AYALA MUSEUM EXHIBIT NI MONAY

December 1, 5pm
Ayala Museum, Glorietta                               

RE/ENFORCE Exhibit Opening     

To re/enforce is to be persistent in insisting on putting into effect. It is to be vigilant in invoking for continued practice. It is sustained clamor for further action. Such is the central assertion in these exhibitions of four Filipino visual artists whose combined artistic outputs are being mounted at the ArtistSpace of the Ayala Museum which opens on December 1, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

In “Tuldok,” multi-awarded Antipolo City-based Jerson Samson re-stresses the vox populi while providing a powerful reassertion of popular democracy. The concretization of popular will from the philosophical concept of populism that stuck an imprint amongst the Filipinos after the much-romanticized disenthronement of a dictator mirrors the sociopolitical context in Samson’s previous works employing his current painting style. However in “Tuldok,” there pervades the rhetorical undertones that lie opposite the exaltation of the voice of the people; comes now the exaltation of the people with a voice. In the large oil on canvas “Tayo,” the multitude that brought this new-found democracy can thus be reflected as those who pile up questioning outside the gates of a palace which looms over the horizon, far from their reach, where the popular voice hold office.

Monnar Baldemor in “Usapan” reiterates the need for constant communication between people as it is vital for an artist to communicate with his viewers. Here Baldemor stresses that whether how trivial or mundane or intellectual the subject matter maybe, one reaches out to another effectively through the spoken/written word. It is this spoken/written word that Baldemor infused in his paintings; snapshots of daily life provided with text to further give emphasis on the thoughts of his subjects. Such texts are as vital in the painting as the messages that Baldemor is trying to deliver to his audience.

The convolutions of everyday life constantly being made complex by the unrelenting advancements in technology as evidenced by the changing terrain of his native Cordillera became the focus/locus of Baguio City-based visual artist Ernie Gomez. The encroachment to land and its people and culture swept aside if not annihilated what was then pristine. As reflective as the national scenario, Gomez backtracks to the simplicity of provincial life in “Everyday Lives”. He reinforces this with a pictography of a race, moment, milieu poking on our sensibilities for a lot of introspection and self-evaluation as a people and a nation.  

Yet perhaps the cerebral juxtaposed by the philosophical comes out in Anthony Panugao’s “Conscious│Subconscious.” True to form and figure as in his first solo exhibition last year, Panugao’s apocalypse remains to be foreboding. Also here the artist resummons the function of faith. Panugao’s central premise is anchored upon the question “What if the subconscious mind fuses with the conscious mind?” Like osmosis between two potent faculties distinctly separate.  Panugao utilizes this philosophy of the mind that distills in a mind-body problem to create analytical pieces where the viewer is being asked to re-calculate.

Re/enforce, a collective of exhibitions mounted by Artepinas, Inc. for the ArtistSpace of the Ayala Museum is curated by JCrisanto Martinez and shall be on view until December 13, 2010. Inquiries may be channeled through the Ayala Museum or at (+63) 922.331.41.08 or via electronic mail at info@artepinas.tk.

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Ang “Usapan” nina Monay & Kap

Visual artist Monnar Baldemor and writer Kap Maceda Aguila first met in 1992 while working for the editorial team of a noted publishing group. The two bonded not just over closing pages but the joys of alternative music as well – sharing and discovering new tunes and musical genres. At one time, the two helped form a punk band, Paregoric, with Baldemor on bass, and Aguila on vocals and guitar.

The “Usapan” series was born from a curiosity to see how the written word could work within the colorful domain of Baldemor’s abstract paintings. “While Monnar’s paintings already provide snapshots of daily life and its intricacies, I wanted to give the viewer greater context – and insight – into what the subjects are thinking. More importantly, I wanted them to interact with each other,” says Kap.

Baldemor’s physical manipulations of these subjects are reminiscent of Spanish master Salvador Dali and Hieronymous Bosch of the Netherlands, while the detailed pen and ink strokes recall German painter Ernst Degasperi. Son of the prolific internationally known painter Manuel Baldemor, Monnar shares a preference for pastel colors – but forges a divergent path from the rural, festive landscapes of his father.

Monnar adds: “The text is an equally important of the painting. Rene Magritte, a Belgian surrealist painter, also employed the written word on some of his canvases.”

 “I want to drive what Monnar’s paintings actually seek in the viewers: to pique their curiosity, to think about what we do as a people, and the moments that define us. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that there’s profundity and humor in the pedestrian. Like Magritte, Monnar asks us to be sensitive to them,” says Aguila.

Monnar, a University of the East-Caloocan Fine Arts graduate, has earned five Jurors’ Choice nods in the prestigious yearly art tilt of the Artist Association of the Philippines. He was also chosen as finalist in the Phillip Morris Group of Companies Philippine Art Awards. Baldemor has worked in the publishing field for almost two decades and maintained cartoon strips for various publications.

Monnar is a member of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), Samahan ng mga Kartonista sa Pilipinas (SKP), and the Pinsel Artist Group of UE Caloocan. He has participated in more than a dozen group exhibitions.

Kap has a BA in Communication (majoring in Journalism) from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He completed his academic units at the same institution towards an MA in Communication (majoring in Communication Research). Kap writes for the Philippine Star and other publications, bowls, and now plays the drums.

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FYI. I'm proud to say that I know Monay. In the office, he sits right in front of me.  
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