Contemporary artist-potters in the Philippines have been few but highly versatile in their output. Created for functional use or for expressing artistic sensibility, the works of today’s potters have evolved to sophisticated, elegant pieces that merge aesthetics and practicality. On exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum is Poetry in Function: A Glimpse at Contemporary Filipino Pottery, an exhibit featuring 15 pieces of functional studio pottery by artist-potters Jaime de Guzman, Jon Pettyjohn, Lanelle Abueva-Fernando, Ugu Bigyan, and Hadrian Mendoza.
De Guzman, a pioneer of local pottery, produces utilitarian pieces. Pettyjohn, on the other hand, creates limited edition works that are “imbued with Oriental restraint in color and form.” Abueva-Fernando, who studied under Japanese masters, fashion pieces possessing the slickest surfaces and contours. Bigyan, influenced by de Guzman, combines stoneware with local fiber, roots, and branches to come up with uniquely Filipino designs. Mendoza, a protégé of Pettyjohn, avidly experiments with forms and glazes and draws on indigenous culture for inspiration.
Poetry in Function is organized as part of the Yuchengco Museum’s Design as Art, Art as Design series, and in line with the major exhibition Zhangzhou Ware Found in the Philippines: “Swatow” Export Ceramics from Fujian 16th – 17th Century.
The Yuchengco Museum is at the Ground Floor of RCBC Plaza, Corner Ayala & Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except Sundays and holidays. For more information, call 889.1234 or e-mail [email protected]
