CACHE │ PALASYO │ PERSISTENT

UTTERLY ART presents:
“Cache” by Norman Dreo. Besides being a secret storage area, a cache is also a location for depositing information within a computer. With the title a homonym to “cash”, Norman highlights the earning potential and knowledge currency that Information Technology (IT) brings us, and the inseparable link that IT now has to our economy and to our lives.

Norman Dreo (born 1970) topped the talent test upon entering the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in the mid-80s. His art has been exhibited extensively in the Philippines, Singapore, Vermont, USA and in Europe. He has won several prizes at the Metrobank National Art Competition, Art Association of the Philippines and Ateneo Art Awards. In 2000, he was awarded Juror’s Choice at the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards in Singapore and the Philippines. This is his ninth solo exhibition and third in Singapore.

UTTERLY ART presents:
“Palasyo” (Palace) by Max Balatbat. Attuned to the ironies of survival amidst urban decay, Max Balatbat interpretes the abstract architectural configuration and pervasive sense of squalor of Kabaret Internasyonal, an infamous palace of nightlife in Caloocan with its dance halls, seedy bars and ladies of the evening. This is his first overseas solo show.

Maximino Balatbat II also known as Maxbal was born in 1978 in Caloocan City. In 2002, he completed his degree in Fine Arts with a major in Advertising at the University of the East Caloocan. Maxbal gave pride to the country in 2009 when he won the Il Lorenzo Magnifico Award - Silver Medal in the Florence Biennale in Italy. In 2010, his work was among the Jurors' Choice Award of Merit in Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, the same winning piece is now part of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ collection.

UTTERLY ART / Y2ARTS presents:
“Persistent” is a group show exhibiting four China contemporary artists, the works of these artists are each unique in style, be it the painting technique or artistic expression. These works speak of different topics of which the artists are most concerned with, and the works reflect the different aspects of the artists’ thoughts which had drawn on their life experience and inner feelings. Their persistent, unique style and individual artistic expression seen in these works have also set them apart from their counterparts in other parts of Asia.

UTTERLY ART and Y2ARTS announce a joint “OKTOBERFEST!” at the ION Art Gallery with two Filipino solo exhibitions and one Chinese group show – 13 to 23 Oct 2011

In our first joint collaboration, Utterly Art and Y2Arts will be organizing solo shows “PALASYO” for Max Balatbat and “CACHE” for Norman Dreo (from Utterly Art) and the group show “PERSISTENT” by Chinese contemporary artists Feng Ye, Liu Gang, Liu Fei and Liao Jianhua, all at the large and well-situated ION Art Gallery, Level 4 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801. This extensive and large offering of one group and two solos will be held at ION Art Gallery from Thursday 13th to Sunday 23rd Oct 2011.

ION Art Gallery is open from 10am to 10pm daily, but do contact us at 94872006 for queries and appointments (Keng Hock, Utterly Art) or through utterlyart@pacific.net.sg.

View the works at www.utterlyart.com.sg. For Y2Arts, call Ken Chan at 9681 8959, or email ken@y2arts.com.

The opening reception is on THURSDAY 13th Oct at SEVEN pm. Members of the press are most welcome to attend. Attendance at the exhibition is FREE.

WHITE SKIES, GREY CLOUDS AND BLACK-CASTED SHADOWS

About the show:
There is no trap so deadly as that which one sets upon oneself... and to steer away from that entrapment, Filipino artist Randy Solon has taken the courageous step to plunge into the dark side to draw inspirations for his fifth solo show.

In the show, aptly titled White Skies, Grey Clouds and Black-Casted Shadows, Randy has cleverly used simple and non-evasive images to challenge our emotive heart and rational mind to evaluate our desires and perceptions.

The beauty in Randy's works truly lies in its paradox. At first glance, each painting seems to depict a one-dimensional, well-painted image, but the heart and soul of the artwork really lies in the title of the painting.

In this show, Randy hopes we could look beyond the scabs of oil paint and skin of primed canvases to enjoy the beauty of the thought process breathed into the conceptualization of each artwork.

About the artist:
Randy 'Andoi' Solon holds two degrees in the visual arts: a Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in Painting, at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and a Certificate in Advertising from the Philippines Women's University in Manila. Solon is the recipient of numerous awards from national art competitions. He was the Grand Prize winner in the 2006-2007 PLDT-PDC Telephone Directory Cover 20th Visual Art National Competition. He was a three time Finalist in the 38th, 39th and 40th Shell National Student Painting Competition in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (oil/acrylic categories) and a semi-finalist in the oil/acrylic category of the Metrobank Foundation National Competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His works have featured in major SE Asian auctions, including Sotheby’s.

HUNGRY FOR MORE

After our nod to our local NAFA artists for our 10th anniversary celebrations, we now shift to the main event, a mammoth group show of the best of Utterly Artists at the well-situated ION Art Gallery, Level 4 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801. Based on the theme of “HUNGRY FOR MORE”, we examine what our Singaporean and Filipino artists are HUNGRY for in the show from Thursday 12th May to Sunday 22nd May 2011, which features
Singaporeans: Chng Seok Tin, Wong Shih Yaw, Justin Lee, Andre Tan, Hong Sek Chern, Yeo Siak Goon, Aiman Hakim, Boo Sze Yang, TraseOne, Chua Chon Hee, Martin Loh, Ye Ruoshi, Mohamed Kamal bin Dollah, Michael Lee Hong Hwee, Paul Koh
Filipinos: Andres Barrioquinto, Michael Cacnio, Jaypee Samson, John Paul Antido, Edrick Daniel, Dennis Fortozo, R.G. Habulan, Reynaldo Samson, Reynold dela Cruz, Max Balatbat, Rene Cuvos, Josue Mangrobang Jr, Malyn Bonayog, Kris Soguilon, Norman Dreo
And an odd Greek: Alex Kataras

31 artists in one show and maybe growing…!

ION Art Gallery is open from 10am to 10pm daily, but do contact us at 94872006 for queries and appointments (Keng Hock) or through utterlyart@pacific.net.sg. View the works at www.utterlyart.com.sg. The opening reception is on THURSDAY 12th MAY at 7 pm. Members of the press are most welcome to attend. Attendance at the exhibition is FREE.

About the show:

"Please, sir, I want some more." - Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

Humans are beings of wants and desires. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs postulated that human motivation is driven by unsatisfied needs – once a need is mostly satisfied, it will cease to motivate and the next higher need will take its place. We first satisfy lower-order needs such as food, sleep and warmth, then progress to safety and stability, before thinking of good family and work relationships, achievement and esteem, finally leading to personal growth and self-actualization.

In 21st century Singapore which has achieved developed country status, what drives its citizens to strive beyond a full belly and comfortable condominium? What about our foreign friends who want a piece of our sizzling economic pie? In particular, how do artists view this never-ending quest to improve our lot and aim for the stars?

Utterly Art celebrates ten years in the rough and tumble of a very dynamic local art scene, which now boasts hundreds of galleries, stimulating museum presentations, regular auctions, art fairs and our very own biennale. When we began, we were the first to bridge the gap between a bare exhibition hall for hire and a commercial gallery which provided artists with its marketing and curatorial expertise. Today, literally several hundred artists have exhibited under the Utterly Art banner, we are supported by twin pillars of artistic strength in our Singapore and Philippine artists, and our frenetic presentations average thirty exhibitions a year, both within and beyond our Chinatown home.

What MORE could we want?

CHASING THE NEXT BIG THING IN SOUNTEAST ASIAN ART

UNRAVEL

About the show:

Filipino contemporary artists Malyn Bonayog and Josue Mangrobang Jr. present un•rav•el, a presentation of new works that will challenge the viewer’s perception of aesthetics and the integrity of imagery, supplanting first impressions with more detailed study.

Malyn Bonayog will arouse your curiosity in her complex multi-layering of apparently simple lines on her canvases, which amazingly form several dissimulated images of urban landscapes and personalities that could only be seen separately from different angles. In viewing Bonayog’s work standing dead center, the viewer may find her images baffling at first, but proceeding to view it from different angles, he would then see how she gently reminds us of our sometimes-complacent perception of ordinary things which have significant value to all of us. Within Bonayogs’s work is a classic illusion that will trick your eyes and challenge your mind to understand her tapestry.

Josue Mangrobang Jr. poses a riddle on the meaning of the images he depicts on his canvases. The prominent subject is wrapped in heavy layers of exercise book paper painted realistically and overlain with another image made of small detailed dots as a counter-image. Mangrobang’s meticulous treatment of his artworks is as impressive as the message he imparts to the viewer : the invaluable contribution of education and the sacredness of personal space.
This collection might first mislead at first glace – a mystery that grows on us as we begin to stare. The viewer has to look beyond to the linear lines, background patterns, covered images, meticulous dots and dissimulated images to discover the core of the works. We simply have to unravel it for ourselves.

SINGAPORE‘s GOT TALENT

SINGAPORE‘s GOT TALENT
Collectors’ Forum. Art Fair. Fine Art Auction.

The juried exhibition Raw Art - Undiscovered, organized by RAW ART Singapore, presents twenty upcoming artists who are based in Singapore. Eclectic art pieces: painting, sculpture, prints and installations will be displayed for sale for 2 days only on the weekend of 17th (11am - 9pm) and 18th (10am – 8pm) July at the Sculpture Square, 155 Middle Road. Raw Art Singapore will give access to high quality and affordable new art below 2500 SGD.

Sotheby’s Institute is also sponsoring The Passionate Collector - A panel discussion, which will be held on 17th July at 5pm. Presented by RAW ART and Meltvault, this session will be moderated by Art Historian and critic Gillian Nelson. The panelists Pwee Keng Hock of Utterly Art, Jean Tsai and Clifford Mallory who collect young contemporary Southeast Asian art, and Saskia Joosse of Pop & Contemporary Fine Art (gallery) will discuss issues concerning the new collector/ young art buyer.

The supporting program for the weekend-exhibition includes guided tours and an on-site graffiti-performance by artist Dem on Sat, 17th July, 4pm. This art work will be auctioned off at the Sunday Art Auction at 6pm.

As an initiative to support emerging artists, Raw Art Singapore has organized free educational workshops, conducted by Sotheby’s Institute of Art for the participating artists. These sessions provide them with the tools for successfully creating a career in the art worlds.

RAW ART Singapore aims to stimulate the robustness of the Singaporean emerging art market by developing new interfaces between artists living and working in Singapore and enthusiasts new to art buying and collecting. Raw Art Singapore specializes in creating unique events which integrates art with lifestyle, catering for non-established artists as well as passionate art buyers and young collectors to-be.

INTO THE WILD

Artist’s Statement:
We are walking into a new wilderness. A jungle created by the age of profit. We are confronted with a barrage of information full of deceit and underlying meanings. The works are products of survival in this wild era. They are attempts to provoke in a playful way insight as to how we adapt to the new jungle we live in, based on day-to-day episodes of drowning in the flood of minutiae created by this age of capitalism.

We present images with altered meaning, made popular in the arts by Rene Magritte’s thought-provoking image La trahison des images. But under prevailing conditions, the paradox of images is becoming part of the norm of everyday spectacles sans the corresponding meaning. Or ironically it now contributes to the vocabulary of meanings, images and expressions. Or a much-simplified character provided to a word or words. Or a simplified image added to Orwellian newspeak. Or an ornately-formed visualization of the alphabet. Or challenges to viewers’ perceptions. There is no real formula in constructing every single idea to realize every work to a conglomerated surface of lines and colours, but there goes a flux that comes unconditionally from the conscious and unconscious knowledge acquired from day-to-day living.

To sum up, the function of the artist in this spectacle of visual amusement is to create an assembly of patterns - an allegory of control and stereotypes that turn into the dynamics of life inflicting pleasure, combined with texts to provide more itch and subtle undertones to the viewer. Tease that happens to be part of our daily doze of urban survival.

About the artist:
“Cruz is a facile generator of anxiety and debate and is skilled in the production of excitingly intellectual images and forms within the unorthodox as seen in his art practice teeming with imitable social and political commentary.” Philip Paraan

Mideo M Cruz’s art production has been built upon overtly and subversively expanding and evolving communicative language and contexts, aiming to stimulate interaction and critical consumption of art. Taking his multi-sensory advocacy from the streets to the internet and galleries, Mideo has crafted political yet humorous work, and social discourse realized both collectively and individually. As an artist-organizer, he has consistently addressed issues of haphazard globalization vis a vis identity and skewed access to productive assets. -Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez for 2003 thirteen artist awards citation

Mideo M. Cruz is an active cross-disciplinary artist-organizer based in Manila and Southeast Asia. His works manifest strong allegorical images of the social order. Presently, he is preoccupied with the international artists’ network New World Disorder and is frequently invited for his ingenious actions around the globe. He is a recipient of three most prestigious awards for young artists in the Philippines: the 2003 Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award, the 2003 Sungduan Grant and the 2006 Ateneo Art Award.

While in Singapore, Mideo will also be doing a performance TERRA INCOGINITA

TERRA INCOGNITA is a live interactive piece and a simulation of the early expansionism exploring cultural connection and losing identities in the age of late capital.

At

Rooted In The Ephemeral Speak (R.I.T.E.S)
presenting1. Andree Weschler [SG]2. Justin Lee [SG]3. Mideo M Cruz [PH]4. Natasha Wei [SG]
Date: 26th June 2010Time: 7:30 pm to lateVenue: Post-Museum, Showroom107+109 Rowell Road S209033.http://www.post-museum.org/

For more information: Lee Wen {email:wen.lila@gmail.com}
supported by:National Arts CouncilThe Artists VillagePost-Museum

SHIFTING LIGHTS

SHIFTING LIGHTS
By Randy "Andoi" Solon

About the show:
In his 3rd one-man show, Randy “Andoi” Solon traverses deep into the heart of his emotions as an artist, and presents his canvas as a private memoir of his own personal struggles. “I had been through a lot lately,” Andoi recalls. “It almost came to a point that I was thinking about giving up the thing I love the most.” His paintings emanate a certain sense of drama; a piece of life’s depressing truth that we all can relate to, because suffering is the ultimate resolver of human existence. Pain is the inevitable scrap of reality that tells us that we are all human, with a heart so frail that fate’s little challenges could sometimes hurt too much. To be hurt is to feel alive. The artist translates this tragic thought of beauty onto his own canvases, creating a strong feeling of struggle that we all can relate to. It shows a small peephole into our inner selves, and what is actually happening inside. Figures are rendered inside a small room with a single window, suggesting an intimate mood of isolation and despair. And perhaps, this room is a box which exists inside all of us, a passive, undisturbed place where our minds retreat when all hope is lost. It’s where all our emotional tussles take place. Some fight back, striving hard enough for life’s continuation, while some just cannot resist anymore, eventually giving up and peacefully resting itself on an eased piece of wood where paintings used to be.

The light itself that is always present in Solon’s work is not just a technical element that illuminates the flawlessness of his perfected male anatomy. Indeed, it is more of a conceptual symbolization of hope. It is a general representation of a saviour, be it divine or human, which enters the inner space of the soul when life reaches a miserable downturn of events. According to the artist, the show is not about pain and devastation. It is actually about the struggle. It is the endless striving of man against the daily confrontations of life. “My works have always been biblical. I am deeply inspired by my faith with God. It’s what keeps me going. It’s actually the inner light that neutralizes all the anxieties and suffering that I have been going through,” Andoi confesses. Similar to the nature of his paintings, his whole creation is at the mercy of light, as we are all under God’s compassion and forgiveness. “Light can make or unmake my paintings. It doesn’t just control flatness of smoothness; it shows the true nature of things,” the artist says.

From the head of a decapitated Christian saint to a young man named Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection, this show is all about being human. It’s all about the play zone of light and darkness, and the inescapable fact that light shines stronger in the presence of darkness itself.

by : Dave Lock


About the artist:
Randy 'Andoi' Solon holds two degrees in the visual arts: a Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in Painting, at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and a Certificate in Advertising from the Philippines Women's University in Manila. Solon is the recipient of numerous awards from national art competitions. He was the Grand Prize winner in the 2006-2007 PLDT-PDC Telephone Directory Cover 20th Visual Art National Competition for the oil on canvas work entitled Kabataan, Iguhit mo ang Bukas, Kulayan mo ang Pag-asa. He was a three time Finalist in the 38th, 39th and 40th Shell National Student Painting Competition in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (oil/acrylic categories) and a semi-finalist in the oil/acrylic category of the Metrobank Foundation National Competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His works have featured in major SE Asian auctions.

MIXED SIGNALS

About the exhibition:
Perhaps arising from his history in sculpture and assemblages, Juan Alcazaren’s paintings take place against a backdrop of shadowy three-dimesional forms, some decipherable, others mercurially evolving. With a bent towards the mechanical and the scientific, Mixed Signals continues Juan’s fascination for television test patterns, but with a greater emphasis now on colour. As he puts it, “I’m nostalgic for how technology of the pre-digital past was so much more tactile and prone to generating beautiful accidents. I love the way that even the faintest and fuzziest TV images still engage me.”

About the artist:
Juan Alcazaren (b.1960, Quezon City) graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) with a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture in 1983. He lectured in the UP College of Fine Arts from 1993-1995, and was an animator / director of his own company from 1989-1997. His video ‘Vexations’ won second prize in the Gawad CCP (Cultural Centre of the Philippines) for Video in 1996, and has been exhibited in several international film and video festivals. He has a Juror’s Choice award for sculpture in the Art Association of the Philippines’ Annual Competition in 1993, and in 2000, was awarded the Thirteen Artists Award by the CCP. He has exhibited extensively in the Philippines, and also in Singapore and Spain. Mixed Signals is his 22nd solo show and first overseas.

KALARO

About the exhibition:

Norman Dreo’s new exhibition presents the child in need of the warmth of a hug, attention and constant love. Kalaro (Playmate) is an apt title for the show as Norman throws stuffed toys, dolls and semi-mechanized robots to engage lonely children. The fascination for play and the sublimation of psychological wants and needs for attention turn into wild imaginings in the minds of toddlers. Temporary friends turn out to be real friends. They are always available when the children need them. All they have to do is to open their closet and find them there, waiting eagerly for them.

With toys, who needs anything else?

About the artist:

Norman Dreo (born 1970) topped the talent test upon entering the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in the mid-80s. His art has been exhibited extensively in the Philippines, Singapore, Vermont, USA and in Europe. He has won several prizes at the Metrobank National Art Competition, Art Association of the Philippines and Ateneo Art Awards. In 2000, he was awarded Juror’s Choice at the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards in Singapore and the Philippines. This is his eighth solo exhibition and second in Singapore.

BLACK TENDENCIES

About the exhibition:
In his most recent collection of eerie, patterned portraitures, Andres Barrioquinto suggests the alternate possibilities of things, and the brittle, fragile fulcrum that lies between the extreme polarities of good and evil. His paintings reflect the presence of tendencies, as a clean, white canvas has a natural inclination to turn black with just a few unconscious strokes of an artist’s restless brush. According to the artist, these self-contained imageries depict “dark” people living in a blissful, colorful world, a surreal paradise of falling flower petals and drifting kaleidoscopic butterflies. More like early repentant sinners who try (desperately) to live against the temptations of both flesh and soul. Barrioquinto explains that the figures were intentionally depicted in a crestfallen, monochromatic state, to emphasize the emptiness of the soul, or perhaps their utterly hopeless longing to have one. Around these characters is an explosion of decorative fragments, forcing in a cacophony of screaming colors. Flowers, birds, black trees with golden leaves, cats, butterflies — everything cries in a visual noise of three-dimensional sensory overload, which is impressively contained inside the four, flat closures of the artist’s square canvases. Each painting is coupled with a poem written by Andres’ good friend Dave Lock, who has been doing essays for his recent one-man shows. The words are portraits frozen in a narrative state, hiding in each a story of their own. “It’s the innate order of things. If you’re good, then your tendency is to turn bad, and vice versa.” Barrioquinto says, referring to the simple, yet complex reality of things. Iconographies and subtle representations of evil lie afloat inside his present batch of paintings. Skull-mark repetitions, dead trees, black sheep, and even oversized sumos are found drifting along with his portraitures. These representational designs may refer to a summary of the seven deadly sins or more simply, the things that wickedly turn tendencies into stark realities. “What happens when you mix all the colors in the background?” Barrioquinto asks, as we end the interview.

I thought for a while, and I realized, “Black”.


About the artist:
Andres Barrioquinto (b. 1975, Philippines) graduated in Fine Arts (Painting) from the University of Santo Tomas in 2000. A prestigious recipient of the Thirteen Artists Award (2003) bestowed by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines, Black Tendencies is his 18th solo exhibition and 5th in Singapore. The exhibition introduces a new, deeply layered and patterned style into his genre.

TOP SHOT

About the exhibition:
Filipino artist Daniel Coquilla is most inspired when chronicling culture from the top, as if overseeing events and nuances as they happen. Top Shot captures such details, showing the deep influence of Chinese settlers on Philippine shores. While the Chinese New Year is not officially marked as a holiday in the country, the Filipino-Chinese community carries on the tradition of holding dragon dances to attract good luck. Coquilla, a video editor at the National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development of the University of the Philippines, paints these scenes in great detail, letting the viewer in on as many highlights and sidelights in the composition. There are food stalls selling noodles (pancit) and bean-filled pastry (hopia) which people would travel all the way to Chinatown for, and also a glimpse of dragon boat races. Then Coquilla mixes it up with other Filipino traditions, including celebrations and parties held to welcome the Western New Year. The top view perspective allows viewers to see the larger picture, showing joy in people's faces on one hand, and longing on the other.

About the artist:
Daniel “Dansoy” Coquilla (born 1970, Panabo City, Davao del Norte) majored in painting at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Fine Arts, where he also received the UP Gawad Chanselor para sa Sining Biswal in 1998. He garnered two Juror’s Choice awards in the 1997 Philip Morris Philippine and ASEAN Art Awards, and has also been Grand Prize and Juror’s Choice winner in AAP Competitions, as well as a finalist in the Metrobank and Shell National Painting Competitions. He was likewise a Philippine Finalist to the Windsor & Newton World-Wide Millenium Painting Competition. In 2006, he was made a Thirteen Artists Awardee by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines. Top Shot is his eighteenth solo exhibition and second in Singapore.

ANIMA ORIENTALE

About the exhibition:

Elmer Roslin and Dexter Sy present contrasting glimpses into the subconscious in Anima Orientale.

Roslin departs from his usual local street scenes and billiard halls teeming with bystanders. Utilizing his somber acrylic and oil palette, this time he focuses on individuals caught in introspective pauses. His figures, pensive and deadpan, are usually submerged in water, a known symbol for consciousness simmering beneath the surface. In “Embrace,” “At Your Service” and “Afloat”, their heads are cut out--clearly showing us what is on top of their minds. It may be a female figure, a commanding authority, or a man using a telescope to afford a better view of something far away. The artist invites us to take a deeper look into the human psyche with the muted voices that argue within, the varied selves we are all burdened with, as if coaxing them to speak out.

Sy encrypts tattoo-like skeletal images seemingly culled from Santa Muerte illustrations on canvas. With a palpable fascination for death, the artist uses macabre symbolism in skeletons, coffins, snakes and flowers combined with twisted halos and disproportionate angel wings. Vibrant colors make his depictions of hellish scenarios visually appealing, with patterns that invite the viewer’s eyes to take a closer look at the sordid yet clever details. In “IX”, “XII”, and “XIII”, Sy juxtaposes a flaming, thorn-wrapped sacred heart with a barb-tongued angel, a skeleton in priestly vestments with an intricate pattern of objects anchored by hands clasped in prayer, and all-seeing eyes which appear to be everywhere, never blinking.

It is in this sampling of works from these young Filipino artists that we perceive what is not easily known, with haunting images that come from extreme depths of the imagination, traversing the fine line between the lucid and the subliminal. Elmer Roslin and Dexter Sy may be artists from the Orient, but their explorations on canvas show their visions beyond the physical realm bound by cultural and geographical borders. By dissecting these layers of consciousness, their artworks guide us on an image-laden path to intimacy with our more intuitive selves.

RANDOM PURPOSE

About the exhibition:

Can one find order in chaos, or meaning in the stochastic machinations of an arbitrary universe? Random Purpose brings together three established contemporary Filipino artists, who orchestrate beauty in different artistic directions from the slings and arrows of a desultory world.

The bubble wrap painting is now synonymous with the name Crispin S. Villanueva Jr. since he bagged the Grand Prize at the 2005 Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards and again the Jurors’ Choice (Top 5) Award in 2006. After giving a more than recreational dose of utilizing the hand painted bubbles as a veneer that covers his paintings, he has now accumulated dozens of reasons for giving his paintings a partly concealed, yet partly disclosed treatment. The most likely purpose has been lost in transit and yet the bubbles re-surface intermittently through the years. Inordinately ordinary, these paintings are transformed by the bubble wrap and as Cris puts it – “same as it never was”. Cris is a member of the Grupong Salingpusa and is a founding member of the group Madrugada.

Demetrio dela Cruz’s paintings are about the effects of modern computerization and the tremendous influences we get from the world wide web - the infinite benefits and also the alarming negative inputs that could alter mind of an individual. Together with human figures, Dems also uses letters merging with other objects in his paintings, being the textual representations of viruses and antiviruses online. The Grand Prize Winner of the 2006 Daler-Rowney competition and the 2007 Art Association of the Philippines National Art Competition, Dems also received the 2006 Jurors’ Choice (Top 5) Award for the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards.

Whenever Anthony E. Palomo travels overseas, he gets to meet fellow Filipinos almost everywhere as contract workers. Somehow they facilitate the acquaintance easily by an exchange of stories on the prospects of a better future despite the homesickness of being away from the mother country. This series is a paean to these foreign workers, and are allegorical introspections in retrospect of Anthony’s own personal experiences as a graphic designer in Petaling Jaya, West Malaysia, way back in the 90s. A member of the historic Salingpusa art group, Anthony was a Grand Prize Winner in the Watercolour Category of the 11th Metrobank National Painting Competition (1994) and the 24th Shell National Students Arts Competition (1991). In 1999, he was a finalist in the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards.

LOST IN PARADISE

About the exhibition:
Lost in Paradise is artist Jeho Bitancor's continuing investigation in painting of the social landscape of the USA, relating to personal migrant experiences, observations and insights gathered since he moved to Jersey City, close to New York. Jeho's new 'style' of layering objects upon scenes presents a breathtaking panoply of images paraded before us in rapid succession and full complexity, as befits the bewildering pace of life in Manhattan - the American experience through the eyes of a critical Filipino.

Artist’s Statement:
In October of 2008, I moved from Tennessee to finally face the challenge of living and working in New York, considered to be the center of artistic and intellectual activities in America. It seemed for me to offer a chance to grow and participate in its dynamic art scene. A handful of Filipino artists practice here amidst the "best" in the world so they say, and I consider it a great opportunity to represent my country through my work.

Alas, my enthusiasm was met with sour grapes amongst first acquaintances, artists who seemed to have lost their spirit and developed a certain philosophy to cover-up their frustrations. "It is the greatest battle of your life!" as one remarked. Yet the struggle goes on even if the harsh economic conditions have forced many to occupy cramped and claustrophobic spaces. I myself decided to live in a basement apartment in Jersey City, a 20 minute ride to NYC as I cannot afford Manhattan. There, I worked in a spare space just 5x7 ft. in floor area while enduring the agony of winter. Here is where all the pieces were conceived but most were executed in a decent space as I have again moved farther into the suburbs of North Jersey just recently. There is now more breathing space but the eight months in the basement during the winter, tied up with household chores and child-rearing while trying to break into the art scene had been painful but fruitful and nourishing to the spirit.

I was able to perform in a reputable space intended for performance art and have joined two group shows, one having been selected as the only Filipino among Asian and Asian-American artists across America. Not much of an accomplishment really, but small steps while I continue to explore and observe the country through my works.

About the artist:
Jeho Bitancor is a Cultural Centre of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Awardee of 2006, who has exhibited extensively in the Philippines, Singapore, USA, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. Trained in the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (1984-1992), and the New York City Art Student’s League (1997), Jeho has won several awards and distinctions, and is collected by the Singapore Art Museum, Ateneo Art Gallery, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Aurora Provincial Government, Museo de Baler, as well as several private collectors.

RECESSES OF MY MIND

Artist’s statement:
Whereas past exhibitions have dealt with what I know, what I've observed, and what I remember, RECESSES OF MY MIND is primarily a function of the conjurings of my over-active imagination. Settled realities of the Peranakan past have given way to an almost hallucinatory journey where the world is not only charming, but dangerous. In an effort to break away from previous Peranakan depictions, the artist is demonstrating the primacy of his mind over his eyes.

About the artist:
Martin Loh is a self-taught Singaporean artist who culls his subjects from the richness of his own Peranakan heritage. His paintings reflect the colour, charm and details of a bygone era in a naïve style that is uniquely his. A self-confessed day-dreamer, he lets his imagination run wild through his works, recreating images of people and places from his childhood days growing up in Katong, a predominantly Peranakan area. His earlier works were highly nostalgic and mainly inspired by home-based activities and portraits of the “lady of the house”, as well as old architecture and traditional costumes. Over the years, he has evolved to a freer style of painting and works that are more whimsical, though no less enchanting, drawn from his wide-ranging experiences as he travels around the region. This series investigates a darker psychological mindscape, where nyonyas toy with anthropomorphic animals and concomittant danger. As he transitions from paper to canvas, his work is no less colourful, many still replete with the crowded details and fussiness so favoured by the Straits Chinese in days gone by.

MONO

Artist’s Statement:

MONO
by Kiko Escora

We are all ultimately alone. We wake up in this world alone, engage our own lives alone and eventually face death alone. Yet we all too easily forget that this is one of the most natural of human conditions – to be alone. We have somehow managed to stigmatize it, equating it to loneliness or hollowness or even to being incomplete - states that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the condition.

In these times of easy access to information, of instant gratification and of endless possibilities, ­we are misled to seize the moment and to literally busy ourselves to death. Along the way, in our very short lives, we have learned to take for granted some of the very basic pleasures in life – the stillness of being with oneself for example, or the luxury of being boring, or tuning out of the chaotic world that we have made for ourselves, or the very simple joy of just being alone.

About the artist:

Born in 1970 in the Philippines, Kiko Escora is a Thirteen Artist Awardee (2003) of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines and has taken part in various solo and group exhibitions in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia. He has also participated in several art fairs in Singapore, Cebu City, Dubai, Miami, New York, Beijing and Hong Kong, as well as auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's. MONO is his 22nd solo exhibition and 5th overseas.

JUST LOOKING

About the exhibition:

Melvin Culaba is a dark expressionist Philippine painter who offers brooding insights into his surrounding social milieu. His second solo exhibition in Singapore deals with apathy, about how people “just look” at problems, criticize, offer unhelpful comments, yet not lift a finger to solve the underlying conditions. In large epic canvases, his monstrous characterizations of people and objects, and somber, swirling palette mirrors the dire ills of the society he sees.

About the artist:

Melvin Culaba (b. 1971) graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1993, and has exhibited extensively in the Philippines, Korea and the United States. He has been a Finalist at the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards from 1995-98 and 2006, and won several top awards at the Art Association of the Philippines annual painting competition and Metrobank Young Painters annual competition. He won a full grant for residency at the Vermont Studio Centre in 2005 and is a commissioned artist for the Official Christmas Cards of President Gloria Arroyo. Just Looking is his 11th solo exhibition and 2nd in Singapore.

KARACTER ANAK

Artist’s statement:

Through my paintings, I would like to express the innocent character of my two children. When engaged in their daily activities, they are simple and plain. They do what they want to do, according to what their heart wants. But if these innocent acts were to be performed by adults, we might feel awkward, strange, unusual. Sometimes it might even be seen as a wrongdoing which is criticized and frowned upon by society.

About the artist:

Evi Muheriyawan (born in Bandung, West Java, 1974)
had learnt painting from the Javanese painter Joko since his childhood. After graduating from senior high school, he went to Bali to learn more about painting and met a community of artists named Bunga–Bunga Bali. He started participating in several group exhibitions with the community of Bunga-Bunga Bali until 2002, when he returned to his hometown, Bandung, to express his own ideas. His works sell in many auction houses in Jakarta.

DOLORES

Artist’s Statement:

Do-lo-res [duh-lawr-is, -lohr-] a female given name: from a Latin word meaning “sorrows.” It is usually applied to contexts of mental pain and suffering.

This exhibition which features the moody portraitures of Andres Barrioqunto presents a collection of different women, depicted in either a vast landscape or a lively kaleidoscopic bed of flowers. According to the artist, the placement of his figures in such vast and remote scenery creates a certain feeling of isolation and loneliness. “I want to emphasize or somehow portray the effects of men, or maybe the backwash of life in general towards women.” Barrioquinto says. Generally, his concepts for this show are inspired by all the women around him, from the youngest tramp strewn across the street to his very own birth mother. This is a tribute to them, for the scars and afflictions that life has left them with. It is highly noticeable that in this present batch of paintings, the figures somehow bleed a certain blanket of mourning for the human soul. “My paintings are usually dark and macabre, and they still are now, only in a different and more subtle sense of expression.”

About the artist:

Andres Barrioquinto (b. 1975, Philippines) graduated in Fine Arts (Painting) from the University of Santo Tomas in 2000. A prestigious recipient of the Thirteen Artists Award (2003) bestowed by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines, Dolores is his sixteenth solo exhibition and fourth in Singapore. The exhibition progresses from the geometricism and detailed realism that he has been developing in the past year.