ARISGADO Arel Zambarrano March 04 - March 25, 2023 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 Caution: Hard Hat Area For the silent desperate many--who struggle to make both ends meet--one barely lives to fight another day. Arisgado, the sixth solo exhibition by Arel Zambarrano, essays the painstaking realities that he and his laborers face day-to-day challenges. Based in Iloilo, this artist-architect continues his narrative from his previous shows, armed with undulated persistence, this time Zambarrano unravels deeper discontents as he collectively identifies with the suffering predicament of many—the dog-tired working class including the downtrodden and abused multitude--to still plod the neck deep flood for them to keep their head above water. Ever since Zambarrano started his art practice he has veered on the edge of the dark and macabre imagery. He has always had a fascination for sharp edges placed in in-your-face aesthetic parlance. At one time he featured in Artificial Fear approximately 3400 knives onboard. With needles as constant from his previous shows, in this offing he portrays arrows as tools for waging conflicted instincts, as well as, sustainability of survival life (as in hunting and gathering), the arrow is also the symbol of peace, alliance and other philosophical ideas. Same as the exhibit title, Arisgado is the main piece in nine portraits of Zambarrano’s loyal laborers. As his men were painted as background, he uses pull-push rule’s blade overlaid with acrylic glass. What is astounding in this mixed media bravura is how Zambarrano alternately weaves tape measure with their canvas of mug shot faces of his long time construction workers. Sealing each with rivets to fasten each interchange. Dragonflies have also been a recurring presence in a Zambarrano paintings. In this series the backbone of the dragonfly as we are reminded that we are transformed with every adversity we confront with. Dragonflies also symbolized adaptability and self-realization. Zambarrano’s use of materiality merges his creativity in visuality and his being verse in constructing as an an architect. It is while busy on his building projects that he sought to incorporate his materials blending his two vocations. Although Zambarrano sees himself as an artist before his being a licensed professional builder. Breath While in the Dark frames cemented floor mat with acrylic paint and plastic screen overlaid on etched acrylic glass. As trapos also mean corrupt government official Zambarrano is conscious of being decent in dealing with these people and not fall into their callous prey. Zambarrano sets himself as long as you are honest from the start no one can bribe you in peril. Kalmado is a site specific installation reprising Zambarrano’s previous Ilomoca show. Casting himself for six hours, he uses cement to finish his actual being like it was a self-portrait. Like a paddling duck, Kalmado remains inverted being to show one to be calm while you wade the counter-controlling waves. Done in many versions all gearing up to Grit that is etched on canvas which is pierced by an arrow in Temporary Crucial Drawbacks, an oil on canvas with broken wooden arrows and copper nails attached to acrylic glass. Four large paintings charge one with fervor to continue the fight and grab life’s bull by its horn. Against the background of needles and dragonflies Zambarrano always rise to the occasion. Like battle cries he instills in us the courage of a warrior that while being wounded by life’s sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it still is a beautiful world. Rigid Still is Kalmado in two dimensions. The feet are a reflection of pain as most of the time we walk, run, or remain to standstill. Notice the foundation in pylon as base not to be swayed by untoward threats. In the Threshold of Winning Battle, Zambarrano has been known to be most effective when faced with adversities as reflected by the exploded door hardware and pots. Consider the door knobs and hinges as one has to get out of our comfort zones to find our passion in life. In Multiple Chances the cat is the symbol of nine lives and bearer of good fortune. Zambarrano’s pieces is rich in semiotics. It is in brokenness that he strives to come back stronger in existence. Undaunted inculcates opportunities are as rare as the Panay-Negros Bleeding-Heart. Here he painterly sprouts mushrooms as unexpected blessings as Zambarrano’s hopeful hands are depicted in details. Arisgado is arresting in its visual messaging as Zambarrano’s titles are encouraging phrases to keep you in the fight and not lose in depression. Art is a risk for Zambarrano who never surrendered in life, much more be dissuaded in creating in poverty. Bring it on, like an agile boxer, he takes the blows but he just keeps on punching. '- Jay Bautista Arel Zambarrano Arel Zambarrano is a Filipino contemporary artist hailing from Banate, Iloilo Province. He is a licensed architect who graduated from Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U). His works often convey social and political issues. Zambarrano has his own studio called “The Red Table” in Iloilo which serves as a haven for ideas and aspirations for himself, his fellow artists, and his mentees. His works have been recognized by various art institutions such as the Philippine Art Awards and Metrobank Art and Design Excellence. "Arisgado (Risk taker)", the sixth solo exhibition by Arel Zambarrano, essays the painstaking realities that he and his laborers face in day-to-day challenges. Zambarrano continues his narrative from his previous shows, armed with undulated persistence, this time he unravels more profound discontents as he collectively identifies with the suffering predicament of many—the dog-tired working class including the downtrodden and abused multitude--to still plod the neck-deep flood for them to keep their head above water. 1/1

An Abstract Voyage | August 5, 2023 An Abstract Voyage Edwin Martinez August 5, 2023 1/5 View Catalogue Video Press Release Of Uncertain Passages An Abstract Voyage reflects on the complexities of life's journey and the significance of introspection. Contemplating past decisions and missed opportunities, Edwin Martinez acknowledges the fickleness and unreliability of the human mind. The artist emphasizes the importance of rest as an essential component of learning from failures. We are often too quick to bounce back without taking the time to reflect on our experiences, yet this is imperative if we are to survive. The artist seemingly aims to capture the cycle of failure, respite, and redemption that is an inherent part of the human experience. Through the depiction of a cycle of continuously falling down and getting back up, Martinez’ works illustrate that failure is not always negative; it is an integral aspect of life. When faced with failure, one must compose oneself and prepare for what lies ahead. Falling into Earth, an astronaut, a lonely soul floating about in the cosmos, finds the comforts of home within reach: a plant, a pillow, a chair, even a steadfast companion serves as accessories and accompaniments in a convoluted journey. The pieces in the exhibition signify that following a period of rest and reflection, the future may hold uncertainty, excitement, and perhaps even fear. However, with adequate preparation and unwavering courage, progress is likely to follow. The astronaut serves as a representation of ourselves, the artist, and the viewers, symbolizing the need to confront life's challenges fearlessly and survive falling and failing with resilience. It is being lost as we find the meaning behind our existence in the world, the universe, rather, and never getting tired of finding our own way. An Abstract Voyage encourages viewers to embrace the uncertainties of life, understanding that falling is not to be feared. Perhaps a straight-edged, well-planned navigation through human years is less exciting than losing oneself in unexpected adventures. What truly matters is the ability to endure and prepare for whatever life presents, maintaining a steadfast determination to face its burdens and challenges head-on. Martinez also draws on Blaise Pascal’s quote, “Men seek rest in a struggle against difficulties; and when they have conquered these, rest becomes insufferable,” which explores the paradoxical nature of human desires and the quest for contentment. The famed mathematician and philosopher observes that individuals, when faced with difficulties, exert effort to overcome them, hoping that achieving this conquest will bring them a sense of tranquility and ease. However, Pascal also notes that once these individuals successfully surmount their difficulties and attain the desired rest, they surprisingly find it insufferable or unbearable. This suggests that the very state of rest they yearned for and worked hard to obtain becomes dissatisfying for them. Martinez, through his works, reminds us that human nature tends to thrive on challenges and the process of conquering obstacles. Struggles, however we wish to avoid them, undeniably give us a sense of purpose and direction. They give us reasons to move forward and continue fighting the good fight. Without struggle, a feeling of emptiness or a lack of purpose ensues, no longer having something to strive for or a goal to pursue. Often, it tethers us to reality and to being human, siting our bodies within the wider expanse of space. Comfort is good, yet it is discomfort that coaxes us to propel ourselves forward. Kaye O’Yek

Pagmamahal | Faberuary 14 - M1rch 7, 2026 Pagmamahal Demosthenes Campos Faberuary 14 - M1rch 7, 2026 DSC04759.JPG 1/6 View Catalogue Video Press Release When Love Is Truthful Demosthenes Campos' Pagmamahal means love in Filipino, but in everyday conversation, it also signals something becoming more expensive. The dual meaning is tangential to this exhibition, because in a time when the pace of life accelerates at such a rush that we can barely cope and the cost of living continues to rise, what does it mean to speak of love? Has it, too, become something difficult to sustain? Can we still afford to love and be loved? The artist approaches this question through material and form. Using dried paint, recycled wood strips, and clever use of colors, Campos creates his works which are renowned for their mosaic-like abstractions and assemblages. These pieces emphasize process, accumulation, and reuse, thus are not incidental. The pieces display surfaces that are layered, scored, and put together rather than with the smooth finish of traditional painting. Materiality becomes central to meaning. In the large-scale works, angular planes interlock in compact formations. A heart in Tibok, flowers in Eros and Affection, and in Philia, a single-stemmed bloom. Lines outline and scaffold their structures, suggesting provisional architectures, forms that appear built rather than painted. This structural logic perhaps underscores the artist's statement: love is work is art. Campos' love here is not sentimentalized. It is constructed, requires alignment, adjustment, and the willingness to integrate disparate elements. The visible joins and seams emphasize that unity is achieved through effort. The artist does not conceal the process, making everything legible on each surface. His Agape series, ten small works under glass, extends this inquiry at a more intimate scale. Framed and enclosed, these pieces function almost as studies or meditations. Agape, often defined as selfless or unconditional love, is translated into compact arrangements of fragments carefully composed within limits. The glass both protects and distances, suggesting preservation as well as contemplation. Here, love is examined closely, measured, contained, yet still layered. A controlled restraint is maintained by Campos throughout the exhibition. The surfaces are punctuated with strokes and angular expressions of color and texture, yet the general tone is steady. The pieces prioritize structure, rhythm, and gradual building above extravagance. By doing this, they reflect love in the modern world, where caring, devotion, and affection must be maintained in the face of conflicting demands and growing expenses. If Pagmamahal today implies escalation, Campos redirects the term toward value rather than price. His works propose that love is less about abundance and more about maintenance. It is an act of assembly, a continuous negotiation between parts. Can we still afford love? Perhaps the better question is: can we afford not to? -Kaye O’Yek

Behind the Everyday | August 2 - 30, 2025 Behind the Everyday Ross Gadiana August 2 - 30, 2025 1/9 View Catalogue Video Press Release The Gravity of Small Gestures In Behind the Everyday, Ross Gadiana pursues a line of inquiry that transcends surface depiction. He isolates the mundane not to sentimentalize, but to elevate its being; to press into its form and structure until it yields the sublime. The works on view proceed not from invention but from recognition. Titles such as Uhaw, Kasalukuyang Yakap, Muni, Ulirat, Self-care, Loob, Sigaw, Hinahon, Malay and Hapag signal the artist’s interest in actions so ordinary they are often invisible. A person drinks water. A painter paints. Someone zones out while looking at his reflection while plucking thorns from his face. These are not performances, not rehearsed or posed. They are captured as they happen, undramatic yet emotionally precise, reflecting life as it is lived. Gadiana’s realism is conceptual rather than merely mimetic, making not only replications of reality, but distilled experiences of it. The method, anchored in oil on canvas, then expanded with hardwood, resin, and natural elements such as vine, tethers each piece to both tradition and nature. The artist’s choice of material and the tactile presence of his surfaces demonstrate an awareness of the medium as more than vehicle. The heavy hardwood frame becomes scaffold, the vine an echo of life’s entanglements. These become not only accessories to the image but integral components of the composition, extending the painted world into real space. In addition to his wallbound pieces, he includes a challenging assemblage, The Roots, Vines and Thorns, which is meant to be viewed in the round, though not too close. What Gadiana understands, and what this exhibition makes clear, is that art does not need a grand narrative. It needs necessity. Each brushstroke, whether tracing from a photo study or laid down freehand, asserts a kind of ontological truth: that meaning accrues in repetition, in dailiness, in the labor of simply being present. In these works, there is a gravitas that emerges not from scale or spectacle, but from the refusal to look away from the commonplace, and in the assemblage previously mentioned, one simply cannot draw on self-control to resist. If modernism taught us to see truth in material and form, Gadiana teaches us to find it in the repeatable actions of life: drinking, pausing, embracing, working. Behind the Everyday reminds us that these motions, frequently overlooked, are not lesser subjects. In an age enamored with spectacle, Gadiana’s work offers resistance, insisting that authenticity is not to be found in what breaks the pattern, but in the pattern itself. These artworks, humble in subject yet rigorous in execution, offer not transcendence but something perhaps more urgent: a return. To self, to space, to the acts that shape a day, and thus a life. - Kaye O’Yek

Flocking Animals Guerrero Habulan February 21 - 23, 2025 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 For his solo exhibition Flocking Animals, presented by Art Cube for Art Fair Philippines, Guerrero Habulan delves into the dynamics of congregation—the unseen forces that draw individuals together, shaping collective identity and critical mass. Through his layered, intricate compositions, he dissects the interplay of devotion, tradition, and historical burden that define the post-colonial Filipino experience. Habulan’s fascination with mass gatherings stems from his long-time documentation of native feasts, particularly the Traslación in Quiapo and the Holy Week processions in Pampanga, where fervent devotees engage in self-flagellation and crucifixion rites. These rituals, steeped in Catholic symbolism, also reveal a deeper syncretic nature, merging indigenous and colonial influences into a singular, complex spiritual expression. In his works, this convergence manifests through figures in flux—assembled, moving, and drawn toward an unseen yet palpable force at the heart of the composition. Revisiting and reconfiguring past motifs, Habulan transforms the once-passive “sitting ducks” into standing figures—emboldened, resolute, no longer merely subjects of fate but agents within a collective movement. His figures, often juxtaposed with Western iconography both real and imagined, refuse subjugation. Instead, they stand their ground, meeting the gaze of history—and the viewer—with unwavering presence. The visual intensity of Flocking Animals is reinforced by Habulan’s dynamic use of oil and acrylic on both paper and canvas, integrating techniques drawn from Abstract Expressionism, figuration, and serigraphy. His approach embodies paradox—disparate elements coexisting in a unified pictorial event. The artist refers to this as “conjoined,” where no singular element can be removed without disrupting the whole. Multiplicity does not fragment but rather fortifies, creating a visual dialogue that mirrors the layered realities of Filipino identity. At its core, Flocking Animals is both an inquiry into and an affirmation of the collective—its power, its resilience, and its capacity to forge meaning from history’s remnants. In an era of fragmentation and uncertainty, Habulan’s work reminds us that in coming together, we do not merely survive; we assert our strength, solidarity, and fortitude. '-Carlomar Arcangel Daoana Guerrero Habulan Born in Manila in the 1980s, Guerrero Habulan became aware of the ironies of community and elite authority at a very young age. As a child, he started making space for himself in the cluttered working table of his father, renowned social realist Renato Habulan, finding it natural to draw and doodle on the paper scraps he found. He tried to create a path away from art before he entered the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts program, but eventually found his way back in 2001 when he won Third Place in the 18th Young Painters Annual Competition of the Metrobank Foundation. In 2003, he was awarded the top prize in the 36th Shell National Students Art Competition. He is the 2011 and 2025 Vermont Studio Center Artist in Residency Awardee and was an artist in residence at Artesan Art Gallery Singapore in 2012. He was also one of the CCP Thirteen Artists Awardees in 2018 and is a member of Sangviaje, a group of young contemporary artists based in Antipolo. He has mounted solo exhibitions in the Boston Gallery, Ayala Museum Artist Space, Pinto Art Museum, BenCab Museum, Art Verite, Art Fair PH with Art Cube Philippines, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, as well as Utterly Art and Artesan Art Gallery in Singapore. Habulan has also participated in notable group shows in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Copenhagen, and New York. 1/1

Living up to My Blue China | May 6 - 27, 2023 Living up to My Blue China Tracie Anglo Dizon May 6 - 27, 2023 DSC02367.JPG DSC02352.JPG DSC02336.JPG DSC02367.JPG 1/10 View Catalogue Video Press Release Living up to my Blue China Tracie Anglo Dizon’s third solo exhibition “Living up to my Blue China” features paintings that embody timeless beauty cast in the form of blue china, which serves as the base for the artist’s critical reflection on the constraints of cultural conventionality. Using a more contemporary painterly touch Anglo Dizon plays with the boundaries of ornamental design to interject the tension between the modern and the classical, between the oriental and the western, with a witty aesthetic twist of feminism in overriding the dominant culture. Portrayed with classic iconic grace while shrouded in auratic mystique, the porcelain plates and vases stand distinguished here from the ordinary stuff of everyday life. The blue china are rare in this manner, a material phenomena precious yet impermanent, whilst certainly fragile, with the qualities of porcelain appropriate for this attribution. Beauty similarly resembles such a delicate thing as its value belongs to the subjective, the arbitrary, and thus constantly foreshadowed with doubt that is ultimately judged. Exhibiting an exquisite form having fine details, the porcelain objects represent sensuous bodies possessing an enigmatic femininity. They offer long standing ornamental pleasure being pure vessels of joy. Thus, the blue china easily refers to the metaphor of female beauty which Anglo Dizon makes the association here by presenting her portrait series of Philippine beauty queens. The artist captures a frieze of each of their ecstatic moment being crowned as earthly goddesses. Similarly, the gorgeous profile heads are thus considered here by Anglo Dizon as plates. And accordingly, the beauties also become objects of desire being avatars of the ideal, akin to the conditions of porcelain china. Such divine ideals are indeed difficult to emulate, to live up to, as declared by the Victorian poet Oscar Wilde in reference to the pure beauty of the ornamental plates: "I find it harder and harder everyday to live up to my blue china." This fragile condition appears as Anglo Dizon´s point of aesthetic critique, her awareness in subverting cultural conventions while accomplishing artistic feats. Following the fine line and pattern flowing along a seamless cosmetic, the viewer is surely pleased with the elegant oriental design of the blue china. Add to this the engaging narrative symbolism embedded on each porcelain that pulls the viewer in, practically a book incorporating visual language. Embracing such multiple points of view, these objects are vessels imbued with knowledge, a repository of lived history. Pursued with creative insight, Anglo Dizon adds a whimsical flair over tradition by putting a twist over the design’s given narrative. Surrealist in manner that collide orthodox motifs with the unexpected, and following the inspired phrase by the French writer, Isidore Ducasse, otherwise known as the Comte de Lautréamont, “Beautiful as the accidental encounter, on a dissecting table, of a sewing machine and an umbrella,” the detourned objects of beauty here present shock to the norm that paves the way in dislodging ordinary reception in pursuit of other alternative consciousness and in opening newer paths of dialogue and thought. Elements of storytelling in Anglo Dizon’s work become springboards to the imagination that inspire creative growth and intuitive inquiries exposing fixed agendas. To further elucidate Anglo Dizon’s approach while appropriating traditional decorative patterns found on the plates, the artist morphs such design into painterly braids that act as symbols here for a particular young group of women (which is actually inspired by the artist’s daughter’s youthful girl gang) to bond as a common unit, if not forming their own identity through design (as they wear the same braided style on specific days). Another motif found on the vessels are twisting flowers whose stem resemble corset strings that are loosened here in defiance over fixed assumptions and acts as a call for freedom from bondage. Or, Anglo Dizon´s signature move of animating the narrative elements within the given design, putting life to once lifeless things, which extends the long reach from the classical to the contemporary. Particularly in one blue china vase, the immediate image of a patriarchal monarch sitting front and center appears to vomit his beard from his seat of authority. The artist applies the paint here in graffiti mode, to connote the overwriting and displacement of power, spewing over, tastefully overdone. While slithering in the middle of the vase are the elongated handles that constrict the jar-like live snake ready to bite venom. There also appears either a beak or a metal stud protruding from the left side of the vase, which brings a certain angst and menace to the whole. Meanwhile, the stalks of a pair of tulips gouge the porcelain to escape its containment searching to move forward. The artist seems to relish on poking fun at those established powers. In following the beautiful diatribes of these elaborate exquisite corpses if you may, or another way of saying, the bride stripped bare by her bachelors, even (my apologies to Duchamp), Anglo Dizon´s paintings evoke a radical path employing terms of beauty to engage the cultural majority that constrain us from a liberated imaginary. Arvin Flores Tracie Anglo Dizon Tracie Anglo Dizon explores and questions beauty as seen throughout history, from Chinese porcelain to post-impressionism and the contemporary. She peppers her paintings with surrealist narratives vis-a-vis a critical awareness of the practice of painting, as a medium of pleasure and profound experience. Tracie studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League before embarking on a graphic design career. A recipient of the Merit Award for Design from the Art Directors Club of New York, Tracie graduated with a degree in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design and a Communications degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. Tracie was an art director in New York, Manila, and Singapore for over a decade before returning to her first love, painting.

Anyo Kendall Colindon August 10 - September 7, 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 In his solo exhibition, Anyo, Kendall Colindon juxtaposes the serenity of nature with the bustling energy of cityscapes, offering a visual dialogue that merges our origins with present-day realities. Through his contemporary depictions, Colindon emphasizes sustainability and the importance of living alongside nature, rather than attempting to dominate and stamp it out with human force. Some of Colindon’s paintings present an ideal scenario where urban and rural environments coexist in harmony. This vision challenges the traditional narrative of competition between nature and urbanization, proposing instead a symbiotic relationship. As the artist states, “As we move forward, let us remember that the reality of our world is intertwined with the natural world around us, and we must strive to find a way for both to thrive in harmony.” This precarious balance between nature and urban life is essential to prevent cataclysmic outcomes. Colindon’s work often reflects this delicate equilibrium. In some pieces, urban decay is portrayed, highlighting the challenges faced by the urban poor and the deteriorating quality of life in neglected city areas. These works serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of our constructed environments and the importance of sustainable urban planning. The devastation of natural disasters, such as the recent Typhoon Carina, is also hinted at in a few Colindon’s paintings. These works underscore the dominance of nature, illustrating how our attempts to control and overcome natural forces with streets, bridges, and buildings are ultimately temporary. Civilization, in the grand history of the planet, is merely a fleeting moment in Earth’s existence. Rather than denying nature’s dominance, Colindon advocates for acceptance and integration, urging us to build our cities in ways that respect and preserve the natural world. His textured patterns, rendered in muted shades and tones, underscore the energies that lie beneath the surface. Colindon’s vision is clear: “Co-existence of nature and modernization is not only possible but necessary for the well-being of our planet. By recognizing the value of nature and taking steps to protect and preserve it, we can ensure a brighter future for all.” '-Carlomar Arcangel Daoana 1/1

Still | February 14 - March 7, 2026 Still Arel Zambarrano February 14 - March 7, 2026 1/10 View Catalogue Video Press Release Still Moving In STILL, Arel Distor Zambarrano presents two interconnected bodies of work that examine measurement, perseverance, and grounded positivity. The exhibition centers on the titular STILL, a 15-piece polyptych of considerable proportions, and Optimism Underpinned, a suite of 30 smaller works. Together, they articulate a practice shaped by discipline yet animated by motion, steady and forward-looking. The large scale polyptych is composed of canvas and metal strips of polgadera, the pull push rule essential to architectural practice, drilled and then fastened together with nearly indestructible metal rivets. As a tool, the polgadera signifies precision and calibration. Here it becomes metaphor. Contemporary life is structured by measurement and ruled by numbers: deadlines, dimensions, and digits in our bank accounts that attempt to define our value. Interlaced with the loosely cut and painted canvas strips camouflaging a sprawling growth, the flexible metal rules that draw blood when carelessly handled impose order while yielding to gesture. The result is a field of tension between control and fluidity, industry and nature. Stillness emerges not as inertia but as resolve, an artistic compass oriented toward endurance and ascent, Zambarrano’s true North Star. Red dragonfly cutouts traverse the panels. Though materially flat, their wings and paint-flicked, highlighted bodies suggest strength and movement. The dragonfly functions as both motif and self-image. Defined by adaptability and acute vision, capable of near 360 degree sight and agile, multidirectional flight, it hovers, pivots, accelerates, and sustains, populating swamplands. These qualities parallel not only the artist, a proud local of coastal Banate, Iloilo, but his navigation between architecture and art. Once sustained by small paintings during his architectural studies, he now supports his art practice through market lulls by his projects as a licensed architect. The exchange feels balanced and complete, allowing him freedom and the space to unleash unbridled passions. In Optimism Underpinned, Zambarrano extends this language. In construction, underpinning refers to strengthening an existing foundation by reinforcing or deepening it to ensure stability. Adopted metaphorically, underpinning becomes an act of fortifying one’s resolve. The artist’s recurring dragonflies appear larger here, set against layered, textured grounds enlivened by vibrant paint, punctuated by weatherproof copper nails, and collaged cutouts of furniture, product labels, text snippets, and fragments of everyday life. While recalling pinned specimens, these figures resist stasis, pounded nails resembling swarms of wildlife themselves, serving as visual anchors rather than immobilizers. The smoothly bent-edged acrylic frames holding the layered and textured surfaces suggest support rather than confinement. Even amid uncertainty, there is anticipation, an excitement for possibilities and what’s to come. Despite its engagement with measurement and structure, STILL is marked by clarity and warmth. The exhibition reflects a present state shaped by responsibility and gratitude, celebration and cheer shining through in golden yellows. As a father of two young daughters, the artist situates protection and continuity at the core of his practice. The dragonfly becomes both self-portrait and guardian. The woven polgadera measures not only space but commitment. Through calibrated surfaces and gossamer Awings, Zambarrano affirms that stability and optimism can occupy the same ground, and that from reinforced foundations one can continue to rise. -Kaye O’Yek

KITASABITAK | May 10-31, 2025 KITASABITAK Doktor Karayom May 10-31, 2025 1/8 View Catalogue Video Press Release Altar Egos In KITASABITAK, Doktor Karayom steps into the literal and figurative fissures of memory, faith, and form. In what may be his most pensive exhibition yet, he turns to the image of the santo: broken, dismembered, forgotten, but never discarded. A figure once revered on pedestals is reexamined not for its divinity, but for the cracks that have come to define it. The exhibition’s title, a wordplay in Filipino, combines kita (to see) and bitak (crack). But it is no simple visual pun. The artist posits cracks as both literal and symbolic fissures—whether in sacred objects, systems of belief, or the faithful themselves. It resonates with Karayom’s meditation on sanctity, abandonment, transformation, and faith as a fragile but persistent structure, and compels us viewers to ask: What do we see in the cracks? In the fractures of plaster, clay, and cement, do we glimpse decay, transformation, or divine intervention? What once functioned as a sacred object and familial witness—the household santo—has, in Karayom’s eyes, undergone quiet mutation. Inspired by childhood recollections and a more recent encounter with an abandoned house where an old Sto. Niño sat armless and dustcovered, KITASABITAK meditates on what it means when objects of veneration are left behind. Are they orphaned or merely outdated? If saints once stood beside families in moments of grief and celebration, what does their abandonment tell us about the shifting terrain of belief? The central sculpture—an eight-foot-tall figure made of Karayom’s own blend of clay taking on the surface character of petrified stone—embodies the fragility and resilience of these saints. Armless, foot resting upon a severed head, its skin embedded with tiny cherubs, the sculpture is both an idol and an echo. Surrounding it are hundreds of red-painted sculpted hands strewn across the floor, supplicant, severed, reaching. These hands stand in for faith: lost, fractured, and renewed. Echoes of Greco-Roman mythology and anime-style regeneration emerge like Athena bursting from Zeus’ head and spirits reassembling in battle after being annihilated. And then, chaos gives way to multiplicity. Scattered on the floor: miniature human figures, each with a distinct gesture, posture, or contortion—some in headstands, others standing tall. They form an obstacle course of bodies and metaphors, inviting viewers to tread carefully. Like navigating prayer or crisis, the path is neither linear nor guaranteed. Our minds, Karayom suggests, move through mazes when we ask for answers from above. A gallery wall is populated with one-foot-tall saint-like forms, their poses suggestive of dance or possession. They blur the line between divine animation and marionette spectacle. Who moves the santo? The spirit, or the strings? As they sway between reverence and performance, we are reminded of how image merges with belief, and how belief merges with the self. Elsewhere, wall-mounted heads—each around four by five feet—feature cracked surfaces adorned with filigree, iconography, and branching lines. These decorations may be looked at as fractures, like the creases in a palm, mapping out unknown destinies and lived histories. The head becomes a site of divination. One, in particular, becomes an altar: a flesh-toned Christ figure surrounded by cherubic witnesses, mirroring the viewers who come to reflect. The final ensemble: three cement sculptures, muted in color but marked with imprints of coins. These forms resemble bulul figures, and their surfaces recall the worn depressions in folk altars where coins are placed, not only as an offering, but as an invitation for prosperity. The reference here crosses belief systems, tying pagan, Catholic, and Chinese folk traditions into a unified gesture of seeking relief from worldly needs. Doktor Karayom does not mock belief. He does not sanctify it, either. Instead, in KITASABITAK, he turns belief inside out, letting its cracks breathe and letting its fragments and components disperse. The santo is no longer just a proxy for the divine—it is a repository of longing, projection, and survival. What animates the sculpture is not holiness, but the viewer’s gaze—the hope, doubt, and grief they bring to it. And in that, perhaps, lies its miracle Kaye O’Yek

Forever In Debt | July 1-29, 2023 Forever In Debt Marvin Quizon July 1-29, 2023 1/8 View Catalogue Video Press Release Hope for the Flowers Marvin Quizon has been essaying death on canvas since he first won in a national art competition in 2017 and became a fulltime artist. With sheer brushstroke prowess, inducing an old photograph-feel, Quizon unapologetically explores that gruesome defining mood employed with a certain sentimentality in exploring his visuals of mortality. Forever in Debt is Quizon’s fifth solo exhibition, this time, however, he ushers hope with a feeling of gratitude to the present day happenings in his life. For Quizon, to be thankful is to imbibe all the positive energies in the universe-as part of the continuing dual cycle of life and death. Broken Flowers refers to the different kinds of being damaged between the two characters in the picture. A powerful reprisal of his main piece during his first solo show, this time both subjects are seated while still their souls are locked in a tight embrace. For the living girl, her brokenness is reflected inside as she is alive while the flowers she is holding are dead. There is bitterness in her suffering--as it is a mark of someone who is longing for love. Meanwhile the skeleton boy is dead yet he is holding fresh flowers. There is hope after the learned lesson of longing, as well as, wisdom from the experience leading to what Quizon calls Ascension-where the lovers are finally joined together. In Caress of the Vines and Flowers, the girl eventually exudes thankfulness that flora embrace her being to oblivion. How Quizon does his imagery in seamless bravura is commendable. One enthralls at the morphing as a beautiful spontaneous scene. The emphatic skull has been a constant imagery in Quizon’s ongoing oeuvre. Previously staring at the viewer, it refers to his interpretation to the beauty of impermanence. As current positive juices seeps in, this time in Carpe Diem it has evolved with sunflower eyes looking to a promising tomorrow. Quizon takes a swipe at himself using his own figurative interpretation based on one’s temporal resemblance. In Solitary Creature Quizon reprises his winning painting in a national art competition. Inspired by the song Tao by Sampaguita, Quizon directly pertains to how like birds we all will perish in these trying and difficult times. In Buried in the Blossoms of Hope, the bird becomes free from its old bad ways. The presence of flowers with white symbolizing purity, there is rebirth for a new chapter in its life. Although there is still pain as the presence of the bleeding wound, one becomes learned from living through it. Quizon draws the bird similar to man as he wants us to fly like this winged creature. In Hope Grows, a flower emanated from the wound making all possibilities as long as we exist in goodness. From Paper to Canvas, From Death to Life Quizon is old school as he starts everything through endless sketches and studies. In saturated colors, Quizon aims for the stained effect similar to period films. A rustic feels he attempts to give you an almost ethereal effect of old photos have. An obvious influence for Quizon is his love for sentimental music particularly punk. That do-it-yourself attitude where he resolves whatever life throws at him to just brush up where he fell and rise up. Applying to his art, Quizon paints it loud and in tempered strokes, resolves that life is short that we go with the flow and find our purpose even though we may not understand what is happening around us. Forever in Debt proves that Quizon is capable of seeing the bright side of things. Life has no practice run or preview of it—this is it. That as long as he is breathing and yes, able to create with paint, he will fly amidst the foreboding melancholy. And so can we. Jay Bautista

A Man Of Mc-Coy Lazaruz October 12 - November 02, 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 Facing A Life Beyond Calendar Days Mc-Coy Lazaruz delves into the deep waters of identity in A Man of One and Thirty, using a blue-dominated palette to explore facial planes of the self in its many guises. Through portraits that shift between inner and outer worlds, his works ask how much of ourselves we reveal to the world, and how much we hold back. The artist continues his signature exploration of faces, often blank, staring directly at the viewer. Confrontational, yet still keeping their distance. They may suggest the visages of strangers we pass by, us unaware of their stories or struggles. They may also be, partly, versions of us whether we know it or not. Lazaruz presents the self as a collection of experiences, with several pieces sporting numerous eyes that signify the many things seen and witnessed over time. These faces, anonymous yet familiar, invite viewers to reflect on their own encounters with life's unknowns. Among the exhibited pieces are small paintings measuring 6 x 5 inches, with singular faces emerging from the canvas, representing the flux of identity and perception. A larger, standout work features a blank face staring ahead, suggesting a silent gaze that holds both mystery and familiarity. His work has evolved from the experimental portraits of 2014 to a more refined style that incorporates his fascination with graphite and layering, and as he challenges himself further, has found a sweet spot in painting faces in cyan-blue, a color synonymous with his self-reflective, emotionally charged pieces. His direct-on-canvas approach rejects traditional proportions, instead focusing on the rendering and emotion each face evokes. He paints straight on canvas sans studies, drawing on the energy of his subjects, and allowing for flexibility in spacing and form. He is particularly drawn to the way blue communicates mood and depth, guiding his pieces into spaces of introspection, helping them leap out visually on a background of graduated reds and stripes of cloud. As an artist who naturally gravitates toward deep emotional expression, he often takes the opportunity to come up with titles that direct the narrative, letting words underscore the feeling that one obtains upon viewing the works. The most terrible sleeping pattern, Paralyzed over thinking over thinking, Involuntary childhood terrorist, Aversion to decision, Almost lost it, Wishing to come to his senses, Fighting on bad stimuli, Once upon a time it was impossible to extract milk, and the titular A man of one and thirty may be descriptive of what the artist is thinking in the process of making, influenced as he is by the power of words and literary epithets from movie dialogue and such, but what the viewer perceives is still the last piece of the puzzle. Lazaruz leaves the conclusion to the audience: "When they see the piece, I hope they are the ones to offer the final word." A Man of One and Thirty offers a powerful meditation on the self—its many faces, its hidden depths, and the experiences that shape us all. Through his distinctive blue palette, Lazaruz invites us to confront the enigma of identity, pushing us to question what lies behind every blank face we encounter. Kaye O’Yek 1/1

Tending Fires During an Eclipse Rando Onia & Iya Regalario April 6 - 27, 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 Tending Fires During an Eclipse Tending Fires During an Eclipse brings together for the first time the artistic visions of Rando Onia and Iya Regalario, notable for their mastery of the pyrographic pen as medium. This exhibition intersects with the momentous occurrence of The Great American Eclipse on April 8th, offering an interpretation on the relationship—and contradiction—between darkness and light, as symbolized by the celestial bodies of the sun and the moon. Across diverse cultures and religious traditions throughout time, the sun and the moon have served as potent symbols, steeped in mystery and laden with symbolic significance, especially when they overlap during the phenomenon of an eclipse. In this exhibition, Onia and Regalario delve into the interplay between these primal forces, reflecting upon the fundamental essence of human existence and our connection to the natural world. The principle “as above, so below” suggests a deep connection between the cosmos and human existence. In the context of an eclipse, this alignment of celestial bodies symbolizes the merging of opposing forces, echoing within human consciousness. The eclipse serves as a moment of revelation, blurring the boundaries between the celestial and the earthly, and highlighting the intertwined nature of cosmic energies that shape our reality. In her exploration of light as a temporal element that intertwines with the fabric of history, Regalario traces lineages and narratives through time, as seen through the prism of religion, culture, and mythology. Meanwhile, Onia’s focus on carbon, derived from the process of consumption, offers a visceral and haunting depictions of cataclysmic events influenced by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun. Their collaborative work which forms a complete circle and alludes to an eclipse features Regalario unveiling the potent symbols of history while Onia delves into the depths of darkness, utilizing carbon extracted from exhaust fumes as pigment. Tending Fires During an Eclipse contemplates humanity’s place within the cosmos and our relationship with the celestial bodies that have come to symbolize both darkness and illumination. It is a poignant dance between the totality of darkness and the vitality that light bestows upon human history, underscoring the enduring power of the sun and the moon as symbols of cosmic significance. Carlomar Arcangel Daoana 1/1