Artist's Statement:

The mind is a subtle, multi-dimensional environment of images, symbols, words, feelings and emotions. It is a complex self-organizing and patterning system. An active mechanism that morphs and manifests in limitless forms, fusing, synthesizing and juxtaposing images, words emotions, etcetera in seemingly random and senseless ways, wherein everything is inter-related and interconnected, stringed with a thread visible only to wide and open minds.

My paintings are frozen fractions of the mind's activity - recreated intuitively on flat canvasses of acrylics. Surreal pictures where reality and fantasy waltz in the depths of dreams, daydreams and the subconscious. Each painting is open-ended. There is no fixed interpretation or definite meaning. All the elements can be taken literally or symbolically acoording to the whims and personal experiences of the viewer.

‘Love Stories’ exhibit raises funds for Basilan scholars

Art and romance make a lovely pair in Love Stories, a fund-raising exhibition of paintings and photographs organized by the Philam Foundation for its scholars in Basilan. The exhibit runs from February 11 to 20 at the Philam Lobby on U.N. Avenue, Ermita, Manila.

     Comprised of visual narratives on romance, Love Stories features the paintings of Wilfredo Alicdan, Mark Arcamo, Caña, Convocar, Marc Cosico, Joe Datuin, Vincent Padilla, Sherwin Tan, Roger “Rishab” Tibon and Inna Vitasa, and the photographs of Paul Escobar, Edwin Loyola, Martin Macalintal, Peter Marquez, Kaye Pizarro, Vic Sollorano and Harvey Tapan.

     Held in celebration of National Arts Month and the Valentine season, Love Stories will open on February 11, Monday, at 6 p.m. To underscore the exhibit’s theme, the opening-night program will feature poets Vim Nadera, Mike Coroza, Teo Antonio and Marra Lanot reading love poems and poet Pete Lacaba crooning his “salinawit” – romantic songs which he himself translated from English to Filipino.

     Love Stories is specifically intended to build up resources for the Aid for Basilan Children (ABC) Fund, a project of the Philam Foundation in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) since 2002. The ABC Fund sends over 500 children to school in war-torn Lamitan, Basilan, providing them with uniforms, books, school supplies and supplemental feeding over a period of six years to cover their elementary education. 

Through the years, various components such as a mentoring program, remedial sessions, teacher training and audio-visual materials have helped improve the learning capabilities of students as well as the teaching skills of the instructors. In 2007, the Philam Foundation and the PBSP reached an agreement to sustain the scholars’ secondary education. 

Through the Love Stories exhibit, Philam is creating a synergy between the various causes it upholds – promoting Philippine art and artists while also raising funds for its scholars.

     Starting with Love Stories, the Philam Foundation is looking at revitalizing the insurance company’s arts program this year. Already recognized for its corporate social responsibility efforts in Health, Education, Arts & culture and Livelihood and enterprise development (HEAL), the foundation wants to further strengthen its role in the field of arts.

This is a nod to its history as a premiere supporter of the arts. Philamlife on U.N. Avenue was among the country’s pioneers in hosting exhibitions in the 1960s with its Lobby shows drawing crowds of art enthusiasts and patrons.

In recent years, the Philamlife Theater, also on U.N. Avenue, has been home to the acclaimed Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO). Philamlife has produced Christmas CDs like “Payapang Pasko” (2004), featuring the MPO playing traditional Filipino Christmas songs arranged for an orchestra and “Iyo Kailan Pa Man” (2005), featuring traditional Filipino kundimans or love songs as sung by the world-renowned Philippine Madrigal Singers.

     For inquiries on Love Stories and the ABC Fund, please call the Philam Foundation at 526-9449/ 526-9446 or e-mail philamfoundation@aig.com.

                                       ‘Florante at Laura’ 

                                                    (exhibition at UP Vargas museum)

      One of the country’s most enduring literary masterpieces, Florante at Laura – written by 19th century poet Francisco Baltazar, also known as Balagtas – serves as the inspiration for an exhibition at the University of the Philippines Jorge B. Vargas Museum this February. It will be held at the Edge Gallery from February 8 until March 31, 2008.

      Celebrating both the visual arts and literature, the Florante at Laura exhibition features 23 figurative paintings based on the different sections of the poem, using the edition edited by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario.

      The paintings, reflecting a variety of styles, were made by Mark Arcamo, Buen Calubayan, Caña, Salvador J. Ching, Convocar, Marc Cosico, Cris Cruz, Leonilo Doloricon, Egai Fernandez, Alfred Galvez, Sajid Imao, Jon Jaylo, Jerome Malic, Wilfredo Offemaria Jr., Vincent Padilla, Jonathan Rañola, Laya Roman, Don Salubayba, Fernando Sena, Rex Tatlonghari, Roger “Rishab” Tibon, Inna Vitasa and Janice Young.

      The artists breathe life to the events chronicled in the epic poem, from Florante being tied up in the forest and menaced by two lions to his dramatic reunion with his beloved Laura. Each artwork is accompanied by a stanza that pertains to the depicted scene.

      Adding visual interest is a backdrop that reinforces the period and setting in which Florante at Laura unfolded. Rendered by the artistic team of Alfred Galvez Mural Designs and Finishes, the exhibit design features trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) effects such as faux columns and moldings and baroque decorative elements.

      The rich exposition of imagery aims to engage viewers and help them rediscover the celebrated work of Balagtas. The Florante at Laura exhibition is curated and conceptualized by Susan A. de Guzman and Giselle P. Kasilag of Project Art.

      Florante at Laura is a Philippine literary classic, deemed an integral part of the Filipino experience. It is a staple in the high school curriculum, with class discussions often leading to more creative pursuits such as dramatizations or the creation of story books. It has also been the subject of theatrical productions, television specials and films.

      Beyond the love story between the two lead characters, Florante at Laura is a well-disguised commentary on the ills of society under the Spanish regime as witnessed by Balagtas. The story may be set in the faraway kingdom of Albanya but the conditions it depicts were realities taking place as the Philippines struggled to become a free nation.

      The genius of Florante at Laura’s author was hailed by no less than national hero Jose Rizal, particularly in his novel Noli Me Tangere where Pilosopo Tasio muses: “Mahusay na makata at mahusay mag-isip si Baltazar” (Baltazar is a great poet and a great thinker).

      The Florante at Laura project is the exhibit component of the Komedya Fiesta 2008 1^st National Festival, one of the major activities celebrating the UP Centennial. Focusing on Balagtas’ signature work is considered an appropriate complement to the festival’s theme as Florante at Laura was not only written in the manner of the komedya theatrical tradition, but also because its author was the best known poet of his time. 

      Komedya Fiesta 2008 is presented by the University of the Philippines Diliman Office of the Chancellor, through the College of Arts and Letters and in cooperation with the Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

      For more details about the Florante at Laura exhibition, please contact the UP Vargas Museum at tel. nos. 928-1927, 981-8500 locals 4021 to 24, 928-1925 or via e-mail at vargasmuseum@gmail.com or vargasmuseum@yahoo.com.