ManilArt 11: Art In The Dark

Tatong Recheta Torres, "Untitled" at Art Informal

The invitation said be there at six, and I thought I’d be fashionably late.  I arrived close to seven pm, wondering if I could get away with not strictly following the Filipiniana dress code.  I need not have stressed.  I got there to find the venue in darkness, tons of people jostling about in the sidelines, trying to get past usherettes standing guard, preventing guests from crossing the red cordon that ringed the venue.  Apparently, the ribbon had yet to be cut.  Music blared from a stage at the far end where song and dance numbers were going on.  Was this an art fair?  The crowds could but peer at the pieces on display as tempers flared.  Incredibly, this state of affairs continued for an hour and a half, until the last politician had given what sounded like filibuster from a privilege speech.  Only then did the lights come on.  A surreal, truly chaotic, Only in da Pilipins, tableau unfolded on the vernissage of our city’s sole art fair.

Dex Fernandez, "Suspend" series at Pablo

This opening night debacle definitely cast a pall on ManilArt 11.  On paper, this fair seemed to have everything going for it.  The organizers scaled it down to 24 galleries but set aside bigger spaces for each participant.  They chose to mount it at the highly accessible NBC Tent at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.  And once the lights turned on, I could tell that my favorite galleries prepared new pieces especially for the event.  The physical arrangements, though, seemed to diminish their efforts.

Leeroy New's solo exhibit "Terrorium" at Manila Contemporary

Manila Contemporary, for instance, opted for a solo show by Leeroy New.  He brought in freestanding hybrid creatures, lit from within hallowed out bellies filled with multi-colored plastic toys.  The gallery, however, could not get permission to paint the walls of their booth.  Why?  Leeroy’s work deserved a proper setting.

Leeroy New, "Terrarium IX" at Manila Contemporary

Pablo got around this restriction by bringing their own panels to the fair.  A wise choice as, once again, they had the best booth.  But why would they have to resort to that?  They carried works by Dex Fernandez, Jason Moss, and the fantastic duo of Ivan Despi and Pauline Vicencio.  The booth’s layout managed to squeeze in a room where Ivan and Pauline’s video, Babel, played.  I’d love to see what else these two come up with. Exciting things seem to be in store for this talented twosome.

Ivan Despi and Pauline Vicencio, "Babel", video still at Pablo

Dex exhibited his Suspend series, a variation on his manipulated photographs.  This time he altered his photos with cut outs—patterns he painted and illustrated then cut and pasted onto his images.

Maria Jeona Zoleta at Finale

Maria Jeona Zoleta lorded it at Finale’s booth.  She made the gallery stand out in neon pink glory.  Blanc brought out new pieces by Art Sanchez, an impressive Lao Lianbien, and various Louie Cordero paintings on canvas and on paper.  I just love Louie’s kitschy, Pinoy komiks, over the top, slasher aesthetic.

Art Informal had a wonderful new Tatong Recheta Torres.  We must really welcome Tatong back into his first life— and never allow him to leave again!  Silverlens, the art fair pros, simply knew how to work their booth.  Patty Eustaquio’s Diving Bell (Cloud Country) took center stage, a teaser for her upcoming show.  They also had pieces by Leslie de Chavez, Ryan Villamael, Chati Coronel, Isa Lorenzo, and pyrographs on wood by Mariano Ching.  As always, Nano rocks!

Mariano Ching, "Pillars Series 3" at Silverlens

New discoveries:  Jacob Lindo at Silverlens with his small graphite works, and Carina Santos at West Gallery.  She exhibited Joseph Cornell-like boxed assemblages using sliced books.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of those.

Lee Amante, Rachel Rillo, and Isa Lorenzo beside Elaine Navas, "Polidori's Sofa" at Silverlens

By Jacob Lindo, "Avoid Rivers, Strivers, and Voyeurs" at Silverlens

Speaking of West Gallery, they seem to have been the only ones who came prepared with a handout that detailed their available pieces.  It also outlined a schedule of their upcoming shows.

Over at Duemila, a very tame, almost pretty, Mideo Cruz painting hung on one wall.

CANVAS debuted a novel initiative utilizing the iPad.  Rizalpabeto borrows from the tradition of Letras Y Figuras, a 19^thcentury art form whereby artists rendered letters of the alphabet, usually to spell out a patron’s name, in stylized forms.

Jay Pacena and Marika Constantino, curators of Rizalpabeto project

This project celebrates Jose Rizal’s 150^th birth anniversary.  Vim Nadera composed a poem on the National Hero, one verse for each letter of the alphabet.  Elmer Borlongan executed a letra for each of the verses, but did this completely on his iPad.  A colonial genre has been taken to the 21^st century.

My verdict on ManilArt 11?  A handful of galleries spent time and effort to bring out new works for collectors to acquire.  I found pieces that I did want to take home, more this time than in the last two fairs.  Nothing groundbreaking, as the galleries played it safe.  They predominantly kept to the two-dimensional and wall-bound.  A good number of the participants, though, as in the past, seemed to have simply emptied their backrooms.

Elmer Borlongan's "K" from the "Rizalpabeto" project

Dr. Joven Cuanang at Boston Gallery. He sits on a piece by Plet Bolipata

The flimsy fixtures gave the fair a shabby air.  Unfortunately, the galleries who worked to spruce up their spaces could not overcome this overall impression.  It felt like a bazaar.  And as much as I preferred the NBC Tent’s accessibility, it probably isn’t suited to this event.

Did the fair mirror our dynamic art scene?  Unfortunately not. Neither did it seek to educate and elevate standards.  A pity, and a missed opportunity, as judging by the number of people that took the time to drop by, ManilArt 11 captured quite an audience.

ManilArt 11 runs from 24 to 27 August 2011 at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.  Visit http://www.manilart.com

Secret Fresh

 

Elmer Borlongan, "Duyan Sa Kwarto" at Boston Gallery

Jason Moss at Pablo

Pablo's installation

Pancho Francisco, Marina Cruz, and Rodel Tapaya at Art Informal

Patty Eustaquio, "Diving Bell (Cloud Country)" at Silverlens

Leslie de Chavez, "Hungry Gods" at Silverlens

Kaloy Sanchez, "Untitled" at Paseo Gallery

Gabby Barredo at Art Verite

Lynyrd Paras, "Huwag Mong Sirain Ang Isang Bagay Na Totoo" at Art Verite

Pow Martinez and Soler Santos by West Gallery space

Jigger Cruz, "Plinth for the Psychedelics" at West Gallery

West Gallery installation

Art Sanchez, "Impermanence 1" at Blanc

Janet Balbarona and her painting at Blanc

Louie Cordero with Eric Encinares of The Sleepyheads

Louie Cordero, "Space Is The Haze" at Blanc

Louie Cordero, " Magnovelzum", "Arvidzwarn", and "Masangoturp"at Blanc

Blanc installation

Photos by Rudolf Schwarkogler at Galerie Zimmerman Krachtowill

Pieces by Robert Langenegger at the Galerie Zimmerman Krachtowill

At Galleria Duemila, paintings by Romina Diaz and Mideo Cruz

Rodel Tapaya, "Camp Scene No. 1", oil on acrylic with chrome frame at Blueline

In the neighborhood: Sonny Angara, Louie Bate, Jia and Gabby Estrella

Andres Barrioquinto, "Twin Shadow" at Blueline

Winner Jumalon, "Pause" at Blueline

Manilart 10

It was not difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the galleries that thought about what they would

At West Gallery, Roberto Chabet collage, "The Erection of the Obelisk"

show for Manilart 10 from those that did not. You could tell which ones regularly mount exhibits as opposed to those who simply maintain spaces to sell paintings.  I suppose, in the end, the commercial aspects of the fair outweighed all other considerations.  And with 55 galleries joining this year, you had enough paintings to satisfy all sorts of sensibilities (and I do mean ALL sorts!).

Ossie Tiangco and Yo Garcia of Pablo

I loved that Pablo treated their space as a venue to showcase an exciting, new collaboration.  I thought they had the best booth; they stood out because they dared to be different. They would not be out of place in any international art fair. You could sense that showing good art superseded  sales concerns.  For Pablo’s booth, Poklong Anading created a video installation that worked with a piece by Manila-based Australian artist David Griggs.  For How’s My Politics, Tel 666, David used a man-sized glass vitrine to simulate a taxicab’s windshield.  The vitrine, pierced randomly with bullet holes, stood at the center of the space.  It housed the projector from which Poklong’s film played. In Furry Tongue, Poklong took off from David’s portrayal of the glass vitrine as part of a vehicle.  Cars that ply the streets of Manila encounter streetchildren that offer to clean their windshields as they wait for the traffic lights to change.  Poklong experimented with using chocolate to soil his

At Manila Contemporary, Valeria Cavestany installation, "In and Out of the Booz"

windows, both as a treat for these kids and to give them something new to work with.  He propped his camera atop his car’s dashboard.  The five-minute video captured the process of wiping, rubbing, and cleaning up the chocolate.  Poklong squirted the booth’s walls with the same powdered chocolate mixture that he used on his dashboard.  The drips created textured patterns for the video’s backdrop.

Detail, Valeria Cavestany, "In and Out of the Booz"

I also enjoyed how Manila Contemporary used their four spaces to give us  Women Only, in effect, four exhibits. Valeria Cavestany mounted an eye catching installation.  In And Out Of The Booz resembled a psychedelic honeycomb.   She filled her entire booth with small palochina wine crates to contain brightly-colored and heavily-embellished wooden crosses.  It was so attractive, you couldn’t help but take a closer look.   The gallery’s other offerings included paintings by Amy Aragon, works by Brenda Fajardo, photos by Ringo Buonoan and MM Yu.

At Manila Contemporary, ink on paper by Brenda Fajardo, "Epiko ni Mangandiri (Maranao): Ang Usa Nga Bulawan"

Other standouts:  The Drawing Room, Silverlens/SLab, Galleria Duemila, Art Informal.  Art fair veterans, Silverlens/SLab and the The Drawing Room knew exactly how to highlight their stable of artists.  The Drawing Room went back to their roots and exhibited works on paper plus a reprised Alfredo  and Isabel Aquilizan.  I loved Jojo Legaspi’s dark, bleak pastel landscapes and Kawayan de Guia’s reworked letter from 1943.  At Silverlens, Rachel Rillo showed elegant photo

At The Drawing Room, an oil on paper piece by Troy Ignacio

transfers printed on Bhutanese handmade paper.  These pieces were a preview of sorts for her upcoming show.  Duemila brought out masterpieces from their treasure trove.  Among them, an old favorite, Julie Lluch’s Maranao (Nanampiling).  Art Informal borrowed newly- commissioned works by John Santos,  Tatong Recheta Torres, and Joel Alonday and interspersed these with new pieces from Riel Hilario, Cos Zicarelli, and Pam Yan Santos.

At The Drawing Room, detail of paper scupture, Roderico Jose Daroy

West Gallery and Blanc selected their pieces well. Although perhaps they could have hanged more dramatically (painted walls?).  Blanc debuted a pair of  Louie Cordero’s works to mark the start of a series.  It will be exciting to see how Louie expands this new look.  I thought the Lao Lianben and Art Sanchez pieces were both very good too.   At West, a collage by Roberto Chabet, The Erection Of The Obelisk caught my eye.  Geraldine Javier sprung another surprise with her assemblage Happy Go Ducky (Happiness Is A Resting Ground). Exhibited at Finale, she ensconced a stuffed duckling acquired from a taxidermy shop in Paris amidst her embroidered flora.

At Silverlens/SLab, phototransfer on Bhutanese handmade paper by Rachel Rillo, "Bahay"

The art fair actually attracted one foreign gallery:  Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill from Austria, run by Rudolf Kratochwill, a former Manila resident.  Rudolf did not expect any sales from his participation.  Because his gallery carries Manuel Ocampo, he thought the fair would be a good venue to show Manuel’s works alongside that of Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch.  I’m not sure how many people

At The Drawing Room, reworked piece from a 1943 found letter, Kawayan De Guia

cared to stop by this booth.  But Nitsch’s recorded performance piece, with its ritual of poured blood and mock cruxifixion, would have given Manila audiences something to talk about.

MM Yu manned another busy booth— selling bags and pins and shirts to raise funds for Bastards of Misrepresentation:  Doing Time On Filipino Time.  This is an upcoming exhibit by a group of

Isa Lorenzo at the Silverlens booth

Filipino artists at the Freies Museum in Germany set for October this year.  Unfortunately, these opportunities do not get any government or institutional funding in the Philippines.  The artists need to fend for themselves. They priced their items very reasonably, most at the P2,500.00 range.  I would think that

At Silverlens/ SLab, oil on canvas by Leslie de Chavez, "The Substitution of Innocent Ramon"

money well-spent.

Overall, I thought that Manilart 10 felt like a huge bazaar of paintings, more paintings, and copies of paintings. Apparently, just as they do in Greenhills, the art superstars get knocked off too!  Going by the variations of naked torsos wrapped in plastic, Ronald Ventura must be a favorite.

Because the fair already attracts a huge crowd,  it would be great if the succeeding ones also become a venue to make artistic statements, to expose the audience to other visual art forms.  The galleries that organize the fair should use its success to push for more experimental pieces. I would think that the fair should spearhead elevating standards— not just extend the galleries’ backrooms. As the NCCA spends for this fair, shouldn’t the funds be made to work harder?  Think of what Cinemalaya has done for Filipino independent film makers.

Perhaps for the next one?

Manilart 10 runs from 29 July to 1 August 2010 at Hall 4,  SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City.  For more information, visit http://www.manilart.com

At Gallery Nine, Ceramic sculpture by Maria Magdamit

At Paseo Gallery, sculptor Michael Cacnio and his piece, "Baitang"

At West Gallery, oil and acrylic on canvas by Olan Ventura, "Consciously Unconscious"

At Nova Gallery, Romeo Lee with his drawing

At Gallery Nine, watercolor by Alfred Galura

Wilson Lee Flores and Annie Cabigting's oil on canvas auction piece, "After Yves Klein"

At Galleria Duemila, sculpture by Julie Lluch, "Maranao (Nanampiling)"

Another view of Julie Lluch's sculpture gazing at Zobel's Saeta

At Art Informal, oil on canvas portrait by Tatong Recheta Torres

At Art Informal, printed paper sculpture by Pam Yan Santos

At Galleria Duemila, photograph by Cesare Syjuco

Yeyey Cruz and Kawayan de Guia

Jay Amante, Nona Garcia, and MM Yu

At Blanc, Allan Balisi and his oil on canvas piece

At Blanc, oil and canvas and collage on mirror by Art Sanchez, "White Lies and Pretense"

At Blanc, oil on canvas piece by Lao Lianben, "Zen In My Head"

At Blanc, artists Neil Pasilan and Mark Andy Garcia

At Finale, oil on canvas with crocheted lace by Geraldine Javier, "Autumn Lace"

At Finale, assemblage by Geraldine Javier with a preserved duckling, embroidery, and preserved beetle, "Happy Go Ducky (Happiness Is A Resting Ground"

Monchet Lucas and Sevrine Miailhe

For auction, oil on canvas by Jose Tence Ruiz, "Apres Moi, Le Tsunami"

For auction, oil on canvas, Charlie Co, "Caroza Pulitika"

At Gallery Orange from Bacolod, Charlie Co with his assemblages

Dawn Lagdameo

Ed Cua and Baby Kramer

At Art Verite, Gabby Barredo kinetic sculpture

At Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, photo stills from Hermann Nitsch performance

Group of Manuel Ocampo paintings at Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill

At Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, printed fabric by Hermann Nitsch

John Silva stands before and Iggy Rodriguez drawing

At Blanc, acrylic on canvas pieces by Louie Cordero, "Red Dung" and "Blue Sausage"

The Macasaet Sisters--- Rina (aka Virginia, the artist), Tessa, and Vida

Oil on canvas by Virginia Macasaet, "Blue Moon"