painters and sculptors alike, took to the new style. Vicente Manansala, after his French sojourn, switched style and adopted Cubism, and abandoned for good the Botong Francisco style that had inspired him for some time.

Many Filipino painters followed Manansala's lead. Among them was the late Oscar Zalameda. Zalameda is Hari's lodestar. Both of them are natives of Lucban, Quezon. It is perhaps because of their shared affinity for that place why Hari adopted Zalameda's style of Cubism, with its thorough simplification of forms and its tendency to use the full range of colors of the rainbow.

Frank Hari was born on May 12, 1964, to Bautista and Nasaria Hari. Hari recalled that he began drawing when he was in grade three. He

claimed that no one had encouraged him, he being the only one in his family who'd manifested an inclination for art making. His family though was supportive of his dream and allowed him to enroll at the Philippine Women's University (PWU) where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts major in painting.

Farmer's Dream • Acrylic on textured panel • 34 x 21in

Hari's first job after graduation was as painter of antique cabinets and sculptures at Nostalgia Inc., in San Pedro, Laguna. After his stint there, Hari worked full time as a painter, accepting painting commissions not only from local clients but also from those abroad, contributing Christmas card designs for Hallmark's Leukemic Indigent Fund Project (L.I.F.E ), and joining art competitions. Hari had had his share of prizes from art competitions, placing second in a landscape painting contest in PWU, and being among the finalists in the 2015 GSIS Nationwide Art Competition and the 2017 Art Association of the Philippines annual on-the-spot painting competition.

Before immersing himself in Cubism, Hari was a realist painter first. He had joined several group exhibitions and had exhibited solo once in the GSIS Museum on December 2018. Titled, "Colors of Christmas", the paintings in this show are depictions of age-old Filipino traditions like "karoling" and "pamamasko" - which shows children visiting the house of their godparents on Christmas day and pressing their godparents' hands to their foreheads as a gesture of respect. Other typical Filipino themes that Hari likes to portray are harvest scenes and images of the mother and child.

Hari sees the Philippine condition, especially that obtaining in the countryside, with optimistic eyes, as can be gleaned from his use of festive colors. He segmented his figures in triangles using colors that range from red, to yellow, to blue, and all the colors in between. Hari is not intimidated by colors. He thrives on them. Hari's colorful paintings always exude the aura of happiness and celebration, and that's maybe the reason why Hallmark invited him again and again to join the august company of established painters, like Manny Baldemor, Romeo Gutierrez, Angel Cacnio, and Remy Boquiren, who were frequent contributors of designs for Hallmark's L.I.F.E. Christmas card project. Hari's art journey is a fruitful one indeed, the culmination of which is his receiving the "Natatanging Lucbanin sa Larangan ng Sining" award granted him by the Municipal Government of Lucban last August 2021.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Mother and Child Acrylic on Canvas 16 x 14in Private collection

Abundance Acrylic on textured canvas 22 x 28in

Paggalang, Po, Opo, Mano Po Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 36in Private collection

Paskong Pinoy featured in 2014 hallmark card for LIFE Acrylic on Canvas

22 x 38in

Unsung Heroes Acrylic on Canvas

38 x 36in

Bionic Hybrids

Erwin Pineda

Side, and Ms. Beatrix. Each painting depicts different portraits of individuals. It is noticeable that the prevalent elements are eyes that indicate the viewing of the world soulfully and attentively; and clocks that reveal man's reality where he lives in a time-bound world.

Pineda's Damian depicts a reptile head with the body of a man. A vapor emits at the back, suggesting that he is surrounded by machines powered by steam. The luring gecko-like eyes can be seen atop the anthropomorphic figure, indicating that a dominant figure rules over the entire territory. These eyes are sometimes three that could be supernatural beings interfering with the lower ones. Meanwhile, Pineda's Pyladea, Nona Virum, Octa Virum, and Time on My Side are represented by a large eyeball as the head with the body of a man or woman. The eyeballs are mainly operated by machine, adding the third component: biotechnology. It shows a bizarre interrelationship of cyborgs of humans and animals as hybrid species that live in one bubble. His Time on My Side portrays a man reminiscing about a certain

Erwin Pineda received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts majoring in painting at the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology. His works were considered impressionist and abstract from 1993 to 1997. Then, his concentration shifted to realism and surrealism which he called “Reptalialism.” The context behind reptalialism is the blatant similarities between reptiles and humans: cold and cruel. Reptiles are not able to produce heat in their body as they need to adapt the heat from their surroundings, hence they are cold. Pineda figuratively relates this fact to human negative tendencies which are being unconcerned and dispassionate towards others, and wicked to humans, animals, plants, and the environment, especially when outrage arises. Sometimes in calmest acts or engagements along with good intentions end up in unimaginable violence, and sometime curious unethical experimentation leads to madness. As Friedrich Nietzsche put it: man is the cruelest animal. These are personified in Pineda's steampunk-influenced paintings Damian, Nona Virum, Octa Virum, Pyladea, Time on My

woman who seemingly happens to live in the past while a series of events spent with her runs across his mind. This relatable melancholic feeling serves as encouragement to value time and relationships as things may not happen again as they were before. Further, His Beatrix features a Japanese woman wearing a kimono and goggles. In the middle of her chest is a reptile eye, surrounded by small brown snakes, gazing toward the viewers. It is a body ornament that symbolizes her cold and dangerous traits, that shouldn't make her a less respected being. Yet, it speaks a lot about the saying: do not judge the outer appearance but the motives of the heart.

Taken as a whole, Pineda's paintings take the viewers a self-evaluation of their individuality in comparison and contrast to that of the reptile's ferocious nature. These portraits may looked well-composed but their savageness links to the rising problem and effects of violence and abuse throughout the world.

Reptalialism-Pyladea

—Timberly Fuentes

Reptalialism-Nona Virum • Acrylic & Oil on Canvas • 24 x 18in • 2016

Reptalialism Ms. Beatrix Acrylic & Oil on Paper 16.7 x 11.3in

Of Lighthouses And Dark Places

Esther Garcia

"My spiritual calling is also to be the light and salt of the earth," so declared Esther at the conclusion of my online interview with her. Why salt? What's with salt? Jesus Christ in his sermon on the mount described the crowd he was addressing as the salt of the earth - by which he meant that they were worthy, virtuous, and valuable. Esther aspires to be like them.

Esther's statement reveals her altruistic mindset. She opened her own gallery in Loyola Heights after graduating cum laude in Fine Arts (her second degree) at the University of the Philippines in 1998. Her gallery, the MSG Gallery, was where she held art workshops. Esther later on organized her students and formed the Amber Group. The thrust of her gallery being precisely to provide exposure to the art of her students, it was there that Esther mounted group shows to showcase their output. Sadly though, even if the Amber Group is still active to this day, Esther had to close her gallery after ten years for health reasons, and also to give more time to her family.

Esther Sevilla-Garcia's parents are Luz Bernabe and Dominador Sevilla. She must have inherited her artistic genes from her paternal grandfather who, according to Esther's aunt, was not only a school principal but also a painter. Esther said that her favorite subject during her elementary school years was Art Education. Nevertheless, when the time came for her to enter college, Esther chose to set aside her artistic yearning for a while and took up AB Pollitical Science instead - her first degree.

A true cosmopolite, Esther (Margie or Marge to her acquaintances) had travelled widely. She had visited nine countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. She had also traversed almost the whole length of the Philippines from Batanes to Davao.

Esther's contact with exotic cultures was probably what r enewed her love for art. The artist in her simply couldn't ignore the scenes she saw and the novel experiences she encountered abroad. She has to document them, by first taking pictures, and then painting them.

Most apt and symbolic of Esther's love for travel and her spiritual side was her fascination with lighthouses as subject matter for her paintings. When traveling, Esther made it a point to take pictures of lighthouses. Lighthouses are very significant for her because they not only provide light to guide the seafarers, they also are, in a metaphorical sense, the light source that guides humanity along the path of righteousness.

Esther's fixation with light doesn't stop at painting lighthouses. She disclosed that she carries during her travels her own mini- lighthouse, a flashlight, which is a very useful tool to her, because in addition to deep waters, big waves and storms, she's also afraid of dark places.

Although she also expressed admiration for Vicente Manansala and Hernando Ocampo, it is the realism of Juan Luna and Peter Paul Rubens that Esther emulated. Esther is into painting full time nowadays and has founded and headed the

Dynamic Art Group. Esther paints not only lighthouses, but also flowers, birds, and children. Esther's rendition of the craggy cliffs on which her lighthouses stand is most convincing, because she managed to bring out the rough texture and hardness of the rocks through sheer skillful brushwork. Esther implied that painting relaxes her so, and that she finds contentment in creating shimmering artworks that will brighten up the dark spaces that she has an aversion to.

Lighthouse Series

Atty. Rexy Dy-Liacco Collection

Rock Race Light, Victoria ,BC

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 24in

2021

Mr. and Mrs Joel Valdez Collection

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Lighthouse Series

Watercolor

14 x 20in

2017 Artist’s collectiom

Castle Hill Light

Rhode Island

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 24in

Atty. Rexy Dy-Liacco collection

Shinkyo Bridge, Japan • Acrylic on Canvas • 22 x 40in • Roger and Vicky Flores Collection

Atty Rex Celiz Best Of Both Worlds

in their bedroom which doubles as his studio. Celiz asserted that he hadn't taken any formal lessons in drawing and painting, and added that everything he knew about art making, especially in the use of acrylic, he learned from the art books he bought at a second-hand bookstore near his office. The books he collected were perhaps books on the art of Fernando Amorsolo, Claude Monet, and Vincent Van Gogh - Celiz's favorite artists. Judging from his choice of Monet and Van Gogh, impressionism must be the style that caught his fancy. Which is true.

Rex o. Celiz is in an enviable position. That's because he was able to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a painter and at the same time practice a lucrative career as a corporate lawyer. Celiz disclosed that his desire to be an artist never waned when he grew up, but practical consideration made him opt to be a lawyer instead.

Celiz first studied History at the University of the Philippines-Visayas. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree there, he next enrolled at the Ateneo de Manila University where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. He also took advanced studies at the University of San Diego for his Master Of Laws degree.

Bago City is in Negros Occidental, a province in Western Visayas, known for its sprawling sugar cane plantations. Celiz was born there, in 1966. The sights of these plantations and the seasonal routines of the migrant sugarcane workers or "sacadas" cutting ang gathering those sugarcanes in carabao-drawn carts were apparently etched deeply in his memory that Celiz never tires of capturing them again and again on canvas.

Entirely self-taught, Celiz began painting seriously only in 2014, even though the urge to copy the beauty of nature have always been with him since childhood. By painting seriously, I mean his creating artworks regularly, even if only during his free time,

Impressionism was originally a derogatory term coined by the art critic Louis Leroy to refer to the paintings of Claude Monet and the others who exhibited with him in 1874. What prompted Leroy to come up with that term was Monet's painting "Impression, sunrise," whose sketchy character greatly offended the art critic's academic taste. Yes, impressionist paintings with their short brush strokes and absence of blending look unfinished, but Celiz was impressed nevertheless with what he calls "their play with light and color." which he said reflects his "bright and sunny disposition".

But while the French Impressionist painted French scenes and things, Celiz documented sceneries typically Filipino. Instead of painting a row of poplars (or other temperate climate trees) like what Monet did, Celiz painted a banana grove. Instead of reprising Van Gogh's series of purple iris paintings, Celiz painted bandera españolas. Except for his choice of subject matter, Celiz followed and absorbed to the hilt the painting techniques developed by Monet. Celiz's painting of two roosters fighting is the most Monet-like because of the brilliancy of its colors and its thin short and loose daubs of paint which produced a shimmering effect.

The most remarkable though among Celiz' works is his sugarcane harvest scenes which I see as his attempt to approximate Amorsolo's pastoral landscapes. But he deviated somewhat and chose to highlight Negros Occidental's local color in his own sugarcane plantation pastorals. What pleases the eye in Celiz's renditions of this harvest scenes is his utilization of a yellow orange hue to color the plantation grounds that makes the entire scene seem suffused with the golden glow of approaching sunset.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Sugarcane Harvest Acrylic on canvas

35 x 23in

Banana Groove Acrylic on canvas

23 x 35in

Fighting with Knives Acrylic on canvas 24 x 18in

Lonely Bull Acrylic on canvas 20 x 30in

Man and Beast • Acrylic on canvas • 35 x 23in

Sugarcane Harvest 2 • Acrylic on canvas • 35 x 23in

The Dynamic Lady Painter

Josephine "Esang" Bejasa Adame

Josephine "Esang" Bejasa Adame belongs to a not quite long line of Filipino painters who espouse environmentalism in art. Most prominent among them are Prudencio Lamarroza and Rafael Cusi. I was at the opening of "Myth and Magic in the Image of Woman", Prudencio Lamarroza's 1984 art exhibit at the Gallery Genesis which featured his Amburayan Queen series. It was my first time to encounter the actual and stunning works of Lammaroza, the artist dubbed as an ecological painter by art critic Leo Benesa. Rafael Cusi, at around the same time, was also making a name for himself for his series of watercolors celebrating colorful marine life. Cusi is Esang's uncle. Thus, we can surmise that it was he who inspired Esang to take up art as her other profession.

Why other profession? That's because Accounting is what Esang took up in college at the University of Batangas. She later earned her Master's Degree in Public Administration at the Batangas State University. Esang said that even

though painting is what she loves most, she still obeyed her parents' wish for her to pursue the more in-demand career in business. Esang's parents are Romeo and Gloria Bejasa. Not being artisticallyinclined, being a farmer and public school teacher respectively, it is understandable that both parents did look askance at a career in the Arts, seeing it as one probable way to poverty. That assumption may be right in many cases, but the success of Romeo's first cousin Rafael Cusi, proved that assumption wrong.

Esang admitted that she was indeed inspired by her uncle, whose skill in watercolor painting won for him recognition and renown both here and abroad. To achieve what her uncle had achieved, Esang routinely joined art contests in her school, which pushed her to hone her artistic skills to a higher and higher level. Esang apparently is on the verge of reaching a mature level of artistry even without having studied in a fine arts school, because her recent prolific output displays a quiet mastery of realist painting techniques.

Most compelling is Esang's painting of a waterfall framed by trees which she rendered in a spare color scheme of greens and blues and white. The serenity this painting evokes in viewers is almost meditative, almost zen-like. But Esang is actually a colorist.The great bulk of her work is in fact colorful. One example of such work is her masterful painting

of kois. This painting is the nearest in theme to her uncle's body of work, with the difference that Esang's fishes thrive, not in saltwater, but in lotus ponds. We can see from her handling of her medium that the years she spent teaching herself how to paint wasn't wasted, and that she now has enough credentials to impart to beginner painters what she knows about the craft.

When asked if she paints full time now, Esang answered, not yet. She said that she still work as an Administrative Officer in the Department of Education (DepEd). Esang manages her time well, because despite her daily routine of working in her DepEd office, she still finds time to attend to her various art advocacies like facilitating art workshops, speaking in art symposiums, judging in art competitions, promoting the career of other artists in her Pintura page and YouTube channel, showing her works locally and internationally in solo and group art exhibits, and advocating the preservation of a pristine environment through an online platform she created, the Philippine Environmentalist Art Society. In addition to those, Esang also acts as advisor/ moderator of Paschal Artista, an art group based in her hometown San Pascual, Batangas.

Artist who are lukewarmly driven, and of lesser dynamism, passion and commitment to art couldn't have done everything Esang is doing while still holding a "day job". We shouldn't be astounded therefore by the sheer number and quality of the paintings Esang would surely produce the moment she could finally style herself as a bonafide full-time artist.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Old Taal Church • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 18in • 2020 • Earvene Jared Cunanan collection

Bountiful Harvest • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 36in

• 2021

• Rosalinda A. Mendoza collection

Umagang Kayganda • Acrylic on Canvas • 18 x 24in • 2021 • Sonnie A. Conception collection

Celebrating Celebrations

Amador Barquilla Jr.

"It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child." With that quote, Picasso elevated naif, primitivist, and even "childlike" art, onto a status equal to that enjoyed by Cubism, Fauvism, and other modernist art styles. Pablo Picasso, the pioneer art deconstructivist, was already a master of academic realism when he was in his mid-teens. But at some point in his career, Picasso grew tired of imitating natural appearances and began distorting and deconstructing forms and figures so that his works began to resemble more and more paintings that can easily be done by a child. That's all for the good it seems, because Picasso's radical creative moves liberated painters from the tedious task of copying nature as is, and expanded the definition of artworks that are considered aesthetically pleasing and professionally-done.

Amador Barquilla Jr's paintings - with the extreme simplification of their faceless human forms, ingenuous stylization of the dome-like hills, and employment of near-flat colors and black outlinesmight seem at first glance like the work of a child. But his intricate and bustling composition and masterful combining into a coherent whole of a busy foreground scene with multitudes of people with an equally busy background reveal a well-honed artistic skill and a mature knowledge on how one ought to construct a picture.

Barquilla likes to depict Filipinos at their cheerful best. Barrio fiestas, wedding celebrations, the carnival or "perya", and even the collective effort of relocating a whole house (the "bayanihan") are the staples of his art. Barquilla drew his inspiration from a wellspring of happy memories that date back to his childhood days in the province, where festivities such as these provided the villagers some respite and diversion from their routine tasks of scraping a living from the land and the sea. Very noticeable in Barquilla's works is the frenzy, the frenetic movement of the characters peopling his canvases

Bayanihan • 24 x 48in • Oil on Canvas • 2019

that one can almost feel their excitement and hyped up mood. When asked who his favorite local and foreign painters are, Barquilla answered Fernando Amorsolo and Keith Haring. Now, that is perplexing because no two art styles can be more antipodal than those of Amorsolo and Haring. Amorsolo was a staunch proponent of classical realism, while the American graffitist Keith Haring was one of the leading lights of Pop Art. Haring's signature style that shows naked and bloated stick figures in motion outlined in black must have inspired Barquilla to delineate his own figures with black outlines too. But Haring's influence stopped there, in those black outlines, because despite Barquilla's modernist approach in limning his figures, the native Filipino clothing of his characters, the lush coloration, and the rural milieu of his paintings manifested clear and nearer kinship with Amorsolo's bucolic scenes. Now a resident of Laguna, Barquilla was born in Polangui, Albay to farmer Amador Sr. and Purification Canalda. He revealed that a cousin, Jerry Morada, taught him the basics of painting. Barquilla had exhibited solo thrice and had joined several group exhibitions here and abroad. Polangui is surely a lovely place - a veritable paradise for a boy growing up. The place is not only idyllic, the people living there were apparently also filled with a "joie de vivre" - a lust for life - that compelled them to make any cyclical and landmark event in their lives a celebration. And that's precisely what Barquilla is doing today - celebrating by means of paint and canvas the celebrations that were an integral part of his happy boyhood days.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Fireworks Series 1 & 2 (left & right)

x 16in (upper panel)

(lower panel)

nang muli Series 3 (center)

Fiesta • Oil on Wood • 22 x 53in • 2017

Pokpok Palayok (top) • Oil on Wood • 22 x 75in • 2019 Pabitin (middle) • Oil on Wood • 22 x 75in • 2019 Kagat Mansanas (bottom) • Oil on Wood • 20 x 75in • 2018

Rebel Soul Ritche

Yee

Ritche Yee is a Filipino conceptual contemporary artist known primarily for his bold and daring experimentations with themes and materials, creating artworks that examine, confront, and rise against the inequalities of society. Brimming with unbridled angst, capturing the spirit of the streets, Yee’s art-making process is a tedious and painstaking dialogue between artist, muse, and material concrete, metal, paint, found objects, and raw, unadulterated emotion coalesce to incarnate and visually reveal the artist’s thoughts on the world and its ills with a gritty, post-apocalyptic aesthetic.

He uses the visual experience of decay and disintegration as metaphors for the condition of society, reminding the viewer that the world outside the galleries and posh places where one would usually find his works are cruel places where the strong lord over the weak, and the greedy devour the meek. Yet his narratives do not end with the wolves eating the lambs — far from it. The artist reminds us that the tyrannical giant Goliath was slain with a slingshot by the young shepherd David and that we, Davids in our own right, can and must rise against the forces that pin us down to the asphalt. And if we rise, empires will crumble, crowns will fall, and the many Davids will have a chance to rebuild from the rubble of life under the golden soles of the masters.

Yee’s art hasn’t always been this abrasive. Before he became known for his distinctive manner of artistic expression, he went through the route of being the campus artist, serving as an illustrator for his school publication during high school, and as a cartoonist for various editorial magazines during college in his hometown of Agusan del Norte. He was also a constant winner in local art competitions during this period.

After graduating with a degree in Business Administration from the Father Saturnino Urios University in Butuan City, Yee came to a crossroads and decided to follow the irresistible call of creativity, attending workshops and establishing a career in the arts. From that point forward, he honed his skills religiously and worked to further his craft. This constant self-betterment is reflected in his oeuvre, which garnered the notice of master artist Hermes Alegre, who took on Yee as his apprentice in 2002 - 2003. From 2008 to 2012, he was also a constant collaborator of internationally-acclaimed artist Luis E. Yee, also known as Junyee, who is hailed as the pioneer of installation art in the Philippines. In 2013, he began pursuing a second degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Yee is a recipient of awards from various national competitions: Art Association of the Philippines (2008 and 2009); GSIS Painting Competition (2009 and 2011); Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (2010 and 2015); and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Art Competition (2013). His works have been exhibited in many galleries of national importance and is a founding member of MakiSining.

Wanting to be recognized as an artist separated from the shadow of his mentors and collaborators, Yee embarked on an artistic journey of learning and unlearning that led him to the creation of his signature artmaking method which he calls “sculptural painting”. From then on, he grew into the artist that we know and admire today whose works are characterized by a brutal fearlessness and a rebel soul, which is clearly manifested in this grouping of three works from ___.

In " Erosion " The Art of Shredding series,” Yee brings literal chunks of the gritty and grimy outside world into the pristine bubble of the gallery. Three fragments of concrete that seem violently ripped out of a building are embellished with slogans and expressions of disgust and discontent against the ruling elite and the status quo in fresh and sharp graffiti, along with imagery in the same vein. The works engage and provoke the viewer to contemplate one’s place in society, and to reflect on whether one is an oppressor or an ally of the oppressed. He also reminds us, as explicitly stated in " Erosion" series, that there could be no peace without justice.

—Paolo Gerero

Exemplifying The Beauty Of Hope Erzil

Morales

Abstract painter Erzil Morales was born in Pangasinan, Philippines. She has exhibited outside the country such as in Asia like Singapore wherein she was featured in an art magazine entitled Art Herald. In addition, she also exhibited in Africa, Europe, and some parts of America. Morales's recent oeuvre brings out the importance of finding beauty and meaning in everyday life. Taken as a whole, her oeuvre resembles clouds that are cut through by gold metallic streaks and faded geometric shapes. There is an interplay of softness and edginess, a quality of Morales' recent paintings. The amorphous forms give off a feeling of light and being unburdened while shapes balance out the composition as they suggest confidence and boldness. As her works tackle life and spirituality, Morales makes sure to refocus the viewers from the harsh realities to something that is encouraging and promising.

"And Life Goes On" echoes the saying that one should keep going despite the unpleasant situations in life. It presents the reality that there are and will be pressing concerns and hardships that will either make or break a person. Yet, it also presents the viewers with the choice to move forward. It not only propels the viewers to keep going but also liberates them from the laser focusing on problems that could paralyze them from doing what they ought to do.

Ulap Ng Pagasa 1 And 2 Acrylic On Canvas 24 x 24in 2022

The beauty of A New presents an appreciation of every fresh start a person encounters. As humans, we are prone to make mistakes, to be stuck in dilemmas, and to be lost; and we tend to beat ourselves up when we fail and can't accept the fact that sometimes we lose. This piece not only captures the beauty of beginning again but also applauds the winning attitude of the doer.

To meditate upon the works and being of the Provident is to draw a spiritual connection to Him. Providence and Reflection give a visual glimpse of how Morales visualizes this communion. Moreover, it also cultivates a heavenly atmosphere where humans are welcome to associate themselves with the Highest Being, God. It also acts as encouragement that is to yield to Him as the Holder of our past, present, and future.

Her painting Twilight depicts bright clouds against a dark background. A bat can be seen flying at the bottom left. Its presence suggests that it's their waking time during twilight. Bats are often associated with darkness yet in Chinese culture bats are believed to be good luck and a source of happiness.

Ulap ng Pag-asa is a manifestation of Morales' positive outlook in life. To her, there is such a thing called hope and she aims to visually promote it to everyone. This painting not only emits a sense of motivation to the hopeless and hopeful but also gently nudges the viewers that there is such a thing as hope especially during these unprecedented times. Further, Morales' moved away from the realistic

imagery of florals, instead, she created her version of Lilac and Marigold, immortalizing a fraction of the precious natural world.

—Timberly S. Fuentes

Renewal And Revelation Ronnie

Rudinas

172 G

rowth and renewal are fundamental characteristics of life. All living beings are constantly growing and changing on a cellular level. The human body replaces all the cells within its system every seven to ten years, in such a way that the body that was two decades ago is no longer the same body now, which, in essence, is a new corpus virtually untouched by the trauma before its renewal, a comforting truth that heralds healing. For artist Ronald “Ronnie” Rudinas, this physical truth also has a spiritual dimension. A devout man engaged in the ministry of Catholic Apologetics, Ronnie is intimately aware of the power of growth and renewal, not only of the body but also of the spirit.

The Butuanon artist believes that one is never done growing. He responds to life’s challenges one at a time and constantly pursues betterment through activities and engagements that affirm his purpose. To this end, he continually expresses his vision of the world through a distinctive take on cubism that is populated by characters reflective of his beloved hometown — scenes of need and plenty, of planting and harvest, of waiting and achieving — revelations of the cycle of growth, reflections of constant renewal.

A banker by profession, Rudinas has worked in the field of banking and finance for many years,

growing in professional stature as the years went by. With the passing of time, he has also enlarged his networks in the profession and takes pleasure in being able to connect with people with whom he can connect and share his goals and passion. Beyond the bank, he is also also teaches Art Appreciation at the St. Peter Seminary College, and leads art workshops for the public in the city as well. He is also gifted with a clarion voice, which he puts to good use with the Schoenstatt Male Choir, and Coro di Sant' Agostino. But of all the many hats that Ronnie wears, the dearest to his heart is his role as a family man. He is a loving husband to his wife Grace, and a good father to his children, adopting as his model and inspiration the all-encompassing love of God for all his children.

This life of purpose, marked by constant reflection and renewal, is reflected in Ronnie’s oeuvre. Masterful in his use of various media, including oil, acrylics, and watercolor, Rudinas paints stunning compositions characterized by his signature cubistic style composed of curvilinear facets that make up the subjects and backgrounds of his works. Suffused in brilliant colors, the artist’s canvases evoke wave-shaped shards of colored glass arranged in a manner that gives form to his subjects. This technique is manifested perfectly in his quartet of paintings from Our Treasures.

In “Bountiful Harvest”, Rudinas depicts a family of farmers laying out their harvest. The background of celestial blue is intricately executed in his signature cubistic style, contrasting well with the more complicated forms of the characters and their bounty. A similar faceting effect appears in “Bulawanong Higayon ”, where lady vendors and their children are shown hawking their produce, with their clothes and the fruits appearing like stained glass backlit by sunlight. In “Lusak”, which shows a couple clad in Filipiniana hard at work with the lusong and alho, the jewel-like effect finds gorgeous expression in the character’s clothes, the surrounding structure, and the flora around them. But perhaps he is most successful in “Love Us”, where, unburdened by the requirements of anthropomorphic form, he depicts a catch of fish arranged on banana leaves in full cubistic glory, glowing with contrasting hues.

Given his penchant for growth, we are assured that in the coming years, we will see more of Rudinas offering more purposeful works that come from his heart that continuously seeks positive renewal.

—Paolo Guerero

Opposite page

Resonare Oil on Canvas

36 x 24in 2022

Essence Oil on Canvas

32 x 32in 2022

Spawning Mother Nature

Alfonso Vargas

The breath taking beauty of the natural world has captured Al Vargas’ attention since day one. His childhood memories of simple living surrounded by nature became his inspiration and proclivity as he taught himself to draw, gearing himself up for a future career in the field of architecture. He didn’t get his parents’ nod though, thus Al ended up being a Mechanical Engineer by profession. But Al’s artistic propensity must truly runs in his veins that he was able to incorporate the arts in his stint as an engineer working at the Design department for a Japanese appliance company. Collaborating with his team to create aesthetically pleasing appliances became a breeze thanks to his artistic exposure.

When Al moved to the United States, it somehow rekindled the spark in his art voyage. On weekdays he would work to pay the bills and then spend the weekends painting sceneries he earlier photographed. The sketching sessions somehow helped him get through the nitty gritty of the fast-paced American living.

With painting relegated into the back burner upon his return to his native land, Al found himself spending his free time again doing some sketches. With encouragement from friends, Al has finally yielded into his childhood dream – he now paints, pouring his love and passion into masterfully crafted works of art with his favourite subject (nature, of course).

Whether done in acrylic, oil, watercolour or pastel media on canvas, paper or panel, Al’s art works surely stands out.

In “Sunrise”, the seascape is portrayed in one of its finest versions as Al dramatically captured the calmness of the sea and the cool vista of the golden sky before it warms up in the day. The refreshing yet subdued hues and tones the artist used reminded me of “a day on a beach, chilling with a cool glass of four seasons” kind of vibe; the smooth and airy feel of the brushstrokes created a soft, tranquil effect which add up to the relaxing spirit the art work exuded.

Al Vargas in his acrylic on canvas “Prusisyon” impressively relives a Christian ritual that has been part of the Filipino tradition for ages. The azure skies lend dramatics to the scenario thus becoming the main focal point of the art work instead. It elicits a picturesque fairy tale ambiance with the snow-like white specks setting an overall magical, festive mood in the scene.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

Barrio Neneng • Oil on Canvas • 16 x 20in • 2020

Ang Sampung Datu • Acrylic on Canvas • 20 x 30in • 2011

Fishing Couple • Acrylic on Paper • 12 x16in • 2020

Prusisyon • Acrylic on Canvas • 14 x 18in • 2020

Sunrise • Acrylic on Panel • 17 x31in • 2020

Warm • Acrylic on Panel • 14.5 x 17.5in • 2020

Pieces Of My Soul

Nani Reyes

we love and used to play as kids before technology took over. The crisp prismatic shapes and figures in vibrant hues send out refreshing images of innocence and simplicity in his works. To those who grew up knowing this simple happiness in the eyes of a child, one can’t help but feel sentimental on this period from the past.

"Luksong Tinik" is a traditional Filipino game that involves jumping over a pile of thorns. The artwork created by Nani Reyes depicts a group of children playing the game, capturing the energy and playfulness of the activity. The use of bright colors and bold lines in the artwork adds to the lively and dynamic feel of the piece. The image is also rich in cultural references, as the game of Luksong Tinik is a cherished part of Filipino folk culture.

Ernani “Nani” Reyes’ roots are fittingly consistent with his chosen industry, as he hails from the Art Capital of the Philippines, Angono, Rizal. His art studio / gallery is located in the next town of Binangonan where you can find his acclaimed artworks on display.

“Being an artist makes you realize that the artworks you make are the pieces of your soul and in hindsight, a reflection of your purpose in life,” says Nani Reyes whose strong faith and essence of youthfulness became inspiration for his subjects.

Reyes adapted the form of cubism, a 20th century avant-garde style of painting revolutionized by Pablo Picasso in France. But to make his art works truly have a touch of its own, he painted in “reinvented” form of cubism striking and colourful, exciting and effervescent.

“Mga larong bata” is the latest series of this new wave artist whose witty portrayals of traditional Filipino children’s games evoke a feeling of nostalgia to one’s own childhood memories. Luksong tinik, sungka, Sunka, futbol show the kind of games

"Indak" is a stunning representation of the beauty and majesty of Philippine folk dance. The piece showcases a group of dancers performing at raditional dance, their movements captured in fluid lines and vibrant colors. The use of bold brushstrokes and vivid colors creates a sense of energy and movement, conveying the dynamism and grace of the dancers. The intricate patterns on the dancers' costumes are also depicted with great attention to detail, adding to the richness and complexity of the image.

Reyes' artwork is a tribute to the richness of Philippine culture and the artistry of its traditional dances. It reminds us of the importance of preserving and celebrating our cultural heritage, and how art can be a powerful tool for cultural expression and identity.

— Ruth C. Espinosa

Indak Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 18in 2022

Julius Clar Synergy

It suggests an entailment of man’s journey from one place to another as he thrives to function and contribute to the community. Meanwhile, his Itineraries of Life features spontaneous scribbles of interconnecting lines and shapes which indicates the sudden man’s inability to control circumstances and the effects that could be brought upon his life. The classical painting Madonna is usually a realistic representation of Mary as the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, Clar’s The Brown Madonna is comprised of black, white, and green undefined shapes that are being cut off by black thin lines and a white spiral. It allows the viewers not only to reflect upon her life as a bearer of the Savior but also a testimony of God’s faithfulness and Sovereignty.

Julius Clar was born in Surigao de Sur, Philippines, in 1953. He has been working with black-and-white photography and collage art for years. At this present time, he has been producing art that brings awareness of what it is like to survive. Each of his pieces has a sense of turmoil because of the loose objects that, for Clar, require more intentional planning, but at the same time has a sense of calmness because of the unifying concept the piece conveys. Clar views his art as under-laid out because of the whole composition including the gestural strokes, suggestions of movements, and subtle to strong colors it possesses.

Familiar and unfamiliar objects are usually seen in Clar’s paintings such as his I Dreamed of Dali. It depicts a scene that is inspired by the works of the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali who is famously known to produce paintings mainly derived from his imagination, dreams, and delusions. Here, Clar let loose of his inner self on the canvas and let the elements intermingle altogether. A wash of blue pigment can be seen in the background that contrasts the rigid shapes and lines, creating a strong repelling force between the two elements.

Moreover, Clar ‘s Itineraries in Life features mainly floating objects like celestial bodies on a hill.

The Green Key depicts a green key in the middle with two brushstrokes of paint atop and two at the bottom. The dark background gravitates a sense of mystery, and the key as the focal point unfolds a series of possible interactions in the future as it represents the unlocking of a possible beginning and end. Defined figures are evident in Clar’s The Tree of Life which features a tree planted on the border of a hill and a water form. A skull can be seen hanging on the leaves, while an outline of a knife and a ball is situated on their respective side. A fish resting on a raised fishnet can be seen atop the tree. This painting transcends numerous connotations that are narrowed down to death, harvest, and balance. Taken as a whole, Clar’s pieces represent man aiming to survive in an unpredictable world where he encounters influences in life, a synergy of phenomenons.

—Timberly S. Fuentes

I Dreamed of Dali • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 20in

Itineraries in Life

Itineraries in Life 2

Acrylic on Panel 24 x 24in

Acrylic on Panel 24 x 24in

The Brown Madona Acrylic on Panel

The Tree of Life • Acrylic on Canvas • 100 x 100cm

Trajectories and Musings

Roy Ama

altogether, inviting the viewers to explore and muse over the traversing spaces where surprising encounters await.

His illuminating painting "Untitled 2" reveals vertical strokes all translucently merged with rounded shapes. It is as if these vertical strokes dim and glow interchangeably, and as if each of these bubble-like forms quickly rises, falls, and bounces in different directions while changing shapes, having a sense of high energy. As this piece is glazed with radiance and captures a full force of motion, it projects to a bigger source of being responsible for its continuance.

Moreover, His "Untitled 3" is dominated by unrestrained blazing strokes against a cool amorphous background. The flaring strokes are comparable to combustible substances that persist in a freezing condition which relates to their foggy, amorphous background. This polarized relationship creates tension and harmony, an interjectory of unrest and balance, a mark of Ama’s art.

Roy Ama has been working in men’s fashion design and garment production for years. In line with that, he served as an art director in design and advertising for eleven years. In 2005, Ama started to produce expressionist paintings. This new creative chapter gave birth to a more diverse series of expressionist art which became part of his solo art exhibitions, and entries for several group art shows such as his ephemeral series that were part of the Unang Hirit art show along with the FilArts gallery that took place on May 2022. In one of his submitted pieces, Ama scatters ladder-like shapes, circles, splatters, and dabs of paint on a dark surface, a jiving of graphic detail.

Roy’s recent expressionist art is a chemistry of movement, force, and vast space as if zoomed-in scenes of his galactic worlds. His painting entitled Untitled is a rendering of overlapping different strokes of paint. The back layer features wide brush strokes, the second layer is comprised of slim diagonal lines interjected with each other, and the top layer is composed of curved splatters and lashes. This artwork likens to three dimensions entangled

His "Untitled 4" is charged with vertical brushstrokes. The high light can be seen on the left that retracts sideways, connected to the streaming of transparent white bubbles on the right. The interference of light to shade creates wavefronts of luster over the dry-brushed altering hues and tones in the background.

His Untitled 5, 6, and 7 show curved splatters of raging paint spontaneously depicted against a dark background that unravels Ama’s tendency to arrange visual elements fortuitously and intentionally, an unpacking of exciting twists and turns. Neon colors partnered with dark hues such as the backgrounds are a growing visual theme for Ama. Further, these pieces show a competition between positive and negative space, creating numerous possible suggestions of images beyond the sum of its parts. Taken as a whole, his oeuvre not only reflects Ama’s dynamic relationship with paint and his artistic fervency revealed through gesture and color but also displays Ama’s fascination with his perceived boundless realities. Currently,

—Timberly S. Fuentes

Untitled 1 Acrylic on Canvas 29 x 26in 2021

Untitled 2 Acrylic on Canvas 29 x 24in 2021

Golden Blooms

Leslie Castañeda

Artists usually find their voices early on in life. Experimenting with art is the realm of the young, so it seems; students following their masters, learning how to do things and how things work, how the world works. But such is not the case for Leslie Castañeda, who began to discover and explore her passion for art in her late forties.

There is beauty in new beginnings at a point in life where most people would be masters of their craft or would be contemplating winding down and looking forward to retirement. Like sudden rainfall after a drought, finding new love in art awakened seeds that have lain dormant for many decades in Leslie’s soul, bursting forth into beautiful blooms at the beginning of her golden age.

Leslie has always been fascinated with art. Early in life, she had dreams of becoming an artist. However, she was forced to seek a different path and set these dreams aside in order to become the breadwinner for her family. For many years, she has worked in the field of marketing in order to put food on the table and make ends meet, and the sheer intensity of the demands of her situation did not allow her to pursue personal creative projects. Time passed with its cruel intensity, but she shone as a beacon of light for her family — and, just like lighthouses exposed to the ravages of the elements, her heart bears the

marks of every buffet and blow, yet steadfast standing she remains, even to this day, sharing her light with all who needs it.

When the pandemic hit and forced people into isolation, Leslie had an epiphany. With work suspended and time in her hands, she began to think

Alitaptap • Acrylic on Canvas • 12 x 12in each • 2022

about what she has achieved so far, and where she is headed to. Finally, with a small canvas panel, a few bottles of paint, and a whole lot of courage, she began to incarnate a dream forty-eight years in the making: her very first painting.

Setting aside her doubts and uncertainties at beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age, Leslie found joy and solace in the process of pouring her heart out onto canvas, quite literally. Her chosen art-making technique is fluid art, a process where paint is poured directly on the canvas, and manipulated by tilting, blowing, and dragging the puddle across the surface, resulting in mesmerizing abstract compositions that evoke mystery and awe.

Due to the nature of her art-making process, each one of Leslie’s works is truly unique. Even if she uses the same color combinations, the results would always be different, as fluids move with the dictate of physics, and the artist is a conductor for the delicate dance of paint and gravity. This is demonstrated in her suite of paintings from Sensorio, where she captures the flow of elegant colors and freezes their motion on canvas, snapshots of the forces of nature at work with the physical properties of paint, guided by the artist into being.

In “The Cave”, she evokes the ebb and flow of matter in the universe with a nebula-like composition

of gold tones and white against a black background. With similar colors, she evokes a pair of portals to and from other dimensions in the “Alitaptap” diptych. And finally, with shades of blue and earth over a white background, she creates a linear composition in “Reefs” that seemingly reflects her journey — turbulent at times, but when viewed as a big picture, beautiful in all its drifts and fluxes, its detours and diversions… and always, always moving forward.

At present, Leslie’s biggest milestone is "The Golden Journey: A Mother and Son Art Collaboration", a partnership with her son Phons, who helped her discover her artistic voice. She also posts her artworks on Leslie Gallerie, an online platform where she engages with fellow artists and customers. The proceeds of her sales go toward her sister’s cancer treatment.

— Paolo Gerero

Sensorio • Acrylic on Canvas • 20 x 30in • 2022

Reefs

Acrylic on Canvas 20 x 30in

Ilaw

Acrylic on Canvas 16 x 20in

The Cave Acrylic on Canvas 14 x 16in

Of Fabric Prints, Japonisme And Klimt

Mylene Quito

of hints of the two painters' influence. No trace whatsoever of Dali's surrealism and Van Gogh's swirling impastos surfaced in any of her new paintings. But of Klimt's iconography, there are many. Yet, I can say that Mylene managed to digress and veer gradually away from the style of Klimt, and introduce her own original motifs and composition devices into her paintings. While retaining the floral and other fabric design-like patterning in her works in the manner of Klimt, Mylene pared and simplified her human figures to the point of abstraction, which Klimt never did.

A certain orientalism, or more specifically, "Japonisme", crept into Mylene's paintings, with her usage of what seem like lotus flower as central motif for her work, and her appropriation of an image of Mt. Fuji, the rising sun symbol, and the Great Wave image by that renown Japanese graphic artist of long ago, Hokusai. Mylene told me that she was a great fan of many things Japanese - like their lovely land and unique culture - and made special mention of Hokusai. She explained that the painting with the great wave, the rising sun, and Mt. Fuji is her homage to him.

Mylene Quito's art exudes feminity all over. Her paintings of blossoming flowers, mother and child, and even her abstracts, are all decorated with patterns not unlike the prints of dainty girl dresses. Mylene might have arrived at this style on her own, without her being influenced by artists doing similar works, but this style, Pattern and Decoration (P&D), has been around since the mid-1970s. The P&D Movement was organized to attract the critical attention monopolized then by conceptual and minimalist art. The P&D's distinct trait was its appropriation of fabric and wallpaper patterns, and also the arabesques and ornate designs of Islamic and other non-Western art. Although often associated with feminism and feminine crafts like quilting, embroidery, and the like, the P&D Movement also has male adherents and practitioners. There's nothing surprising in that because this patterning and decorative tendency in painting went back 125 years earlier as can be seen in the output of Gustav Klimt and his associates in the Vienna Secession movement. Gustav Klimt, who Mylene mentioned as one of her idols, is a big influence in the evolution of her style. Although she added that she also admires Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh, Mylene's recent works were totally purged

Mylene was born in Tondo, Manila, to Evangeline Malate and Arnel Quito. But she grew up in Pampanga, a province north of Manila. Mylene started young in her art journey. She started drawing, out of the blue, when she was only seven years old. She claimed that no one had inspired her, because no one she knew when she was still a child was into art. Like many painters born of working class parents, Mylene was not able to take up any formal schooling in fine arts. She was self-taught. And like many painters born with innate artistic talent, lack of a diploma from a Fine Arts college proved to be no hindrance to her attainment of her goal of making a mark in the art scene. Mylene had attracted quite a number of clients who valued and collected her works. She had also exhibited extensively not only here in the Philippines, but also in Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Mylene's mother, who had to work abroad as a part-time seamstress to help provide for their family, inspired her so. Mylene's fixation with fabric patterns wasn't due solely to her admiration for Klimt's work. She disclosed that her paintings will serve as forever reminders of the time when their mother used

to make dresses herself for Mylene and her siblings. In the same way that Mylene's mother invested time, effort, money, and love in sewing those dainty printed dresses, so did Mylene invested time, effort, money, and most of all, love, in creating these, her painting tributes to her.

— Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Homage to Katsushika Hokusai the great wave pattern series Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 24in 2022

"Eclaireiccement" (Enlightenment) Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36in

"L'amour c'est" (Love is) Les Belle Fleurs Series • Acrylic on Canvas • 36 x 36in

Untitled • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 48in • 2022

Mother and Child pattern Series • Acrylic on Canvas • 36 x 36in • 2022

Unapologetically Feminine

Eugenia “Gene” Artango Villasper

Feminine and strong, classic and cutting edge, introspective and revelatory – these are the contrasting yet harmonious evocations of Eugenia “Gene” Artango Villasper’s eloquent and expressive maximalist works of art. As if embodying the manifold hats worn by their multi-hyphenate creator, the elegant and ethereal denizens of her paintings are women who are more than what meets the eye; their complexities revealed upon extended contemplation. In this way, the heart of the artist is laid open, and within, we find a power brightly burning, and a fiercely hopeful vision of achieving positivity through art.

Villasper, Gene to her family and friends, is a Philippine contemporary artist who is known for her cubistic and surrealistic representation of women. She is an alumna of the University of the East where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Advertising in 1992. Afterwards, she delved head first into the profession and eventually became an art director at Chasms Advertising and Money Savers Magazine.

However, her true vocation is not in the corporate world, but in art. When she finally decided

to heed the call, there was no stopping her, and she dedicated her being into her art practice. This dedication translated into characters that seem to be more than just the artist’s subjects, but avatars of herself, each one reflecting an aspect of the beautiful complexity of her mind and her persona.

Often dressed in Filipiniana apparel awash with sumptuous patterns or in the uncovered dignity of their own skin, these angular yet delicate ladies are shown in the pursuit of life’s simple pleasures –reading a book, playing a musical instrument, enjoying nature, reveling in the glory of motherhood – in whatever cubist milieu the artist places her creations and whatever vesture they are shown in, they always appear beautiful, confident, elegant, and assured of their place in the universe. They exude a serenity that comes from knowing and nourishing one’s truth, a revelation of the strength that belie their delicate appearance.

The artist’s signature manner of stylization of the feminine form are distinctly exhibited in these three works from her Modern Mestiza Series painted in 2022.

In two of the works, Villasper presents her ladies as solo diners seated indoors, wearing fine trajes de mestiza adorned with floral embroidery and delicately patterned lace, holding cups in their hands. Looking directly at the viewer, they invite us to partake of that which is served – the literal and the implied – their voluminous gowns hinting at that which is concealed, the sweets perhaps alluding to a different delicacy that can only be obtained if one has the courage to confront their beauty.

In contrast to the invitational tone and contained setting of the previous pair of paintings, Villasper situates her ladies in the sun-drenched outdoors in the third artwork, thoroughly engaged with each other’s presence over a table overflowing with flowers, fruits, and delicacies. Thoroughly comfortable with themselves, paying no heed to their surroundings, these ladies defy the traditional values of pagkamahinhin attached to the traje de mestiza; unlike the Maria Clara archetype with whom this dress is identified with, these women are not afraid to hike up their voluminous embroidered skirts to show generous amounts of skin, a testament to the artist’s ability to turn patriarchal symbols on their head and give them new feministic meanings, claiming them as hers, unafraid, unashamed, and unbothered.

Gene is currently a faculty member of the SoFA Design Institute where she teaches contemporary art, and is an active member of the Saturday Group and the Art Association of the Philippines. She also owns, manages, and teaches art at her very own Artango Art Studio.

—Paolo Gerero

Opposite page

Modern Mestiza Brewed Break Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 36in 2023

Modern Mestiza Brewed Break Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 36in 2023

Modern Mestiza Series Brewed Break Acrylic on Canvas 24x36 2023

Modern Mestiza Series Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 9in 2023

Mestiza Musikera Cello Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 18in 2023

Modern Mestiza Series Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 9in 2023

Unboxing Reality thru Fantasy

Lloyd Lusica

As an abstract figurative painter, Lloyd’s paintings are meant to be read and analyzed. He doesn’t want the audience to merely admire his art works because of its beauty; rather, he wants the audience to connect with the image that they see, moved by it and explore the boundless possibilities of its interpretation.

A Lloyd Lusica trademark is his use of grids in most of his paintings. Those interlocking crisscross of lines or cubes lend the art work an enigmatic appeal thereby giving the oeuvre a distinct character. Lusica’s art works delves on juxtaposing reality and fantasy, of interposing a dream with reality.

Lusica’s “New Hope” with its trademark grid lines over a self-image, is the artist’s rendition of a hip self-portrait; a modern, non-traditional, youthful approach to a portraiture, very Gen Z, so to speak.

Lloyd B. Lusica was born in Guindulman, an old town in the eastern part of Bohol in the Philippines. He attended the University of Bohol College of Architecture and Fine Arts where he majored in Advertising. Dreaming big and aiming high to have a better life, Lloyd moved to Manila in 2012 to fulfill his dream of etching a name in painting and started participating in a number of group art shows. Five years later, Lusica mounted his first one-man show entitled "Unboxed Thoughts" at Galeria Alvero in Quezon City, Philippines.

Lusica paints fulltime at his atelier in Makati City. He has exhibited locally and internationally, participating in group art shows in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China, and Japan. Ever so busy, Lloyd has several upcoming local and international shows lined up in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon and Hanoi in Vietnam and in Antalya, Turkey.

Lloyd feels blessed that his art works, shows and achievements were widely written, covered and published in the Arts, Lifestyles, and Entertainment sections of several Philippine broadsheet newspaper dailies. One of his paintings has recently graced and was featured in the inside back cover of the Filipino Artists Magazine. Lloyd takes pride in having his artworks in some of the most exclusive collections. Being a professional painter, Lloyd has been represented professionally and exclusively managed in the last couple of years.

This young Boholano artist has come a long way undeniably; from a small town which used to be “overtaken by darkness” to an emerging artist with a bright, luminous path in his chosen journey.

—Ruth C. Espinosa

Inner Beauty • Oil on Canvas • 24 x 24in • 2022

The doctor's brush is in

Jose Armin Virata

Jose Armin Virata is a talented artist with a unique background that has influenced his work in many ways. While he pursued medicine as his initial profession, his love for art never faded away, and he eventually became a self-taught artist. Over the years, Virata has developed and made a significant impact in the art world with his realist-expressionist style that utilizes various mediums such as watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastels, and charcoal. He also extends his creativity to sculpture, using clay and cement to craft beautiful works of art.

Virata's subjects vary from landscapes to still life and human interest. His landscapes are notable for their detailed rendering, and the nuanced portrayal of the environment. Virata's ability to convey emotion and mood in his portraits and human-interest pieces sets him apart from other artists and makes him a unique and exciting addition to the world of art. His works often showcase a range of emotions, such as joy, sadness, and contemplation, and reflect his deep appreciation for the beauty of the human form.

Despite his success in the art world, Virata remains committed to his medical profession. He believes that the two fields of medicine and art are complementary, and that his medical practice informs his art and vice versa. His unique background and passion for medicine have influenced his art in various ways, enabling him to create works that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also deeply insightful, allowing him to imbue his art with a level of sensitivity and insight that is rare among artists.

Virata's art has been exhibited in various galleries and exhibitions, both in the Philippines and internationally. His works have also been recognized with numerous awards and accolades.

"Walk with the faith" and "Outpouring Grace" are two of Jose Armin Virata's most notable works, both done in oil on canvas. Despite featuring only the hands gesturing, these paintings effectively convey their respective titles and messages.

"Walk with the faith" depicts one hand walking on the water, which conveys a powerful message of faith and trust in a higher power. The use of warm colors and soft tones creates a serene and peaceful atmosphere, evoking a sense of calm and tranquility. Meanwhile,

"Outpouring Grace" features one hand reaching up to catch raindrops falling from the sky. The vibrant colors used in the painting, such as the bright blues and greens, create a sense of vitality and abundance. The painting conveys the idea of being open to the blessings of the universe and receiving grace in all its forms. Both artworks showcase Virata's ability to convey powerful messages through his minimalist approach, using only the image of a single hand. These paintings are not only aesthetically pleasing but also thought-provoking, inviting the viewer to contemplate their own faith and spirituality.

Outpouring Grace Oil on Canvas 12 x 16in 2022 Walk with the faith Oil on Canvas 12 x 16in 2022

— Ruth C. Espinosa

Unseen Grace Oil on Canvas

Towards the stars Oil on Canvas 12 x 16in 2022

Esteemed

Billy Yu

Yu’s painting entitled Woman resembles a vogue fashion model featured in public materials like magazines; a valor royal on her throne; or the woman in Whistler’s Mother by Frans Hals. A chair may be used as a resting spot. It may also symbolize position and power. Seeing a woman settling on a chair figuratively tells us that women can be effective leaders in their versions of their thrones or mission fields such as fashion and design, administration, and household.

In Lady, the plain background magnifies her bearing: a demure woman with running thoughts, outweighing her idle impression . Like an eagle, her vision extends miles away from where she is sitting. She is seemingly analyzing the happenings all at once, allowing captivating stories to form at back of her mind. In her solitude, a woman with a voice is awaiting to be heard.

His Reading Time features a woman sitting on a single couch while her right hand supports her tilted head, and her left hand holds an open book. The setting could be a living area with a hanging framed picture and a french window. Her eyes fixed on the book suggest that she is comprehending the ideas related to the text and images before her. It implies that she has the luxury of time, and has the privilege to access information in the comfort of her home.

Billy Israel A. Yu holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration majoring in marketing. He had solo and group art exhibitions in the Philippines and had been included in publications such as a book about his father William Yu. Many of his works manifest influences from the artworks of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Richard Diebenkorn, and Marc Chagall. He described his style as geometric abstraction, geometric expressionism, and cubism. His acrylic paintings Woman, The Lady, and Reading Time are portraits of women sitting in their respective built chairs, a growing signature of Yu. The figures are made of a combination of pointed, and curvilinear shapes with thin to thick outlines. The size of every shape seems to increase, decrease, and vice versa while being beheld from different viewpoints, which makes the viewers' eyes jump from one configuration to another. Each shape is solid filled with a single hue that also serves as a tonal value. The repeating colors are yellow-orange, green, purple, and blue. The range of tonal values is commonly limited to highlight, middle tone, and shadow, a trace of chiaroscuro.

Yu’s three paintings portray three women seemingly from different walks of life, and invite us to partake in their outer and inner world. The subject matter opens an avenue of discussion on how women are being portrayed and gazed upon by spectators mainly in the arts and entertainment industry. At the same time, they serve as a platform for counteracting the tendency to view women as objects for selfish gain, an upsetting reality. Women are worthy to be esteemed regardless of their past, their decisions, and the situation they are currently in

S. Fuente

—Timberly

The Lady • Acrylic on Canvas • 30 x 40in • 2021

The Woman • Acrylic on Canvas • 30x 40in • 2021

Roland Rosacay Designed to Thrive

There are over 33,000 fish species around the world. They can be seen in the ocean, rivers, ponds, and man-made water forms like aquariums. Despite its varieties, a live fish moving in water metaphorically teaches us many things about life. For instance, sometimes, you need to go against the current to find your way out . Be on guard, a prey could be luring around, waiting for the right time to attack you. Choose to stay alive especially when strong pressure-like waves arise. Fishes are made for water while birds are made for air; appreciate your God-given design. Similarly, a school of fish teaches us the value of mutualism in the context of community. It reminds us that our presence can make a positive significant impact on the lives of others. In the same way, we also need others' presence for an improved life.

These notions are reflected in Roland Rosacay's oeuvre such as his Fish series whose

theme rests on the colorful school of fish moving in flowing water. The simplified slightly translucent figures allow the viewers to focus on the vibrant colors and the list of possible affiliations such as provision because some people view a school of fish as good source of harvest for food, prosperity because fishes are a symbol of wealth in Chinese culture, and piety because fish represents Jesus Christ in the Bible. Another quality of Rosakay's depicted fishes is their round eyes as if gazing toward the viewers. The wide awake stare makes them look alert, vigilant and focused on pursuing their goal: food gathering, protection from prey, and reaching their destination. Evident in his Fish Harmony series, Rosacay explored the splatter technique adding texture on the whole piece while giving a dynamic and playfulness appeal. Sun is sometimes present in his works as it implies that these fishes are guided by a certain life force. In addition, the representation of sun bears another metaphoric reminder: always choose to thrive whether in our sunrise and sunsets. Taken as a whole,

Rosacay's oeuvre not only takes us to the wonders of the ocean life but also propels us to prevail and keep moving forward, awaiting a new adventure to another one.

Rosacay was born in Angat, Bulacan province in 1964. The setting allowed him to be immersed by the nature and its surprises. He holds a bachelors degree in Art Studies from the Philippine Women's University in Manila. He is knowledgeable in painting, sculpting, and printmaking which eventually led him to be part of Philippine Association of Printmakers. He had received many awards and recognitions such as the event in National Museum wherein he was part of the critic choice (1990); the Seoul South Korea exchange wherein he was mentioned in a book (1991); the New York international competition (1993); and many more. He recently participated in a group art exhibition entitled Freedom and Love Phil and his recent solo art exhibition entitled Fish on Earth held at Unimart, Capitol Commons, Pasig City.

—Timberly S. Fuentes

Fish Fish series

Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36in 2020 Paolo Limjuco collection

Fish Fish series • Acrylic on canvas • 24 x 30in • 2021 • Rey Binuya collection

Fish Fish series 2 • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 48in • 2022

Fish Fish series • Acrylic on Canvas • 36 x 36in • 2020 • Paolo Limjuco collection

Fish Fish series 1 • Acrylic on Canvas • 24 x 48in • 2022

Fish Fish series • Acrylic on Canvas • 36 x 36in

• 2020

• Rafael P. Davila collection

Bridge Builder, Prime Mover

Roy Espinosa

Like a true Renaissance man, many are the hats the artist Roy Espinosa wears. Among the multitude, the greatest and most important are those of creator, bridge builder, and prime mover — as attested by his brainchild, this book, a new monument of words in a long line of proud and glorious publications that explore, examine, and extoll the treasures of our nation; the polished gems and jewels-in-the-rough of the contemporary Philippine art scene. He opens doors and windows for the world to gaze upon and engage with Filipino art, and empowers Filipino artists to conquer the world.

It takes a seasoned soul to do all of these, and Espinosa is one such man. Making art in various media, styles, and disciplines, embracing and wholeheartedly following the muse that moves him to continuously create for the sake of creating, he has made an indelible mark as an artist in Philippine art

history. At the height of his career in the 80s, Roy was the toast of the nation, receiving accolades, awards, and honors left and right. His works were exhibited in prestigious galleries and featured in various art festivals, and collected by the most serious connoisseurs — he was a bloom, glorious in the midday sun.

And like the metaphorical flower facing winter, Roy too had to have a moment of respite, an artistic hibernation — only to re-emerge stronger, wiser, and infused with renewed purpose. Returning in full strength in 2015, the artist who returned was no longer just a creator of worlds on canvas but was transformed into a bridge-builder between his nation and the broader world through the advent of the Filipino Artists Magazine, which became a platform for artists of all stages in their creative careers to showcase their unique voices and visions. He featured the time-tested and the fresh, juxtaposing masters and novices who share the one trait he wished to brandish to the world: excellence in art.

Around the same time, Espinosa also founded the Filipinas Institute for the Advancement of Arts and Culture, Inc., known also as FilArts, a non-stock and non-profit organization dedicated to the development of Philippine art and culture, and the promotion of truly talented Filipino artists on the national and global stages. Through Espinosa’s zeal and devotion, coupled with impeccable skills in making positive connections and masterful timing, FilArts opened wide a bridge between the Philippine art scene and the rest of the globe. The world discovered the diversity and power of Filipino artists, and invitations to showcase Philippine art in foreign lands began pouring in.

Being at the helm of the movement, Espinosa soon became established as the primus motus of artistic and cultural exchange between the Philippines and other nations, tirelessly organizing and curating exhibitions of Filipino artists all over the world, and promoting intercultural art exchange in Southeast Asia, through various projects and his recent publication venture, Southeast Asian Artists Magazine.

For his selfless and indefatigable efforts in championing Philippine art, he received various awards, commendations, and recognitions from prestigious bodies, which include the Art AmbassadorAward by the National Academy of Arts, Culture & Heritage (ASWARA), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the honor of representing the Philippines at the Asedas Digital Art Society of Malaysia as country head. Recently, he was also appointed to represent the Philippines at the renowned International Art Acts global art organization as country president. He is constantly tapped to take part in international art events as a participant and judge.

At present, Espinosa continues to pursue his advocacy as well as his personal art. He is constantly reinventing himself, retaining a fearless and curious spirit that is unfettered by the constraints of style and medium. This boldness and richness of experience are manifested in his works from 2022: “A Mother’s Affection”, “Beauty of Nature”, “Lover’s Lane”, and “New Beginnings”. The artist masterfully uses surrealism in all four paintings to convey themes of transformation and intertwined fates. But unlike the mythical transformational escape of Daphne from Apollo, there is no violence in Espinosa’s trees; instead, he gently invites us to sit and contemplate our roots and our place in the cosmos, and enlightened in having done so, to raise our hands in quiet exultation like leafy branches reaching heavenward.

Stilly Day 2

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 24in

2022

Ms. Cherrymae Valderama collection

Stilly Day 3

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 36in

2022

Ms. Cherrymae Valderama collection

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my gratitude to all those who became instrumental to make this coffee table book come into fruition

Dr. Froilan Deleon

Mr. Raul Luis Manaligod

Mr. Ray Beng Duque

My editor Ben-Matias Oliver

My Writers:

• Timberly Fuentes

• Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

• Paolo Gerero and my sister Ruth Espinosa who is always there to support my publication.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Ben-Oliver Matias has more than 25 years of experience as a writer since 1997. After finishing BA Organizational Communication at the University of the Philippines Manila, he worked as a writer at the Manila Bulletin. He later transferred to the National Museum of the Philippines as an art researcher while contributing arts and culture articles in the Philippine Panorama, the Sunday magazine of the Manila Bulletin. He finished his Master of Public Administration degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2006 where he earned a membership in the International Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

His break in editing coffee-table books began with “Green Art: and Environmental Advocacy” (Onion and Chives, Inc., 2015). Since then, he has served as editor, managing editor, author, or editorial consultant of more than a dozen publications including art coffeetable books, international economic policy books, and public policy handbooks.

His involvement with FILARTS, Inc. began in 2017 as editor of “Palettes: Feast of Colors” and followed with “Contemporary Art by Asian Artists.” Visual artist Joseph Clavita introduced him to artist/publisher Roy C. Espinosa of FILARTS, Inc.

After leaving full-time work in 2015, he has served as a project consultant of more than 20 companies and local government units (LGU) including the International Rice Research Institute, Department of Foreign Affairs, Development Bank of the Philippines, Development Academy of the Philippines, Manila Yacht Club, LGU-Tanay (Rizal Province), and the Hier Business Solutions, Inc.

Outside of his freelance consultancy work, he actively serves his community as President of the Colinas Verdes Phase 2 Homeowners Association Inc. in the Province of Bulacan and as Vice President of the Grand Colmas Eagles Club (TFOE-PE, Inc.).

W r i t

Arsenise Arnaldo Timberly S. Fuentes holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts major in Painting and Art History from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Before pursuing the field of arts, the young Timberly never thought of having a talent aside from making drawings and doodles on her notebook, at the back of her academic books, and even on their house floors. Noticed by her late brother Archie, he enrolled her at Fernando Sena Art Workshop during her high school days. Through constant coaching from the Father of Philippine Art workshop Mr. Sena along with his co-art teachers, Timberly’s artistic talent flourished and developed which made her decide to pursue Fine Arts in college. In her final undergraduate thesis, she created seven feet by 3 feet cocoon, a sculptural installation made of her brother’s belongings such as books, school uniform, clothes, shoes, and toys. As an expression of gratitude and honor to her late brother, Timberly uses the cocoon in line with metamorphosis as a metaphor to (1) depict the significance of human life, (2) compare the fleetingness of human life to that of a butterfly, and (3) illustrate Kubler Ross’ stages of grief to the butterflies stages of metamorphosis. After graduating, she then took a Fine Arts major in Art history to further enhance her understanding of visual arts. Currently, she is interested in making botanical drawings using graphite and ballpoint pen. It is her goal to inspire people to protect nature and to pursue their passion such as painting and drawing.

Arnaldo "Arnel" Mirasol is the multi-awarded illustrator of over a dozen children’s books. He studied fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas and the University of the East, and is known for his rich and meticulous attention to detail. Two of the books Mirasol illustrated - "Once Upon a Time" (Tahanan Books), a collection of ten Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales, and "The Brothers Wu and the Good-luck Eel" (Tahanan Books) - were winners for two consecutive years of a National Children's Book Award. The latter book was also named to the prestigious 2002 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour List. Mirasol was also a runner-up in the 2000 Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustration for "The Origin of the Frog" (Rex Printing, 1998). Arnel Mirasol is not really a professional writer. He just writes on the side - mostly blogs - about art and his fellow Filipino artists. The review he wrote on the art of painter Buds Convocar, "The Abstract Visions of Sir Buds", appeared in the newspaper Manila Bulletin sometime in 2011. His essay, "No Place Like Tahanan", was part of the book "The House Tahanan Built" - a compilation of memoirs and conversations about the creative process written by the authors, artists, staff, and friends of Tahanan Books. A few of his blogs were featured in the art magazine of Filarts Inc. Mirasol didn't take up journalism nor any writing course. He claimed that everything he knows about writing he learned just by voracious reading.

t e r s

Paolo Gerero is a Filipino multidisciplinary artist from Daet, Camarines Norte primarily known for being a sculptor of santos or images of saints. But beyond being a santero, Paolo also explores contemporary means of artistic expression, and is adept in the use resin, wood, acrylics, oils, watercolors, pens, and oil pastels to translate the stirrings of the heart and soul into sculptures and paintings that combine elements of Catholic iconography with decidedly non-religious sentiments. Gerero presents a queering of tradition in works that explore the self through a non-heteronormative lens. This queerness is also expressed in Gerero's literature, several of which have been published in the book BKL/ Bikol Bakla: Anthology of Bikolnon Gay/Trans/Queer Writing, and in the stage plays Apoy sa Altar (2019) and Santuario ng mga Rosas (2021). Gerero's artworks have been showcased in various group exhibitions, such as in "Tagpuan sa Ground Zero" at Gallery BiG, and "Breaking Barriers" at Fifty One Collective Art Haus; they have also been published in publications such as the Brave New World coffee table book (ArtPlus, 2022) and The Muse magazine (Vol. 1, No. 1). Some of the artist's works can also be found in the collections of the Museo de Nuestra Señora de Manaoag in Pangasinan, and the Provincial Capitol of Camarines Norte. At present, Gerero continues to create art and write, and is actively involved in the promotion of art and culture in Camarines Norte through the programs of the Camarines Norte Artists Guild (CNAG) and the Young Artists' Guild of Camarines Norte (YAGCN).

Ruth Chua Espinosa is accustomed in multitasking and is adept in handling multiple jobs. She works full time in a financial institution as head of human resources and as regional manager, while doing some accounting and bookkeeping on the side. And as if these aren’t enough to keep her hands full, Ruth still finds the time to do some editing and writing for FILARTS. She is currently the editor-in-chief of FILARTS’ publications, The Filipino Artists Magazine and the Southeast Asian Artists Magazine.

Ruth started appreciating the arts while watching her older brother paint and tagging along to his art shows and exhibits. Although she did not possess the talent and skills for drawing, Ruth is able to acquire a sufficient grasp of art appreciation which became useful in her write ups. And despite her full schedule, she has committed to support FILARTS’ advocacy and is more than willing to lend a helping hand through her writing.

Ruth graduated at the Philippine Women’s University with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts. She loves to travel, and is thankful that through her work she is able to have the opportunity to visit different places.

Embark on a journey of linguistic resurgence. Embrace the Neo-Baybayin Script to reconnect with Filipino heritage and culture. These are the ideas that are being championed by master painter William Yu. Unravel the mysteries of this ancient writing system as your comprehensive guide. Be inspired by Yu's NeoBaybayin calligraphy, which will lead you step by step to empowering you to transcend time and preserve the beauty of this unique traditional communication system.

Master painter William Yu, renowned for his expertise in Neo-Baybayin calligraphy, has become a key figure in reviving this ancient script. His remarkable contributions were recognized by Malacañang Palace on December 10, 2019, highlighting the significance of his efforts in preserving and promoting this unique Filipino cultural heritage.

As your guide, you will embark on an illuminating journey, as inspired by the artistry of William Yu. Delve into the origins, principles, and intricacies of the Neo-Baybayin script, as illuminated by the mastery of Yu's calligraphy. Starting from the basic foundations, each stroke and character comes alive under his artistic guidance, allowing you to truly appreciate the elegance and cultural depth behind this ancient script.

Immerse yourself in the captivating beauty of Neo-Baybayin, as William Yu's expertise and vision bring forth the essence of Filipino traditions, stories, and wisdom. By following in his footsteps, you become part of a legacy, upholding a linguistic heritage and ensuring its preservation for future generations.

Let the Neo-Baybayin Script, as guided by the artistry of master painter William Yu, to be your key to unlocking the past and paving the way for a vibrant future of cultural revival. Embrace this timeless form of communication, and let its graceful curves and Yu's masterful strokes, guide you towards a deeper connection with your Filipino roots. Together, let us revive the spirit of Neo-Baybayin and weave it seamlessly into the fabric of our modern world."

Get ready to embark on a visual journey through the vibrant and diverse world of Filipino art with "Filipino Artists: Their Art, Their Culture." This stunning coffee table book features the works of 50 talented artists from the Philippines, each one a master of their craft.

From painting and sculpture to photography and mixed media, "Filipino Artists" showcases the full range of artistic expression in the Philippines. Through beautifully rendered images and insightful essays, readers will gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural context that informs each artist's work, and the ways in which they use their art to explore and express their identity and experiences.

The book features some of the most iconic and influential artists in the Philippines, including Fernando Amorsolo, BenCab, and Napoleon Abueva, alongside emerging talents who are making their mark on the contemporary art scene. Each artist's unique style and vision is given a platform to shine, with large, full-color images that capture the intricacies and nuances of each piece.

But "Filipino Artists" is more than just a collection of beautiful images. It is a celebration of the rich and dynamic culture of the Philippines, which has been shaped by centuries of history, tradition, and creativity. Through the lens of these 50 artists, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the country's complex and fascinating cultural landscape.

Whether you're an art lover, a student of culture and history, or simply someone who appreciates beauty and creativity, "Filipino Artists" is sure to captivate and inspire. So sit back, relax, and let yourself be transported to a world of color, texture, and imagination