Exhibits 2019
Introducing this year’s Tuklas mentees, Lymuel Bautista, Tamer Karam, Rachel Anne Lacaba, Mark Laza, McCoy Lazaruz, Alex Ordoyo, Macj Turla, and Orland.
Tuklas is a project of Eskinita Art Gallery wherein upcoming artists enter a year-long mentorship under Renato Habulan and Alfredo Esquillo.
-Helena Baraquel
Roundtrip is a scenario that occurs by the railroad – it is a journey that is to and fro. Like a train with fastened compartments, the artworks are interconnected with one another. Each work endeavors its viewers to partake in the journey of a regular Filipino, and compels one to be in the scenario itself.
-Karen Tesalona
“Connection” observes the transformations of our links not only to ourselves but also to others. Dominating his works are the blindfolded individuals, which are symbols that human connections are free from any judgments and almost always innocent. Thus, something that cannot be explained but visible. From unconditional love experienced in parenthood to romantic and even spiritual connections, Bello makes us understand through figuration, these associations that we have, and yet, have failed to recognize as important.
-Gwen Bautista
Clairelynn Uy’s “Hello Like Before” features photo-realist paintings, which contain images of letter balloons spelling out art genres like “Self-Portrait” and “Still Life”. The presence of balloons in her works hint at pop culture as reference: a term coined in the 19th century, particularly associated with the engagement of the masses in the industries of entertainment and mass-produced literature.
-Gwen Bautista
It’s not at all new to see nude paintings in this modern era, and Marquez’s style certainly does not seek permission to depict the previously unaccepted. Uncompromisingly, he even made use of a seemingly uncomfortable undertone that is insistent on the erotic and the element of voyeurism.
-Karen Tesalona
In this exhibition, the Espinosa brothers turned their creative practice into preaching devices, interpreting their beliefs into palpable imagery. Between their works, Orland and Tyrone attempt to portray the biblical poetry of suffering.
-Ioannis Sicuya
Sometimes we find ourselves in a recurring agency to manifest our love and hardships. In Concepcion’s first solo show, she communicated her very struggle and its profound consequences.
-Karen Tesalona
By Biskeg Pangasinan Artist Collective, Pinankasakey Artist Circle (PAC), and Bolinao Artist Group Incorporated (BAGI)
The works of more than thirty artists in this exhibition are weaved tales and combined reflections of the world we live in. Here, a wide selection of paintings, sculptures, and mixed media testifies to the different realities where an individual resides.
-Gwen Bautista
The radical images that dominate the works in this exhibition traverse through uncomfortable and gut-wrenching narratives. Here, disconcerting figures and subjects capture unspoken truths, like the reality of widespread violence and the degradation of humanity. As the world becomes more and more desensitized to brutality and oppression, “Bulasok” becomes a force that will strengthen our critical response to these dark times.
-Gwen Bautista
The trifling difference between the past and the present drawn with a thin line of abstract traces obtained in memory and sentiments of artist Isko Andrade is perfectly exemplified in his first solo exhibition called slaughterHOUSE.
-Karen Tesalona
In Connected Roots, two different approaches to sculpture are exemplified by two very different artists, Dennis Jimenez and Josh Limon Palisoc. The two artists are both driven by the same passion to express themselves through sculptural forms.; and while their materials and approach differ, for this exhibition both artists dig deep at what inspires their personal imagery and what informs their artistic philosophy.
-Ioannis Sicuya
Monsters are often described as horrifying: creatures that signify dread and fear. Derived from the Latin word, monstrum, in itself means to remind, to warn, to foretell --- the idea of encountering a large frightening beast is unimaginable and petrifying.
-Gwen Bautista
“Naglalayag sa Sariling Dagat” is the first solo show of artist Archie Ruga. It tells the story of forming oneself, and shaping his identity. In a sense, water can often be compelled as chaos and disarray. For Ruga then, the exhibit is somehow a transition of one’s chaos into cosmos – to bring order and to beautify.
-Karen Tesalona
Employing images from classical to modern art, the works of Aleah Rose Angeles and Niño Cubacub compel us to look at two very different ways of understanding the state of the living as defined by the presence and the absence of the colors red and black in their works for “RED Red BLAck red”.
-Gwen Bautista
Tension between perspectives has been an integral part of being human. One struggles to arrive with a critical understanding of the other, but with bias that already exists within, how then, are we supposed to understand the other given this question of difference?
-Karen Tesalona
The content of the sacred writings which is the Bible, is more than just a collection of fascinating stories. It is more than just morality or inspiration. It is about the revelation of God Himself. It establishes the greatness of He who is Author, Creator, and Owner of the life and existence of everything that there is. And most especially man, who was created in the image of God. Without a proper understanding of God, there would be no proper understanding of man.
-Hubert Tan Haboc
Orange Building puts forward an understanding of how spaces and daily objects shape our sense of who we are.
-Karen Tesalona
In this exhibition, Antipolo-based artists Daniel Aligaen and Edrick Daniel inspect the numerous ways of falling into this similar ploy and how we are all forced to confront daring obstacles along the way.
-Gwen Bautista
The exhibition title itself is a double take: the word pag-alala, a heteronym that can be interpreted to mean either the act of remembering or a sense of unease and anxiety—or both.
-Lisa Ito
"There But Not There" by Demosthenes Campos, Eugene Jarque, Linds Lee, and Mac Valdezco
Opening on March 2, 2019
The colorful surrealist images that are found in the works of artist Melvin Guirhem’s fourth solo exhibition titled “The Memory Remains” show an expansion of his art practice from painting to fabric collages.
-Gwen Bautista
"There is no doubt that Iloilo has become one of the country’s major hubs for art, producing award-winning artists in recent years even as some of the country’s pioneering and notable artists are also Iloilo-born or trace their roots to Iloilo..."
-Martin Genodepa
"The exhibit further surveys its audiences with a question that necessitate an answer: Who really has the power to control what is around us? What do we do and how do we manouvre our way through?"
-Karen Tesalona
By Edwin Ladrillo, Rommel Ramota, Nelson Ricahuerta, and Jeff Salon
IMANIOBRA ushers in the year with a call to action, with selected artists presenting works that shape unsettling realities in contemporary life. With each piece, the current social climate is exposed, touching on politics, the educational system, militarization and even environmental concerns.