CALLING all admirers and enthusiasts of modern and contemporary art!
Art Fair Philippines is back this 2023 and is being held in the Link Ayala Center Makati City from February 17–19, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Enthusiasts and people looking to explore one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic art scenes can now access these at Art Fair Philippines 2023. The event offers a variety of visual and interactive activities for individuals, including workshops, talks, and tours. In this setting, enthusiasts can learn about, appreciate, and be inspired through art.
Upon entering the venue, you will be directed to a neatly organized ticket booth. A day pass for regular members costs P450, a pass for students with IDs/senior citizens, and PWDs will cost P350, a pass for Makati City students with IDs will cost P200, and a pass for Globe platinum members will be free.
Merchandise is also available upon entry. Together with “ARTWORK” merchandise, printed tote bags and T-shirts are offered at the stand.
Globe platinum x ARTIFRACT presents the distinctive works of national artist Abdulmari Imao to the expanding art public, in its exhibition seen upon entry. Visitors are welcomed inside for a reflection on the fuzziness of the distinctions between the real and the virtual, the authentic and its faithful reproduction. Along with this, Globe Platinum provides its members with complimentary drinks at the art fair. Globe also provides a platinum lounge on the sixth level for a short break for platinum members.
Photo from Chinie Alintanahin
Moving on, here are some interesting works of art to kill some time with as we move on to the visual art that Art Fair Philippines 2023 has to offer!
Photo from Chinie Alintanahin
Contemporary Filipina American artist Nicolei Buendia Gupit (born in Los Angeles in 1990) uses installation, sculpture, painting, and video to explore cultural identity in her exhibit “Searching for Water.” She creates works of art that explore possible diasporic futures and complicate the connections between different meals, civilizations, and histories.
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
The artist developed the body of work named “Searching for Water” during her Fulbright year in order to convey the vulnerability of the country’s current water and climate challenges. As seen in the exhibit, She gathered freshwater and potable water from Laguna Lake and the Molawin River, formed them into ice sculptures in the form of water bottles, and then recorded them melting in a movie to serve as a visual reminder of how quickly glaciers are disappearing.
Ian Jaucian is heavily influenced by science and uses a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, kinetic art, and interactive installations, to explore the relationship between science and visual art. The predominance of bizarre forms that operate as conduits for critique of the Anthropocene is indicative of the artist’s integrative practice.
Photos from Chinie Alintanahin
For a deeper understanding of the dimensions of his pieces, he also has them on display at the art fair with a digital visualizer for visitors.
The iconic pop art of Japanese artist Wataru Yona Yona is on show at Art Fair Philippines 2023 as well. He says he is thrilled and looking forward to the opportunity to share some of his well-known and exquisite work as well as two famous pieces from the “LOST BOYS” series. This exhibition features smooth and one of a kind pop art that is well-known in Japanese art culture.
Even though his exhibit isn’t scheduled to end until February 19, two of his works were already purchased on the opening day of the art fair, which he proudly announced on his Instagram (@wataru_yonayona).
Rosario Bitanga, a graduate of the prestigious Cranbrook Art Academy in Michigan USA, is renowned for her deft compositions of geometric and organic forms with gently shifting outlines and their brilliance of colors. She is a significant female abstract painter and one of the forerunners of post-war modernism in the Philippines. Several of her paintings are on display in her exhibition “Past, Present, Participant.”
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
Her works span in scale from mural-sized abstracts depicting arrested motion in a Futurist form, to miniature expressionist landscapes, still life, and life studies. The display of her artwork in the fair will inevitably highlight the significant contribution that Bitanga made to abstraction in the Philippines.
Female street artist Jade Suayan showcases a strongly curated solo exhibit at the art fair entitled “To Destroy is to Create” for graffiti and street art enthusiasts.
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
She catches the interpretation of destruction and creation through her distinctive style, giving an insight into the ways in which people may make something out of disaster and the ways in which destruction can serve as an inspiration for creation. She wishes to show individuals that not every creation requires starting from scratch or following a precise, orderly linear process. Instead, chaos and destructive experiences can inspire creativity, as can gazing at ruined objects.
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
The various pieces of art featured in this solo exhibition are bright, cartoonish neon characters that depict various self-destructive personalities and tendencies. The artwork she created for this exhibition, as well as the theme and layout of the room where the artworks are on display, all demonstrate the literal and figurative meaning of the show’s title, “To destroy is to create.”
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
Jade’s choice to paint these characters in a shattered, disordered style further embodies the chaotic nature of these personalities. The vivid depiction of the elements and the vibrant colors of the artwork serve to illustrate the impact that devastation and catastrophic events may have. It demonstrates to people that despite these kinds of situations, regardless of how painful or terrible they may be, they can nonetheless provide individuals with fresh insights that help them develop and find new meaning in life.
Art Fair Philippines 2023 provides enthusiasts with a large selection of mixed-media art pieces composed from a combination of different media or materials to view, in addition to these exquisitely curated works of visual art, each of which truly embodies the particular and distinct meanings of the artist.
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
BPI presents the following pieces: “Don’t Forget to Remember’ by Faye Abantao,
“EK-EK NG TALIPANDAS” by Kiko Escora “Countless Tries” by Mark Andy Garcia.
“Taymperst!” by Raymond Guevara, “Delusions of Grandeur Woke Farm” by Pow Martinez, “This exhibition is about strength” by Yeo Kaa, “As Wild As We Come” by Wawi Navarroza, “Crest” by Peter Zimmermann at the roof deck of the art fair here we are able to see interactive and visual art for enthusiasts to enjoy.
These interactive artworks allow viewers to engage more deeply with the art pieces because they offer a wide range of learning opportunities and inspirational activities. Some of the interactive artworks include a blank sculpture that viewers can spray paint on or doors that they can open to reveal newspapers or historical events. Others are canvases with animated portraits of various characters wherein you spin a handle that controls the character’s facial features, which, in my observation, really engaged and interested the audience members of the exhibition.
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
Photo from Chine Alintanahin
Overall, Art Fair Philippines 2023 was an educational and exciting experience for art lovers like myself who want to learn more about art, its meaning, and its importance in a society like this. These days, people tend to disregard art as nothing more than a hobby.
However, thanks to this experience, people like me are able to discuss our interests in art and realize that it is also a way of life.
With the social realism artwork displayed at this fair, I became deeply engaged and am now even more interested in not just new forms of art, but the art of our times, of which I am now a part. This art fair effectively demonstrates to young people how important and instructive art is.
Art Fair Philippines 2023 is a beautiful event that is worthwhile of our time. It is a visually stimulating and engaging method to learn about events, people, and cultures through exquisitely curated works, and I simply can not wait for more art fairs, especially the next Art Fair Philippines next year!
