The Daily Tribune <<< Without Fear or Favor >>>

»HEADLINES

»NATION

VISIONS

10/27/2008

Patricia Eustaquio at the SLab

The Silverlens Gallery Group opened its second gallery, SLab (Silverlens Lab), with visual artist Patricia “Patty” Eustaquio. Opened on Oct. 16, Death to the Major, Viva Minor is Patricia Eustaquio’s first solo show in four years. In that time, she made headway as a sought-after designer making sculptural art worn as clothing. She continued to paint and sculpt for various group shows in that time, and her pieces were consistently sold out whether here in Manila or in Kuala Lumpur, but is only now making a firm return to her primary medium at SLab. Death to the Major, Viva Minor runs until Nov. 22. Eustaquio will be having an artist talk and film screening on Nov. 15, Saturday, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Soler at SM Megamall

Well-known artist Soler recently showcased Stratus, an exhibit of his new works, at the Finale Gallery at the 4th Floor of SM Megamall. In Stratus, he focuses on the sky and clouds, offering a twin view of dread, drought and despair in every canvas. The sky becomes a threatening commotion of colors, while beneath it is a rectangle of gnarled, exhausted branches that evoke inevitable cycles and the hostile emptying of seasons. Lessons in nature’s terrifying and swift finalities, the works are pure from any subtext and irony, thus eschatological in their mood and manner, stirring at the viewer a combination of white-heat wonder. The exhibit opening was a simple gathering of the artist’s family and friends, including his father master artist Malang, Romulo Olazo, Romulo Galicano, Geraldine Javier, John Jaylo and Nilo llarde. Soler’s exhibition was curated by Roberto Chabet and is one of the many exciting exhibits at the SM Megamall Artwalk.

Artist-couple Bolipata-Borlongan together

Blue Hour is the title of the joint exhibition of visual artist-couple, Plet Bolipata and Elmer Borlongan. This is their second exhibit together since 2000 as an artist-couple with very strong individual artistic motivations. In French literature, “blue hour” describes time of heightened emotion. It is in this context that Bolipata and Borlongan focus their creative energies in depicting subjects of human interest in various everyday situations, real or imagined. Their subjects, clothed or disrobed, are caught up in the present; in the moment of whatever it is they are doing, unmindful of a past or a future that lies ahead. They are simply in the moment, relishing and basking in the beauty of time ticking by. These images remind the viewer that being fully present in the moment, no matter the circumstance, is what life is all about. The artist-couple currently resides in San Antonio, Zambales. The exhibit runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 23 at the Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo (Small Gallery) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

‘Old Magic’ at One Workshop Gallery

Maverick photography group Foto Baryo works their unique brand of Old Magic, an exhibition of rare Polaroid photos at One Workshop Gallery. Opened on Oct. 7, Old Magic features a collection of photographs taken with a vintage Polaroid SX-70. Photographers then manipulated each photograph manually using techniques such as tracing with a plastic fork.

No longer manufactured today, the Polaroid camera used for Old Magic is owned by Foto Baryo founder Fernando Afable. Apart from producing his own photographs for the exhibition, Afable shared his beloved camera and Polaroid manipulation techniques with close friends and Foto Baryo volunteers Amor Rodriguez, Cres Yulo, Pinky Urmaza, Tommy Hafalla and Vixienne Cululut.

With Afable’s injunction to “go out, shoot and enjoy,” these photographers went out to take Polaroid pictures of personal significance, while having fun during every step of the point-and-shoot and scratch-the-surface process. As Rodriguez put it, “I was like a kid with a new toy and I lugged the thing everywhere I went.” Yulo also felt “like a child on a secret mission — to find a subject matter interesting enough to shoot and to change it into a whole new image.”

For Urmaza, the photos at Old Magic are her “records of trips, both near and far; some are journeys inward, as I discovered more about myself in each shape and colour I have scratched and traced.” For his part, Hafalla sees Polaroids as a method that “gave me a chance to express my frustration to be a painter...I started creating my own painting through a lens... with just a few pieces (that) fulfilled my long-forgotten dream to paint with light.” Cululut, who describes Polaroid manipulation as “giving the picture a Van Gogh-ish look with the use of a stylus,” says her pictures “bear a myriad of emotions, foremost of which is the spirit of generosity shown by friends.”

As the brainchild of master photographer Fernando Afable, Foto Baryo is the result of the dreams and the life’s work of a man who worked his way up from humble origins in Tanauan to become darkroom manager of the prestigious International Center for Photography in New York City. Wishing to nurture a Filipino version of the ICP back home, Afable founded Foto Baryo in order to raise local awareness of the beauty of photography. From the first year of its inception, Foto Baryo has spread the word to over a hundred photo enthusiasts around the country. Since its first landmark exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, One Workshop Gallery has always supported Foto Baryo and Afable’s vision of a community sharing ideas, knowledge, art and culture.

Old Magic runs until Nov. 7 at OWG, Ground Floor, 2241 La Fuerza Plaza II, Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Sabio St., Makati City. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except Sundays. For inquiries, call or fax 819-2074, e-mail inquiry@owg.cc, or visit www.owg.cc or www.owgclub.multiply.com.