The year's most significant art exhibits

By Constantino C.Tejero

In a Baroque twist of fate, the Philippine art scene was thrust to the front page this year when the Government Service and Insurance System snapped up Juan Luna's "Parisian Life" for around P50 million at the Christie's auction in Hong Kong, just to have it returned to the country.It was one of the rare instances when the art world found itself among the hard news: If it's not a stolen Van Gogh, it's overpriced Luna. Still, it was a bright year for the visual arts in the country, if not the arts in general.

Hundreds of art exhibits had been mounted throughout the year in Metro Manila alone. The small galleries, now usually found in the malls, came up with significant shows, some which were among the year's most important exhibits. Many of these were held at SM Megamall's Artwalk, which painter Juvenal Sanso calls "the greatest concentration of art in the Philippines." They were showcased in the numerous galleries lining the place and in its major exhibition area, the Art Center. Fittingly, as part of Artwalk's 10th Anniversary celebration, Sanso himself is holding a major exhibit until Dec. 30 in the Art Center. "Horizons" is a massive show of his Blazing landscapes and floral still lifes. Galleria Duemila mounted exhibits of Lao Lianben's oil on canvas, Gerry Leonardo's sculptures, Roy Veneracion's recent works.

The gallery also showed Phyllis Zaballero's "My Favorite Things," 13 pieces of oil on canvas and acrylic on Fabriano paper aburst with primary and secondary colors. West Gallery exhibited Wire Tuazon's "Peligro," Nona Garcia's "Ambient Stills" and Andres Barrioquinto's "Sorrow in the House of Beauty." Avant-Garde exhibits The Big & Small Art Co. presented Kiko Escora's "Deviant Slice," acrylic; Nunelucio Alvarado's "Lust," oil; Butch Payawal's "For Play," acrylic and pencil. The Crucible presented Ponch Medina's "Leather Lust Luxury," seven collages in leather, a novel medium for Filipino artists.

Gallery 139 in Artwalk and its branch in Artlane at the Glorietta showcased the ceramic art of Bart Aguas in "Art Tile 2." These were some 60 paintings on ceramic tiles, another novel medium for Filipino artists. Boston Gallery in Quezon City mounted Elmer Roslin's "Taumbayan," oil on canvas. The Drawing Room in Makati City showed certain avant-garde works, among them "Crossing," 22 pieces in mixed media by Karen Flores, Irma Lacorte, Kiko Escora and Noel Cuizon, dealing with socio-cultural realities seen from the gender perspective, form feminism and gay liberation to the war in Afghanistan. Another was "Stainless," Lirio Salvador's 10 pieces assemblage of stainless-steel mechanical parts, formed into traditional musical instruments.

The there was "Dekormakina," Jose Tence Ruiz's 19 vivid-hued pieces in acrylic on paper hinting at the artist's flirting from social realism to futurism, even medievalism. Finale Art File mounted an exhibit of Paris-based Ofelia Gelveson Tequi's recent works. Malang, a perennial favorite of the gallery-going public, could be found all over the place, from the Enterprise Center in Makati with his exhibit "Vendors in Cities" to the Crucible Gallery in SM Megamall with his "Platonum." Artlane in Glorietta 4 at the Ayala Center at Makati City has had its share of significant exhibits of artworks ranging from paintings to pottery and sculptural furniture. These were showcased in the exhibition area Art Space and the small galleries, particularly West Gallery.

Most important shows The year's most important exhibits, were held in larger venues, of course, particularly the established galleries and cultural institutions. On the forefront was Metropolitan Museum of Manila, which led in bringing in international art to the country, among which were the works of Spanish painter Juan Gomila and the German pioneers of Art Informel. "After September 11: Images from Ground Zero," 28 dramatic still shots by New York street photographer Joel Meyerowitz, stopped over at the Met on its world tour. Another touring exhibit, "Foundations of Gold," mixed-media pieces by 10 Asian and Australian artists, also stopped over at the Met.

The museum's four most important shows, however, were of Philippine art and folk culture: "Quiapo: The Arts of City District;" "Faith and the City;" "Homage to the Masters," 54 artworks by 42 artists; and "Tubod: The Arts of Bohol," ongoing through February. The Museum of the Filipino People presented "Silk and Brass: Highlights of the Datu Mastura Collection" early this year, coinciding with the National Museum's centennial. Those were rare artifacts of brass and silk from Southern Mindanao, produced by the Maguindanaos and the Maranaos.

Hiraya Gallery presented Cordillera art in a few successive shows of the works of John Frank Sabado, Leonardo Aguinaldo et al. Massive collections The cultural center of the Philippines, primarily a home for the performing arts, became a venue for a few significant art exhibits. Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo (Small Gallery) mounted "Deep Penetration," Claro Ramirez's installations. The most important one was presented in Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery), in the massive show "Recollection: Selected Works from the CCP Collection."

Works of the highest rank, many by our National Artists for the Visual Arts, were displayed for two months. Late in the year, three cultural institutions joined forces to produce a massive show out of their respective collections, "Zero in: Private Art, Public Lives." The show was presented separately, at different venues, on different dates. Ateneo Art Gallery came up with "Refiguring Modern Philippine Art." Lopez Memorial Museum focused on "Hidalgo's Politics, Luna's Paris." Ayala Museum chose to highlight "Amorsolo's Brush with History." Ayala Museum also mounted "Philippine Paintings," the homecoming exhibit of the works by 19 Filipino artists presented at the 17th Asian International Art Exhibition in South Korea.

Luz Gallery is holding its farewell exhibit of 14 representative artworks by seven top-rate Filipino artists. "Group Show 2002," ongoing until Dec.28, should be considered the year's most historic art exhibit, as it ends four decades of the gallery's existence. The National Museum, in cooperation with the Instituto Cervantes, presented 80 etchings of Goya's "Los Caprichos" the whole month of October. This should be the most important art exhibit held in the country this year. Meanwhile, the exposition of Luna's "Le Parisienne" at the GSIS Museum was the most controversial of all, hands down.

Philippine Daily Inquirer Arts & Design (Lifestyle) Monday, Dec. 23, 2002

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