SALT Hersley Casero March 27 - April 17, 2021 VIEW THE EXHIBITION CATALOG The Omnipresence of Salt In his solo exhibition, Salt, Hersley Casero traces the contours of the pandemic life not through the usual images associated with it, such as masks and shields, but in a more oblique, metaphorical way. The artist’s symbol of choice is salt: the ubiquitous element present in our bodies as mortal beings and the larger bodies of the world’s oceans; in the food we consume and share as well as in the hulking landscapes our eyes devour in a moment of wonder. It’s as if, in this period of isolation, cocooning, and contemplation, we are stripped down to our elementary essences, as we bear our unique and collective gifts that continue to have meaning as the clamor of the world is momentarily stopped. Rendered in sepia, which has become part of the artist’s visual philosophy to convey the passage of time as well as the opportune light of a golden day by the sea, the paintings depict figures, either as solitary, a pair, or a group, represented with the tell-tale treasures of the shore: the shell of a hermit crab, the iridescent stone holed by nature, the mineral alluded to the title. They are stand-in for all of us grappling with the so-called new normal, who may find rootedness during quarantine or be spurred by it to embark on a journey. Each of the figures bears an item that identifies their pursuit: a potted plant, which represents how people have found renewed solace in the company of greenery, or a camera, the thumb ready and trained on the shutter. In one work, “This Too Shall Pass,” people are huddled together under a tarpaulin—a makeshift roof—as rain pours its silver pellets. This is Casero’s view of an expanded community, not only composed of human beings but the rest of creation: from insects to fishes to birds to companion animals. While the context of the work may be read against the pandemic, that whatever currently assails us will relent and usher the arrival of dawn, it may also gesture at a more universal approach to the world’s other—and possibly more pressing—problems, such as unimpeded capitalism, climate change, and environmental degradation. We are all in this together, the painting says, and by “we” it means the inclusion of the silent stakeholders whose existence relies in the good health of the planet. An iteration for this expanded community is the installation which features a collection of rocks, such as what one can see in a Japanese garden. “Rocks are sand and sand are rocks, all part of the same life cycle, they are each other’s essence,” the artist muses. “When we are together as a community we form a strong rock, but apart we are just shifting sand. Sometimes pressure can make us stronger? But even as strong rocks, we will all just return to the ground as sand one day. We have all heard the story that compares a man who built his house on the sand and a man who built his house on the rock. If we relate this story to current times, the rock could represent the coming together of people as a community to survive both physically and mentally, and those left on the side-lines or isolated may feel like vulnerable sand…We are all tiny people, nobodies, vulnerable, but together, we are rocks, islands, the Earth.” Salt is Casero’s heartfelt call for mindfulness, activated by what unites us as species on a fundamental level, signified by the sprinkle of salt in the paintings, the element traceable in our blood and our tears, central to our home and the home of the rest of creation. (In the Philippines, salt as in “asin” is a word basically shared by all the languages and dialects.) “In a close-knit community and in a time of uncertainty and need,” Casero states, “the way we adapt, persevere, and treat other people will come back around and affect our quality of life during this time.” -Carlomar Arcangel Daoana

EXTRA CHROMOSOME 21 Maribel Mogpoc August 21 - September 11, 2021 View Catalogue Video Maribel Magpoc Maribel Magpoc is a full-time artist who graduated from the Technological University of the Philippines. She is a member of the collective Room One Eleven and is well known for her advocacy to raise awareness about Down-syndrome. She aspires to make known to her audience that having a disability is not a hindrance in living life and grabbing opportunities. Magpoc takes inspiration from her sister, Mariel, who has down syndrome In her works, the story usually seems as if life is frozen in time. Her main subject is usually her sister in her everyday routines and scenarios. She consciously revolves around this concept to call on the formation of equal rights and treatment for people who have disabilities. The images that Magpoc paints, depicts her sister in the normal day to day scene that mirrors what the rest of us are doing. She creates the story of irregularity where the capacity to live, survive, and thrive physically, emotionally, and mentally is redefined. Magpoc created Extra Chromosome to increase public awareness about people living with this condition. Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome in their DNA. The extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which causes both mental and physical challenges for the baby. Even when people with Down syndrome might act and have similar features to people without it, each person has a variety of capabilities. Maribel aims to show how people with this condition are able to manage daily life, to give people a better understanding about their condition, and to share the real stories and information behind those misconceptions. Magpoc wants to set a reminder that despite the limitations on mobility, people with down syndrome are also capable of growing and flourishing.

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LOCKDOWN Caloy Gernale, Christopher Zamora, Mervin Pimentel, Luigi Almuena 14 November 2020 The word "justice" in the Philippines has been more of a mere concept wherein whoever is in charge won’t really offer right decisions but push our people to endure with insufferable bureaucratic processes and delays that could stretch for decades. Meanwhile, thousands languish in dire conditions; and what if someone tells you of a grand plan to fix it, and the solution is as simple as an advice to any human being with common sense. Although, it won’t be an easy fix – some opt to spread awareness through their craft, in Art. The Lockdown Group Show is a compilation of works created by artists Caloy Gernale, Mervin Pimentel, Luigi Almuena and Christopher Zamora. The works were gathered throughout the declaration of the lockdown in the Philippines. The show highlights the deprivation of Justice that is noticeable even more so during these trying times. In Lockdown, the works can be seen with wit and double entendre. This mirrors the vast concepts of how deprivation in various aspects are present within the society, the community and more especially, as humans with our own rights. Lockdown disposes the attention of the audience toward the purpose of sharing the diverse realities that became present during the hardships of Filipinos in the covid-19 year. The question present in our minds of whether we still have hope for the last bit of justice we can receive from our rulers or do we just live life as it is and stretch ourselves to perceive what we can now witness. As artists with a voice turned to action, they allow to be drenched in the rain, they dance with their work, they speak what they observe and they tread hard no matter how difficult the injustices can get as long as they have their voices be heard. - Jade Gebaña VIEW THE EXHIBITION CATALOG

Somewhere in the Middle | March 14 - April 4, 2026 Somewhere in the Middle Lui Manaig March 14 - April 4, 2026 1/8 View Catalogue Video Press Release Somewhere Between Takeoff and Landing The middle isn’t glamorous. It’s not the thrilling beginning, all urgency, freshness, and newness. It’s not the victorious finish line either. It’s the somewhat capricious stretch in between, the part where you pause, look around, and realize you’re still figuring things out. For a visual artist, this space can feel surprisingly and achingly fragile. There’s momentum, yes, but certainty? Rare. In Somewhere in the Middle, Lui Manaig turns that uneasy, in-between zone into the heart of the exhibition. His large works depict ordinary environments: a traffic intersection in Daily Grind, a camping ground in Finding my center I, and a resort landscape in Finding my center II. Places buzzing with movement, or offering a temporary escape. The artist renders them with a keen eye for color and density. The captured cacophonies are lively, crowded, and celebratory, full of the chaotic energy of everyday life. Then comes the interruption. Bold carpets and patterned rugs command these environments, flattening space and refusing to blend politely. They act like visual brakes, demanding attention just as your eye wants to wander deeper. These interruptions seemingly echo Manaig’s personal hesitation, the instinct to play it safe, the small doubts that creep in mid-step. The rugs block but also, undeniably, energize. Their clever patterns spark a playful tension between surface and depth, decoration and narrative, reminding us that painting is still paint on a flat surface, and it can choose what to reveal and what to hide. The artist's smaller works, titled No Shame and maximum Freedom, take a completely different approach. These pieces are unrestrained. Fits of drunkenness, smushed cake and party food, stray fish and chicken, regrettable hairstyles, and forays into random encounters and athletic eras lend themselves to strange combinations with fragments covered by what appear to be smaller cuts of carpet, brilliantly designed pasties or colorfully patterned censors stopping short of pixelating the controversial. Here we see the artist making for the sake of making while brimming with scandalous glee, risk-taking for the pure joy of it, and the willingness to look a little foolish. All together, Manaig's paintings make an effort to balance caution and curiosity, and between them lies the real subject of the exhibition: The middle. And it’s messy, colorful, occasionally awkward, and full of possibility. In other words, it’s exactly where painting, art, and we dare say the artist, comes truly alive. -Kaye O’Yek

NOW OPEN DOOR 305 GROUP EXHIBIT 17 OCTOBER 2020 NOW OPEN DOOR 305 GROUP EXHIBIT OCTOBER 17 2020 Entering the Threshold Signaling their entrance into the art world, Door 305 Artist Collective presents their first group exhibition, Now Open. A bold declaration of arrival, the show gathers the works from ten members of the collective, with each grappling the anxious situation of the times in which a pandemic—still raging in different parts of the world, not least of which in ours—has radically shaped the texture of everyday life. These artists are Revelie Bueno, Roncal Cayas, Cedrick Dela Paz, Rhoss John Gadiana, Mark Laza, Christian Jame Maglente, Arnel Natividad, Ricky Natividad, Jolo Senense, and Macj Turla. All alumni of Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), which has emerged as a hotspot of artistic talent in recent years, the artists showcase a penchant for figuration that verges into the symbolic, capturing the sense of isolation, helplessness, and vulnerability that most people feel as they continue to live their lives despite the invisible but no less insidious threat of the novel coronavirus. From the Social Realist foray (such as the works of Laza, Senense, and Cayas) to a more metaphorical introspection (which include the works of Bueno and both Arnel and Ricky Natividad), the range of the works presents a comprehensive take in which artists, so long attuned to the rhythms of social distancing, confront the challenges of the so-called “new normal.” The idea of death, which is part and parcel of the reality we have to reckon with as the pandemic casts its shadow on the planet, is evident in the works of Gadiana, Maglente, and Turla. Rendered as a deceased sparrow, a skeleton swaddled in flowers, or a dark figure forcing open an eye of a figure which may be a portrait of the artist, death (or, at the very least, the insinuation of mortality) becomes all of sudden a present and undeniable force, bleeding into and informing present-day iconography. Brought about by the quarantines and lockdowns that seem to be never-ending, the tedium of waiting, on the other hand, is summarized by the work of Dela Paz. Evidently, these artists come from different places thematically, stylistically, and artistically. They are bound, however, of a common context, which is their college room that has 305 as door number (hence, the name of the collective), where they took a talent test to prove their mettle in painting. Aside from the physical space, what ties them together is the shared experience of embarking on a journey as they made their way into the scene—attending workshops, joining contests, and submitting their portfolios to different galleries. That these involved blood, sweat, and tears goes without saying. Now Open is proof that hard work, coupled with creativity and vision, does bear fruits. Door 305 Artist Collective stakes its claim in the art world that has seen a rise in the number of practitioners joining forces together. These groups, if they are to become successful, are not just support systems but incubators of ideas, proposing fresh and alternative viewpoints in how people experience visual arts. As Now Open marks the collective’s initial venture, it would be interesting how this group of artists will forge their own path into the future. Nonetheless, the collective is now open, inviting the viewers to discover what they have to offer. -Carlomar Arcangel Daoana VIEW THE EXHIBITION CATALOG

THE WORLD THAT WAS Japs Antido July 24 - August 14, 2021 View Catalogue Video Necessary Nostalgia In his exhibitions, John Paul Antido has been consistently portraying images of Filipiniana, with attention to turn-of-the-century fashions and styles, in vivid colors and highly-defined outlines, evoking nostalgia for the old ways of life. In his solo exhibition, The World That Was, the artist manifests his characteristic figuration, this time further illuminating how the past may serve as beacon to cast light upon the travails of the present and the uncertainty of the future. Though it centers on a lost world, the paintings give life to the innocence, simplicity, and wonder that this world represents. The artist is able to evoke this through a surreal style, in which bird houses, pigeons, and plants occupy a wide-brimmed hat; paper airplanes delicately fly in space; and diagrams and maps narrate a synchronic view of history as opposed to a chronological progression. Antido’s brand of iconography shares the visual language of children’s story books in which the inventions of the mind are expressed without inhibition. Such an approach makes these works as a kind of tonic for the soul, able to strike a fervor for our shared culture, tradition, and heritage not as vague markers of national identity but as felt experiences. Hence, the visuality of these works is immediately comprehended, matching certain recollections of the viewer, such as childhood plays and crafts, leisurely and festive activities, and vernacular forms and architectures. While the emphasis seems to be placed on “the world that was,” the works are sometimes direct, sometimes tangential commentaries on contemporary ways of life. For instance, “Pass the Message” and “Daluyong ng Hangin” serve as a counterpoint to our reliance on the communication capabilities of a cellphone. On the other hand, the work, “Karaniwang Tagpo,” touches upon courtship, but this time portrayed as something more relaxed and need no expression of manly ardor. Here, the young man and woman enjoy each other’s company in a picnic, wearing their comfortable Chucks, surrounded by images of romance. The World That Was affirms that “the more things change, the more they remain the same,” pointing at something essential and irreducible that we all share. -Carlomar Arcangel Daoana John Paul Antido or also known as JAPS is a Filipino artist who graduated from the University of the Philippines, Diliman where he took up a bachelor's in Fine Arts and majored in Painting. He was born in Antipolo City and is still a resident enjoying the cold weather and mountainous scenery of his childhood home. Japs' works have been shown to audiences in Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, and Denmark. He is known for mixing traditional subjects with a modern style in his works. While having a festive scenery, he shows intricate traditional garments and the native flair of Filipinos combined with modern elements. Japs uses the impasto technique of laying thick paint with textured brushstrokes and with the use of bright and lively colors to depict how Filipinos celebrate occasions. For his exhibit entitled “The World That Was” is a story of the beliefs and principles of Filipinos, the heritage that is still ingrained in our culture, and the history that is known to everyone. He aspires to share his vision through his use of oil and canvases which gives his audience another perspective to see the roots of each Filipino and the community that we thrive in.

Imaginary Playmates: Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera Plet Bolipata February 10, 2024 - March 2, 2024 Add a Title Describe your image Add a Title Describe your image Add a Title Describe your image Add a Title Describe your image 1/12 Imaginary Playmates: Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera Imaginary Playmates signifies Plet Bolipata’s return to her first love—painting. Having previously explored various sculptural media and other forms artistic expression, the artist’s latest worksweave together strands of interrelated narratives delving into the complexity of artistic influence, the small and large experiences that inform biography, and the interiority of a woman who, having found her voice in the world early on, has always spoken from the truth of her being. The exhibition, as it begins, unfolds as a poignant dialogue between the artist and her artistic idols, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, who serve as both inspiration and guiding lights throughout Bolipata’s creative journey. But more than being a creative muse, Frida Kahlo, in particular, serves as a mirror on which Bolipata can examine the contours of her life as a woman, an artist, and a spouse to an acclaimed partner. A theme that runs in the exhibition is Bolipata’s sisterhood with Frida Kahlo, a connection that transcends time and space. The gallery itself undergoes a metamorphosis, mirroring the iconic La Casa Azul—Frida Kahlo’s home, now a museum open to the public. Bolipata’s mastery of pastiche, combining magazine clippings, free-hand drawing, and the luxurious touch of gold leaf—all against intricate textile patterns—plumbs into the psychological depths faced by women dealing with issues of infertility,their splintered roles within and outside the domestic sphere, and intimations of mortality. Pastiche, as a technique, allows Bolipata to consider the accidental forces that shape our lives, those aspects beyond our control but no less significant. The resulting juxtaposition of elements creates a thrilling surrealist atmosphere reminiscent of Kahlo’s style, but is inflected withBolipata’s whimsical and ebullient spirit. The appearance of Frida Kahlo in Bolipata’s works becomes a symbol of shared affinity, highlighting Kahlo's lifetime struggle with the overshadowing fame of her husband—a narrative that resonates with Bolipata’s own artistic odyssey. Despite the weighty themes explored, Bolipata’s works maintain the visual exuberance and generosity for which she is known. Each piece is infused with biographical details, transforming the canvas into a visual diary of Bolipata’s life experiences. A Jeep, for instance, symbolizes the exhilaration of newfound driving skills, while a Matisse book points to the artist’s enduring love for the French painter. These works, unapologetically unrestrained, collectively form vignettes that offer a glimpse into Bolipata’s life, but through the benevolent lens of art. Each canvas, rich with personal narratives, contributes to a courageous and searching contemplation of the artist’s sensibility in this time of oversharing in social media. Bolipata’s Imaginary Playmates serves as a tonic—a refreshing and invigorating presence in Philippine visual arts. Her homecoming to painting emerges not only as a personal milestone but as a glimpse into the imagination of an artist who is at the height of her abilities. Carlomar Arcangel Daoana 1/1

LEGENDS PONGBAYOG November 13 - December 04, 2021 View Catalogue Video In these present-day artistic times, it is with no doubt that Pongbayog is one of the sought after contemporary artists in the country. Pongbayog plays with the balance of lights, shadows, and angles-- creating highly detailed and monochromatic paintings. Much inspired and as an artist himself, Pongbayog attempts to pay tribute to legendary personalities in the art industry by bravely highlighting them in these hyper-realistic works for his 5th solo exhibit. We see a famous artist that is best known for his large-scale photo-realist portraits and noted for his highly inventive techniques in painting human faces, Chuck Close in Pongbayog’s “Chuck”. Additionally, we are to give praise to Georgia O’Keeffe who is one of most influential figures in modernism and large-format paintings of natural forms such as flowers and bones in Pongbayog’s featured work, “O’Keefee - Ram’s Head” and “Georgia’s From the Faraway Nearby”. As it takes one to know one-- with imagination and artistry, it is not impossible that in no time, Pongbayog will be among these legendary people in the art world. - GPH Pongbayog (B.1982) is known for his highly detailed and monochromatic paintings. With the balance of lights, shadows, and angle, Pongbayog creates hyper-realistic works. For his 5th solo exhibition, Pongbayog focuses on the portrait of an artist that became a legend in the art industry and also including artists that are renowned for their works and contributions in the industry. Pongbayog made use of artworks that are well recognized by the people.

DENIZENS ARTIST TALK ELMER BORLONGAN 16 AUGUST 2018 Elmer Borlongan talks about his exhibit, "Denizens" at UPCFA Auditorium on August 16, 2018 at 3 pm.

TRANQUILITY MARK LESTER ESPINA December 14, 2021 - January 08, 2022 View Catalogue Video Toward the Comfort of Abstraction In the midst of the commotion of urban life, especially with the resumption of activities in the wake of a debilitating global pandemic, pockets of rest are hard to come by. Even within our domestic spaces, distractions abound, pummeling us with movies and music on-demand, endless social media posts and updates, the titillation of 24/7 connectivity. Visual art, whose one durable quality is silence, does offer occasions of contemplation, especially when the works in question converse in an abstract language, free from the weight of representation and the clamor of associations. In his solo exhibition, Tranquility, Mark Lester Espina envisions how this zone of quiet may be manifested by paintings that act as windows into a realm whose optical modulations are set on low. Looking at these works, the viewer engages with spare but meaningful elements, discerning shapes and patterns with how the pigment has been applied onto the canvas. In the absence of illustrative outline, these forms look mysterious, fleeting, and elusive, like thoughts about to vanish. Occasionally, the paint breaches onto the frame, as if to underscore how the latter’s perimeter is but an illusion and art has the capacity to overflow its unique qualities onto the world. The process with which Espina has made this series of works is two-fold. After preparing the background that shows thick brushstrokes and instances of soft, pastel colors, the artist then shapes the plasticity of the pigment into something recognizable: a waterfall, a bouquet of flowers, a head of a rose (which also resembles a rotating celestial body). These images are suggested rather than specified. Their essentialized characteristics act as the symbolic reference to things in the world—the Platonic ideal. Because of the amorphous nature of the forms, they may be also seen as the artist’s thoughts and feelings crystallized into vibrating, coruscating impasto. The abstract impulse evinced in these paintings is not new. In his previous exhibitions, Espina would apply flakes and scales of pigments on portraits and appropriations of iconic works, particularly on the dresses of the subjects, creating the tension between abstraction and figuration. Tranquility, however, signals an exploration into a new tangent, as the artist fully trusts how the materiality of the medium may be enacted to give form to interior states. These works are an important addition to the artist’s visual vocabulary, a way of accessing something ineffable and clothing it with art’s optical energies. -Carlomar Arcangel Daoana Mark Lester Espina (b.1985) is a contemporary artist in the Philippines. His work has been garnering awards for over a decade in most of the prestigious competitions held in the country such as National Shell Art Competition and Vision Petron. One of his distinguished works was the Van Gogh series. The choice of subject, his brush stroke, and the bold use of colors has inspired the younger generation to dabble and get into visual arts. For his upcoming exhibit, Espina wants to show a sense of tranquility in his works, free from commotion or distraction, which is something that his viewers can relate to, especially nowadays that stimulation is constantly around us.

BRAVE SOLDIERS ELMER BORLONGAN, PLET BORLONGAN AND DANIEL DELA CRUZ 27-31 March 2019 Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong Art Cube Gallery presents “Brave Soldiers” featuring works by Elmer Borlongan, Plet Bolipata, and Daniel Dela Cruz. The exhibition explores the theme of heroism in its various context; from valiant displays of valor as exemplified by Bolipata’s assemblages, which draw inspiration from Philippine history and feminism; everyday heroism of those who dedicate themselves to causes which transcend them, as illustrated in the paintings of Borlongan; to the nobility of the domestic, which is the theme of the sculptures of Dela Cruz. As an exhibition, it examines the theme laterally, amidst differing context, and untangles the interweaving elements of duty and dedication, submission and transcendence, individuality and the collective; which gives heroism its context and nuances. Plet Bolipata is known for her multimedia works which span mosaics, sculptures, assemblages, and constructions. Through the evocative pairings of different surfaces, textures, and juxtaposing them with often opposing metaphors, Bolipata succeeds in creating contrasts in often familiar themes, to create breakthroughs of insight. Her work “Gabriela Silang,” for example, is inspired by a real person canonized as a hero through her prowess in battling the Spanish colonial military as a female general of the Philippine resistance in the 19th century. Through a staging which uses the generic wooden human body model, plastic beads, and trinkets, Bolipata creates a contemporary image of the hero which borders on the irreverent. Presenting the opposing Spanish Soldiers in the same way, Bolipata imbues both parties with nobility – one through her bravery, and the other through their duty. Elmer Borlongan on the other hand, draws from the lives of his peers, who, though actively engaged in art, have expanded their dedication to civic causes. “Fernando Sena” is a successful painter who sets aside time and resources to teach art to prisoners for them to make sense of their condition and to be productive while incarcerated. “Art Relief Mobile Kitchen” pays homage to peers Precious Leano, Alex Baluyut, and their group, who organize mobile kitchens to give food relief to Philippine communities which suffer from disasters. Borlongan’s paintings focus on artists who go beyond their medium and create art from life. The subject of the sculptures of Daniel Dela Cruz is heroism in the home. Bringing the locus of heroism away from the public, and into the private, Dela Cruz further insinuates that heroism is nurtured, deeply personal, and happens not in a moment, but in the countless moments which build up our lives. All the figures in his sculptures are presented on step ladders, evoking both passage and process before the pinnacle is achieved. With titles like “We don’t raise heroes, we raise sons,” and “The first time I met you,” the role of parents and parenting comep to the fore, and ennoble the confines of the domestic, and the choices we make in private. Surprisingly, “Brave Soldiers” skirts issues of nation and government (the usual institutions that canonize heroes), in favor of civic society and the private. Perhaps it is as Dela Cruz posits, that contemporary heroism happens in private, and within small groups, opening its call to everyone, regardless of nationality or persuasion.