ART ALL AROUND: 'I'm Coming Home' and 'Point Counterpoint'
By MB Lifestyle
ArtLounge Manila’s "Point Counterpoint" exhibit features Perfecto Palero, Stella Schapero, and Jo Uygongco, three artists with their own distinct style of manipulating paint. In these trying times, painting calms the nerves and the three have come together to use their artwork for one purpose: to raise funds for International Care Ministries' (ICM) Planting Seeds of Hope for VisMin’s poorest. A generous portion of sales will be donated to ICM, which has delivered meals to 3+ million and distributed more than 350,000 gardening kits (130+ million seeds) to help millions help themselves during this pandemic.
READ: Sowing seeds of hope
Palero’s ethereal landscape paintings capture a fascination with nature’s subtle color changes. He was a 2010 Metrobank Arts and Design Excellence (MADE) semi-finalist. Since his first solo exhibit at the Philippine Heart Center in 2014, he has had numerous solo exhibits including “Bejeweled Landscapes” at Galerie Joaquin in June 2019. Many of his works are showcased at BGC's Best Western Premier F1 Hotel.
Stella’s mixed media assemblages balance antique and craft found objects to evoke 19th/early 20th Century colors and textures. Her signature 20x20 inch works are inspired by 2x2 inch brooches designed by Austrian architect and Weiner Werkstätte co-founder, Josef Hoffman (1870-1956), a recurring inspiration since she first saw one at the Neue Galerie in New York in 2008. She manipulates paint to create faux semi-precious stone on canvas. Stella had a solo exhibit in Manila in 2009 and regularly joined Pintura Circle group art shows in Hong Kong.
Jo’s marbling technique allows slowly coagulating pigments to merge lava-like, to create colorful abstracts. In recent years, Jo has ventured into more intuitive art, choosing less control and allowing natural flows. Jo has had paintings juried in into: Fabriano in Aquarello 2018 and 2019 in Italy; six IWS biennale exhibits (Hong Kong, Albania, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal); and the IWS-Philippines Watercolor Convention and Exhibit in 2017 and 2018 in GSIS Museo ng Sining. Jo actively joins group art shows and conducts Intuitive Art workshops.
All three artists have donated to ICM’s fundraisers in the past. Stella and Jo proposed the exhibit to Susanne Tiausas of ArtLounge Manila and to Carla J. Teotico and Nico Teotico of Galerie Joaquin, friends who have supported ICM’s work for many years. Eileen Bondoc-Escueta curated the exhibit that runs until Nov. 15, at ArtLounge Manila’s G/F satellite space in the Podium in Mandaluyong City.
View the virtual exhibit here.
ONGOING: ‘I’m Coming Home’ at Salcedo Private View
What or who do you come home to? This captivating question surrounds all nine artworks in ‘I’m Coming Home,’ contemporary artist Ricky Ambagan’s first solo exhibition at Salcedo Private View, the gallery and private sale subsidiary of premier auction house Salcedo Auctions, as part of the activities to mark its 10th anniversary this year.
Ambagan is best known for his ability to merge compelling narratives with his technical artistic skill. In ‘I’m Coming Home,’ he takes viewers on a visual tour through the highly intimate experiences of leaving, returning, separating, and remembering. The exhibition runs daily (except Sundays and Mondays) through Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (4 p.m. Saturdays). The show features nine canvas works depicting charmingly detailed scenes of children surrounded by artifacts and mementoes that look almost as if they’d been pulled out of a story book. The effect is purely intentional. Ambagan’s choice of displaying his artworks within maleta or ‘luggage’ frames gives a new, positive meaning to the idea of carrying personal baggage. He celebrates the interior drama of these experiences with brightly detailed theatrical works - memories unpacked with charm, whimsy, and nostalgia.
As part of the exhibition, sheets of paper will be hung next to each painting, and visitors will be invited to write down their own personal experiences or thoughts when looking at the work, which will be collated by Ambagan in preparation for a future project.
Art connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike have the option to view the show both digitally here or physically at Salcedo Auctions, NEX Tower, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City.