Binondo: Pride of Place
The peoples of China and the Philippines are not recent acquaintances. During 960 – 1127 AD, Arab merchants transported Philippine goods to southwestern China through the port of Canton. With the coming of the Spaniards late in the 16th century, Chinese trade with the islands started to increase gradually, not only in the City of […]
AnnTiu.Alchemy
AnnTiu.Alchemy marks the formal launch of designer Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan’s jewelry line. In the hands of the artist, base botanical matter—roots, leaves, flowers, and other small objects of nature—transforms into exquisite, one-of-a-kind jewelry. Pamintuan creates such expression that bridges the understanding of art as design, design as art. She keeps the integrity of the piece […]
The World in Painting
Despite regular forecasts of its demise, painting has remained strongly relevant to most cultures for tens of thousands of years. Figurative and abstract, expressive or conceptual, domestic and institutional in character—painting is everywhere. Contemporary artists are well aware of the medium’s history; adopting established conventions as parameters within their practice or, alternatively, challenging the paradigms […]
Cordillera Suite: Homage to Apo Ben
Whenever foreign artists come to the Philippines looking for active and dynamic contemporary art communities, inevitably, Baguio and the Cordilleras would be a major destination point. For within the beauty of the northern mountains was a creative community fired by friendships and the dynamics of artmaking, creative thinking, and exchange. Art was not contrived but […]
Zhangzhou Ware Found in the Philippines: “Swatow” Export Ceramics from Fujian 16th – 17th Century
Curated by Oriental Ceramics Society of the Philippines President and scholar Rita Tan, the exhibition shows the range and variety of Zhangzhou ware shipped to the Philippines during the 16th to 17th century of the Ming Dynasty. Due to lack of information on its source of production, the blue and white ware exported in large […]
Poetry in Function: A Glimpse at Contemporary Filipino Pottery
Molded from the clay of the earth, Baked under the sun, Fired in kilns, Or turned in potters’ wheels, Pottery has been one of the oldest forms of human expression. Pottery is the ceramic ware made by potters. In everyday usage, the term is taken to encompass a wide range of ceramics, including earthenware, stoneware, […]
Framing Architecture: Photographs of Modern Philippine Cultural Venues by Paulo Alcazaren
Culture is the frame by which we live our lives and view our world. Architecture, as expression of culture, interrelates our lives and world view to an extent we are seldom conscious of. Viewing images of architecture is opportunity for critical discourse. Imaging buildings and space meant for culture and the arts then becomes a […]
Praise to Nature: the Art of Arsenia Lim
Arsenia Lim, also known by her Chinese name Tsai Shiu Yuin, brings her love for calligraphy, landscapes, flowers and birds to be shared with the general public. She combines the Chinese traditional water-and-ink spirit, Western sketching techniques, with realistic and freehand brushwork in this, her 8th solo exhibit, entitled Praise to Nature. Lim studied Chinese […]
Dugong my Son: Indigenous Prints from the Torres Straits, Australia
Gelam Nguzu Kazi: Dugong My Son features limited-edition linocuts by indigenous Australian artists from Mua Island in the Torres Straits. The exhibition is a striking collection of artistic works from the Kubin community of Mua Island in the Torres Straits north of Australia’s mainland. Drawing on ancient traditions of carving and presented in a contemporary […]
Nature Bejewelled
Nature Bejewelled features the finalists and winners of the 2006 Guild of Philippine Jewelers Jewelry Design Competition. With “Nature Bejewelled” as the annual theme, the pieces on display capture the natural and the nature-inspired. Nature Bejewelled is presented by the Guild of Philippine Jewelers.
