Sampayan Art #8 at Pintô Art Museum is looking for art buyers who will choose not on the basis of who made them, but on their personal emotional and aesthetic response to the work

By Dr. Joven Cuanang

Over 30 years ago, a group of artists known as Salingpusa launched their careers with a series of shows on the grounds of what is now the Pintô Art Museum. The artworks were displayed casually hanging on clotheslines, and referred to fondly as Sampayan Art. Those artists are now some of the brightest lights in Philippine art.

Through the years we have nurtured so many of the talented artists that our country never ceases to produce. We have celebrated these talents and hosted them at Boston Gallery and at Pintô Art Museum. And we have witnessed the growing interest in Philippine contemporary art, driven not only by their quality and ambition, their broad range of subject matter, and their spirit of innovation.

From a handful of connoisseurs, the number of art collectors has multiplied exponentially. Art in the Philippines has enjoyed an unprecedented boom, marked by the establishment of numerous galleries, art fairs, and events. But while this burgeoning has been beneficial to artists and collectors, we feel that the focus has shifted away from art, the very thing that united our passions in the first place.

In the frenzy of acquisition and publicity, art has become a commodity, a product whose value comes from the name of its artist rather than the quality of the work itself. The public seems to be more concerned with the reputation and—bankability—of the artist rather than what the art is saying. We fear that this attitude threatens the creativity, vision, and pure imagination that are the soul of art.

Pintô wishes to address this trend by recapturing the spirit of youth and playfulness in the Sampayan Art shows all those years ago. Our next show, “Connect with Your Heart,” is a Sampayan show with a novel concept.

In the frenzy of acquisition and publicity, art has become a commodity, a product whose value comes from the name of its artist rather than the quality of the work itself.

The artworks will not be signed until they are bought. Prospective buyers will acquire pieces not on the basis of who made them, but on their personal emotional and aesthetic response to the work—the connection with their hearts.

All of the artists whom we have hosted at Boston Gallery and Pintô from early in their careers have agreed to this format. Many share our concern over recent developments in the art world. Most of them are the same people who have made Philippine art what it is today, the most vibrant in Southeast Asia. We continue to nurture this vision.

A total of 165 have signed up for series number eight of “Connect with Your Heart.” The pieces on exhibit will be 18 x 24 inches, in different media, and affordable, with a maximum price of ₱30,000.

As a keen observer of the Philippine art scene, I think this is what both artists and art enthusiasts really need—Art that truly connects with the heart.

“Connect with Your Heart 8” will open at Pintô Art Museum on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., and run until May 29, 2022. We are blessed with a less restrictive environment, but we urge visitors to comply with health protocols—vaccinations, masks, and social distancing.

The proceeds of this exhibition will go to the completion of the Pintô Arboretum, a rescue center for endangered Philippine plants and trees, the establishment of an ecologically-sound water conservation program at the Arboretum, and the establishment of a Pintô Underwater Sculpture Museum for Marine Ecosystem Regeneration in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, a much needed new project, by the El Refugio Arts and Sciences Foundation, Inc., the non-profit foundation supporting the Pintô Museum of Philippine Contemporary Art, the Pintô Museum of Indigenous Art, the Pintô Arboretum, and the Pintô Academy for Healing and Wholeness.

Call 0916 374 6347 or 02 8697 1015 or e-mail [email protected].