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[av_heading heading=’Embracing Art: Viva ExCon sees Iloilo as an emerging, thriving art hub ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Rhick Lars VladimerAlbay
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1 Kat Malazarte’s “Salamin ng Kahapon” an installation piece at Cinematheque Iloilo
2, 3, 4 The walls of the Casa Real Iloilo are filled wall to wall with artworks by different artists from the Visayas
5 Jeanroll Ejar’s “The Reflection of Confusion” at the UPV Art Gallery is made entirely of reflective tape
6 “Lala”, a massive installment by Negrense trio Moreen Austria, James Fantinalago and Cecilia Nava, invites guests to step into a hand-woven enclave of rattan and vine
THESE past few months we’ve witnessed Iloilo go through rapid transformations – expansions, development and urbanization. But beyond the shallow façade of infrastructure and the faces of kauswagan – the city is electric and pulsating with new talent and artistry.
The burgeoning growth of the Iloilo art scene has been ushered the sprouting of several new art venues around the city – the Casa Real Gallery, Cinematheque Iloilo, and Et Nos Gallery among others – these spaces never running out of artworks and masterpieces, by both veteran and emerging Ilonggo artists, to showcase and adorn their walls.
We’ve even seen the imagination and ingenuity of young artists spill out onto the streets of Iloilo in Art @ Atria and painted murals all around the emerging metropolis.
Reinvigorated by young blood and new generations of creativity, all building a thriving, welcoming and tight-knit art community – Iloilo is fast becoming one of the blooming art hubs of the country.
Counted down by exhibits and art shows one after another since the last year, the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibit and Conference (Viva ExCon), the largest and longest-running art biennale in the country, finally landed on this month.
With the theme “Hakos: Embracing the Art of the Islands”, the event saw Iloilo host 16 diverse art shows across different venues around the city – the most number of shows ever mounted in Iloilo simultaneously.
The Visayas Art Fair, the largest exhibit of the 16, filled the halls of the Casa Real Iloilo with nearly 200 impressive works by artists from all over the island group. Literally wall to wall, guest were treated to a diverse collection of artworks, but this was just the jumping off point of the sprawling Viva ExCon experience.
TURNS IN FORM
Drawing large crowds on Friday was “Turns in Form” curated by Dr. Patrick Flores of Venice Art Biennale fame at the UPV Art Gallery. Built around “the need to reflect on the question of how forms materialize, how they transpire, and how they play out”, Turns collected masterpieces of diverse media, unbound by the usual definitions of visual art.
It showcased the works of Ilonggo artists Jeanroll Ejar – who recently mounted a solo show at the Casa Real Gallery entitled “Retazo”, Liby Limoso and Joemel Mirabuena, among other artists from the Visayas.
Ejar’s “The Reflection of Confusion”, reminiscent of Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”, was made entirely from reflective tape, a novel medium that played with the light of the room and lent the artwork illusion. While “Lala”, the massive installment by Negrense trio Moreen Austria, James Fantinalago and Cecilia Nava, invited guests to step into their hand-woven enclave of rattan and vine.
BURGEONING APPETENCIES
The inheritors of the long history of Iloilo art, emerging Ilonggo artist – all of whom mounted successful solo shows in the last year – conspired to put up a group exhibit that revealed the potential and aspirations of a new generation of creatives.
“Burgeoning Appetencies” featuring young Ilonggo artists Ronnyl Bulahan, Claudine Dignadice, Jeanroll Ejar, Kinno Florentino, Jonn Laserna, Bryan Liao, Kat Malazarte, and Cheska Sarmon at Cinematheque Iloilo on Monday.
The standout piece is Malazarte’s “Salamin ng Kahapon” an installation piece that evoked the time-worn narrative of Nick Joaquin’s “May Day Eve”, the painting of a veiled and immaculate young woman framed by ornate dark wood, above a desk with a lone piece of paper scrawled with the words of “Ave Maria”.
GARBO SA BISAYA
The highlight of the 16 exhibits is the “2016 Garbo sa Bisaya”, slated to open today at the Casa Real Gallery. Garbo honors artists and cultural workers in the Visayas “who have demonstrated remarkable practice in their respective disciplines.”
This year’s distinguished roster includes artists employing a wide range of mediums and commitments. Among them are painters Allain Hablo, Javy Villacin and Antonio Alcoseba, multimedia and film artists Elvert Bañares and Manny Montelibano,animator Oliver Exmundo, and performance artist Dulce Cuna Anacion.
Some of the other art venues are the Artdeck Gallery in John B. Lacson Maritime University, the Et Nos Gallery in Angelicum School, SM City, the Iloilo River Esplanade, the Shops Extension at Atria, the Megaworld Showroom, and the Museo Iloilo.
ViVaExCon 2016 is funded by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and hosted by the Iloilo Visual Arts Collective and the ViVAExCon Organization Iloilo.
The event was made possible by partnerships with the Iloilo Provincial Government, the Iloilo City Government, the Department of Tourism Region 6, and veteran local artists./PN
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