top of page

Dapo

Chad Montero

July 5 - 26, 2025

Video
Press Release

“Dapo” is derived from the common folk belief about the “dapo ng paru-paro.” In this filipino pamahiin, it is thought that when a butterfly alights around or upon you, they are“nagpaparamdam” or “bumibisita.” It is said that they are the spirits of the departed coming to visit the living, fluttering and passing in the in-between to act as messengers from a world beyond our reach. They embody our lost loved ones, dropping in to whisper a blessing or a gentle farewell, to give comfort or bring luck to the ones who are left behind. They flutter and pass.

These momentary instances of proximity, faint like the touch of a butterfly and elusively short like the light of fireflies, remind us of the fleetingness of life. We weave through life making numerous connections and relationships, creating beginnings and yet conscious of our eventual partings. While all we can do is to treasure these tenuous ties in the brief interval of our coexistence, as we are then left holding on to the fragments of memories and the accumulation of stories.

It is in this course that Chad Montero portrays chronicles of loss and remembrance, with the deep acceptance that nothing is permanent, everything is just temporary. He hordes the memories and the stories inspired by his background and family history. He paints from his observations about the happenings that surround him, most relevantly, the recent deaths and losses his family has had to endure together. And yet, despite the aches, he still finds a transcending enchantment in the evidence of our mortality.

Through his works, he looks back and reminisces while depicting these ephemeral contacts that occasionally manifests to remind us of the stories that remain eternal. He uses imageries based from the typical family portraits, which he then interspersed with vague figures, faceless or hidden behind shrouds. Their essence is clearly intertwined in the dynamics of the assembled characters, deeply felt but also barely there. These vacant presences appear like spiritual portals to another realm or like mystical echoes from a time long gone.

He covers the images with delicate patterns and texture that appear brittle to the touch, wrapping them with vibrant colors and splintered flecks of light. Dense foliage creep at the background, engulfing some figures and dominating the picture plane. And at the base of the paintings are crude apothecaries in reference to the healing traditions of his mother and grandmother. Through these whimsical interpretations, he seeks guidance from the past and finds patterns in the fabric of our reality, exposing a hint of magic in his perceptions about life and the ordinary.

In this exhibit, Montero becomes an ardent storyteller who recollects the inherited narratives and the forgone memories that has been passed down through generations, tales that carry folk traditions and mythical beliefs that are slowly declining, forgotten and overshadowed by our mortal concerns. He keeps the remnants by marking and stamping in canvas and re-drawing the fading connections to our ancestry and our shared history.

Arvi Fetalvero

16.png

VISIT US

Unit 104 G/F Building 3, OPVI Centre, 2295 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City,
Metro Manila

OPENING HOURS

CONTACT

Tuesday to Saturday

10:00AM-6:00PM

artcubewhite.png

© 2020 ART CUBE GALLERY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
bottom of page