A PARKING lot served as an art hub for the second Art Fair Philippines, which bills itself as a showcase of contemporary art.
Held at the Link, Makati City, the fair ran from February 20 to 23. Various art pieces were mounted by 28 galleries. Works by at least 10 Thomasians—two of whom are National Artists—were among those exhibited.
Honoring the late National Artist J. Elizalde Navarro was Salcedo Auctions, which dedicated an entire booth to the former Varistarian art director and critic. Eight of his works were showcased ranging from paintings circa Second World War to assemblages during the 1980s, mostly evoking sexual images.
The oil-on-canvas “The Red Kimono” shows Navarro melding abstraction and figuration, modern and traditional genres, as it experiments with the nude and geometry, showing a woman taking off her red kimono while a man looks on, with only his lower body covered with white cloth. The two figures are set against a backdrop of squares of different sizes and colors.
Meanwhile, “Untitled (Junkscape)” by the late National Artist Ang Kiukok was displayed at the Manila Contemporary booth. The small mix-media on paper work stands out for its bold background of red, brown, and white, creating an abstract image of three-dimensional squares and rectangles tangling with each other.
Fine Arts alumna Maria Cruz showcased her oil-on-canvas paintings of differing sizes, showing geometric shapes and lines in various colors.
Some of the esteemed glass sculptor Ramon Orlina’s works were also in display under the gallery of MO Space.
Another senior Thomasian artist featured was the painter Mario de Rivera.
Meanwhile, alumna Chati Coronel’s acrylic-on-canvas “From Dream to Dream” of the Silverlens Gallery shows the shadow of a couple with their heads rested upon each other with the words “merrily merrily” painted above them in script form.
Other works attracting attention were by Buen Calubayan and Iggy Rodriguez, recent recipients of the Thirteen Artists Awards from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. They were joined by works by Thomasian contemporary artists Mark Salvatus and Alab Pagarigan. Elyssa Christine A. Lopez
