fine art | ADJIMA

5 Highlights for the ALT Philippines Art Show

February 13, 2020 by Team Adjima

Ten of Metro Manila’s finest contemporary art galleries have put together a fresh and new tent-pole event for the Philippine Art Month calendar. It’s called ALT Philippines, and they are saying that they want to “re-frame the art show.”

Set in SM Aura in Taguig City’s Fort Bonifacio area, the show opened today and we were there at the preview to see what they’ve brought out So have they been able to do something different? We visited the show, and here are some things we saw that made the visit worth the trip to SM Aura.

A Show of Force: Jade Suayan’s First Solo Show at Secret Fresh Gallery

January 25, 2020 by Veronica

Jade Suayan has pulled out all the stops. It’s very rare to find an artist who can match their artistic vision with technical ability, and this is one of the things that makes this show so special.

Walking into the show requires you to bend your head, entering through a parking gate pylon into a concept exhibit where the entire room has been transformed into a purple parking garage.

How Archie Geotina Re-Opened the Discussion on Marawi

January 22, 2020 by Team Adjima

Don’t Miss Archie Geotina’s Show at Provenance Gallery. True to his street art roots, Geotina has chosen wheat paste as the primary media for this exhibit. We say primary because the prints are actually bonded onto aluminum sheets which have been wrought to communicate even deeper messaging. Utilizing this medium he has become very familiar with as a young graffiti artist, the images serve as primary way of starting his dialogue.

Tyang Karyel’s Dream of an Art Sari Sari

September 16, 2019 by Mike

Browsing through the artwork of Tyang Karyel evokes the childhood pleasure in small things. A single candy, a plastic toy, an old movie. As we grow older it’s a little harder to find joy in these things, but the Cavite artist puts a low brow art spin on things, refreshing their aura. Her pieces are art objects for the everyday fan, often made in cutout shapes or packaged in satchels. “I’m fascinated by cheap, local brands with weird designs and wobbly lines. I especially like product labels and ephemeral stuff,” she tells us. “Everything looks clean, crisp, and shiny these days. It’s too perfect so we forget about the simple stuff.”

Distort Monster’s First Solo Show At Secret Fresh

August 17, 2019 by Mike

Skateboarding. Punk rock. Graffiti. They’re all pretty aggressive subcultures, outlets that allow angry kids to express themselves. And Distort Monsters has been here for all of them since he was little. Whether out in QC on his board during middle school, running around Metro with a can in high school, or penning angsty punk songs all along, it was a way for him to channel his mood into relatively positive ways. And it paid off too, considering that he’s opening his first solo art show this Sunday, courtesy of the good people at Secret Fresh. [Full disclosure: Distort is now part of the Honeycomb team.]

Marcushiro Nada’s “Homecoming” opens in Pablo’s Post Gallery

August 10, 2019 by Kayo

The exhibition is Nada’s fifth solo show, coming off of a hiatus of six years since his fourth. So the title “Homecoming” is fitting, marking his return to the gallery setting. Those familiar with his personal street art style and murals scattered around the San Juan and Quezon City area will be interested to see how his style has evolved. And evolved it has, revealing a secondary meaning to the show’s title: come into the Nada household.

Water Water Everywhere Not A Drop To Drink: Bato At VoV

August 10, 2019 by Mike

Empty, matte black figures suspended above dust piles in a small, windowless room and a dry faucet on the far end. It’s a bleak scene, one loaded with implications for our future if the world continues on its path. The installation is Dennis Bato‘s “Element Of The Past” show at Vinyl on Vinyl, which opened this week. And although meaning behind this piece of concept art is unclear at first glance, all it takes is a nudging from the artist himself to send its possibilities spiraling. He says it’s about the existence humans might face from the choices we’ve made, specifically the specter of water crises, which Manila only recently suffered through as millions of people faced limited access to water.

Reen Barrera Explores The Idea Of Families At Vinyl On Vinyl

August 9, 2019 by Veronica

Family. It’s the basic unit of human connection, an integral part of existence, the root of one’s identity, usually composed of parents and children in the same household. Most consider the people they were born into and share a bloodline with as their family.

Endless Loyalty: JP Pining At Secret Fresh

August 6, 2019 by Veronica

JP Pining knows who’s got a soft spot for their fuzzy little friends. In his second solo show at Secret Fresh, dubbed “Endless Loyalty,” he uses his trademark geometric style to illustrate different breeds of dogs, capturing them in riotous color. JP has a doggo to call his own, who is part of the inspiration behind this show, but another driving force was witnessing how people are changed by forming relationships with their dogs. Any pet lover would know what it’s like, and these bonds were on full display with all the pets running around that night.

Edon Tuazon Fabreo’s Urban Philippine Dioramas

July 28, 2019 by Mike

Sometimes it takes some distance for you to really appreciate your home. That’s basically what happened to Edon Tuazon Fabreo. Although he’d been interested in miniature scale models since he was a kid, it wasn’t until a trip back to Manila after spending a few years in Saudia Arabia as an OFW that he decided on combining the two loves.