THE SAMSONS

The Simpsons might be popular television viewing, but The Samsons are certainly a must-see when it comes to Philippine art.

Following their successful three-man show last year in Manila, painters and brothers Jerson, Julio and Jaypee Samson bring their fraternal art-making overseas to Singapore in the same family unit. But unlike the dysfunctional and comical cartoon family glorified in American primetime animation, the Samsons are anything but goofy and trivial in their representations of contemporary Philippine society.

The three Samson brothers were born in the town of Antipolo where they were inspired by the the historic Salingpusa art group. They all completed their degrees in Fine Arts (major in Painting) at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman, Quezon City and have earned individual distinctions in various Philippine art competitions.



About the artists:

Jerson Samson sees himself as a ‘taga-masid’ (observer) or ‘taga-kwento’ (story-teller) of everyday realities, from the mundane to the bizarre. At a time when stories tend to revolve around centres of power, Jerson chooses to represent tales from the margins of society.

Julio Samson uses visual metaphors to convey the characters of persons, or in the present series, to reveal what is uppermost in their thoughts. The mind may be a receptacle of development, building or industry, or it may simply house peaceful thoughts.

An auction darling, Jaypee Samson’s distinct technique of rendering distorted yet realistic figures gives the impression that there might be something amiss and unsettling with the realities reflected in his paintings.