artartistclifford espinosaexhibitlavina verdolagamanilartpaintingrovi salegumbavalerie chuawatercolor
ManilART 2012
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| With a few of mine and Valerie Chua's paintings, at ManilART |
I can't even begin to describe ManilART. I mentioned in my previous post that I was participating in this prestigious event, and now that the event is over, I still can't believe I was part of it at all.
ManilART is the biggest art event of the year, a chance for leading art galleries in the Philippines to come together and showcase their prized collections, and for budding artists, such as myself, to make their presence in the scene known. This year, the event boasted the participation of 40 major galleries, and over 400 artists - the biggest gathering yet.
I was blessed with the opportunity to be featured as one of the exhibiting artists by Romana Go, ManilART's current art director. She was already an acquaintance of mine; we'd meet time and time again, and I always enjoyed her quirky company. A few months ago, we met again at a party at my boyfriend's house, and during one of the conversations, she suddenly broached the subject about ManilART, how she had been assigned the role of art director. I was thrilled for her, of course, and secretly hoping that I'd be able to visit the exhibit this year. To my absolute horror, she casually mentioned that I be a part of it. Before I could recover, she began talking specifics: what medium I used, how many paintings I had, how many more could I do... by the time the party was over, my mind was abuzz. My participation in the exhibit wasn't set in stone, but I had resolved to produce as many paintings as I could nonetheless.
The wheels were in motion, however; as I strove to make one painting a week, Romana would contact me for updates and news concerning ManilART. My being part of it still wasn't sure - at least to me it wasn't, but I was forced to think otherwise when out of the blue, she asked me to participate in a press interview for the event at SM Megamall. And everything escalated from there: my artwork was splashed on a promotional ManilART tumbler and sold and given away, I was featured on the ManilART Facebook page (you can see the post here), and my paintings were set up on display at the Moon Dragon Art Gallery booth in the SMX Convention Center.
I managed to procure 10 paintings for the exhibit; half are old paintings, half are new. They were displayed together with the watercolor paintings of Valerie Chua, whose work I subtly suggested to Romana to be included in the exhibit.
I'll post the paintings up one by one later. It was absolute fun working on them, and challenging as well; I had to balance both my writing work and my art work in a day, and on several occasions I slipped behind on my one-painting-a-week schedule. I had been aiming for 15 paintings, but 10 was my safe number; I'm just glad I was able to produce enough for the exhibit.
All of my paintings showcase my watercolor fairies. I tried to maintain a general theme of flower fairies - with a bird fairy as an exception, that serves as the highlight of my artworks (which I shall post later on).
Other than myself and Val, Romana featured under her gallery - Moon Dragon Art Gallery - artists Rovi Salegumba, a young and excellent oil painter with a hauntingly whimsical style, and Clifford Espinosa, a jovial furniture maker who specializes in the creation of practical, ergonomic art.
The wheels were in motion, however; as I strove to make one painting a week, Romana would contact me for updates and news concerning ManilART. My being part of it still wasn't sure - at least to me it wasn't, but I was forced to think otherwise when out of the blue, she asked me to participate in a press interview for the event at SM Megamall. And everything escalated from there: my artwork was splashed on a promotional ManilART tumbler and sold and given away, I was featured on the ManilART Facebook page (you can see the post here), and my paintings were set up on display at the Moon Dragon Art Gallery booth in the SMX Convention Center.
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| Val's and my display |
I managed to procure 10 paintings for the exhibit; half are old paintings, half are new. They were displayed together with the watercolor paintings of Valerie Chua, whose work I subtly suggested to Romana to be included in the exhibit.
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| 3 of my tiny tiny paintings! |
I'll post the paintings up one by one later. It was absolute fun working on them, and challenging as well; I had to balance both my writing work and my art work in a day, and on several occasions I slipped behind on my one-painting-a-week schedule. I had been aiming for 15 paintings, but 10 was my safe number; I'm just glad I was able to produce enough for the exhibit.
All of my paintings showcase my watercolor fairies. I tried to maintain a general theme of flower fairies - with a bird fairy as an exception, that serves as the highlight of my artworks (which I shall post later on).
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| I should've worn a lighter color :)) |
Other than myself and Val, Romana featured under her gallery - Moon Dragon Art Gallery - artists Rovi Salegumba, a young and excellent oil painter with a hauntingly whimsical style, and Clifford Espinosa, a jovial furniture maker who specializes in the creation of practical, ergonomic art.
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| The pretty Val Chua |
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| Oil paintings by Rovi Salegumba, furniture by Clifford Espinosa |
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| The Moon Dragon Art Gallery collection |
While we four artists had little time to mingle before and during the event, it was a pleasure nonetheless for me to be in their company. But of course, not even pleasantries could prepare me for the event itself.
The gala night of ManilART, held last Tuesday, October 2, 2012, was the event's formal opening. There were dozens and dozens of people, most, if not all, VIPs, including senators, news anchors, actors, academicians, and, of course, gallery owners and art collectors. It was absolutely amazing - unfortunately, I don't have the pictures to show it :( In my flustered state, I forgot to bring my camera D: Thankfully, I brought it along for the Blogger's Walking Tour the next day.
The exhibit itself is so profound, so breathtaking; I was literally so overwhelmed by it all I glazed over everything, once in a while zooming in to specific artworks, as you'll notice in the pictures below. But everything was just fantastic; it took me a while to register the fact that I was there, in the midst of beautiful creations crafted out of the blood and sweat of Filipinos. It made me feel very small, but in a good way.
I think I'll let the pictures I took during the tour speak for themselves. Although, I should apologize, I forgot to take down the titles of some of the artworks and the artist names :(( I just hope that I managed to capture at least a tiny bit of the beauty and craftsmanship that defined each and every artwork. So, enjoy!
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| One of my favorite pieces by Michael Cacnio. It reminds me so much of Guillermo del Toro's work, like something out of Pan's Labyrinth. |
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| 'An Introduction to Evolution' by Rom Villaseran, 36 x 96 inches, oil on canvas |
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| Joey, me, and Kai Jimenez |
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| 'Mga Bata' by Jinggoy Salcedo, 16 x 24 x 22 inches, stainless steel and glass |
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| 'Mga Bata' closeup |
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| 'Unli in the Philippines' by Roel Obemio, 36 x 72 inches, acrylic on canvas. |
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| 'The End of the Black In-Hear-Itance' by Augusto Elopre, 199.5 x 184 cm, hand compressed feathers on canvas |
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| 'The Gathering' by May Ann Licudine, 10 x 6 x 6.5 inches, mixed media |
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| 'Admiration of St. Paul de Vence' by Melencio Sapnu Jr. (one of my favorite artists!) |
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| 'Bloom' by Tof Zapanta, 36 x 48 inches, mixed media |
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| My #1 fan ♥ |
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| Paintings and sketches by the great Fernando Amorsolo |
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| Sketch closeup |
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| 'Crack in the Hull' by Ronald Ventura, the center piece for the this year. |
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| 'Allegory of a Farce' by Romulo Galicano |
I'm so incredibly happy to have been part of ManilART. I actually still can't believe it, haha. Thank you Romana, it was such an honor, and literally a dream come true. ManilART was indeed the incredible stepping stone that I needed to gain more confidence in my artwork, but I still have so much to learn, so much to improve on. I can't wait to see where this journey of self-improvement brings me.
I'll be posting my exhibit artworks one by one, plus a feature on an incredible person I met during the event. Until then, take care ♥
4 comments
wow. congrats! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! :D
ReplyDeleteThe angel is done by Michael Cacnio... Congrats Lavina and Thank You:-)
ReplyDeleteI had a hunch it was him! Thank you so much for clarifying, and for taking the time to comment! Your works are wonderful, congrats too! :D
ReplyDelete