Figures of Speech: Contemporary Art in the Philippines

For Art Taipei 2025, Art Cube is presenting “Figures of Speech: Contemporary Art from the Philippines,” a focused exhibition of six artists who represent the breadth of representational practice in the country today: Don Bryan Bunag, Cedrick Dela Paz, Emmanuel “Manny” Garibay, Winna Go, Guerrero Habulan, and Ryan Jara.

Each of these artists engages figuration as a means to address urgent questions of identity, politics, culture, and everyday life. Don Bryan Bunag’s work examines the architecture of the imagination, mapping out inner landscapes that verge on the spiritual. Cedrick Dela Paz turns a sharp eye on corruption in public life, deploying the crocodile as a recurring image for predatory power and how it has been normalized in society. Emmanuel Garibay, one of the country’s most recognized painters, investigates how the diverse lives of Filipinos contribute to the shaping of national identity, emphasizing the collective nature of belonging.

Winna Go explores the space between Chinese and Filipino heritage, not as a site of conflict but of coexistence, creating compositions where dualities meet in balanced order. Guerrero Habulan situates his work within the ongoing negotiations of the post-colonial condition, where outside forces continue to shape local realities and struggles. Ryan Jara, meanwhile, adopts a Cubist approach to depict everyday Filipino life, refracting ordinary moments into multifaceted forms that underscore the richness and complexity of human experience.

Taken together, these six artists offer a multi-dimensional view of Philippine contemporary art. Their works illustrate how representation remains a powerful vehicle for reflection—on inner worlds, on social realities, and on the shared conditions that define a people in the present day.