House of Healing
THIS IS BETHEL by Kristine Soguilon supports the mental health of the Philippine Navy personnel protecting the West Philippine Sea.
By Art+ Magazine Team
Photo courtesy of Kristine Soguilon
November 01, 2025
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Philippine Navy Goodwill Ambassador and missionary visual artist Kristine Soguilon unveiled her most vulnerable and luminous work to date—THIS IS BETHEL.
Turning 40, for Kristine, was more than a milestone; it was an altar of remembrance. In Scripture, the number 40 symbolizes transformation—Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus in the wilderness. For Kristine, THIS IS BETHEL became her own 40-day crossing—her Exodus, her Gethsemane, her resurrection. This exhibit is not a celebration of survival, but a testament of obedience, grace, and divine renewal.
What began as personal lamentation became revelation—art born at the edge of despair. During long nights in therapy rooms, psychiatric care, and hospital beds, Kristine wrestled with angels. Each letter, sketch, and painting in THIS IS BETHEL is a psalm—a groan, a prayer rendered in pigment. It is the visual gospel of a woman who wandered through her own wilderness and found manna in brushstrokes.
In Hebrew, “Bethel” means “House of God.” For Kristine, Bethel was not a temple adorned with gold, but the white walls of a hospital room—the rustle of paper as she wrote to herself, the silence between sobs, and the sudden, unexpected breakthroughs in therapy. There, amid the sterile light, she glimpsed the ladder stretching from earth to heaven, just as Jacob once did—ascending through grief, pain, and finally, grace.
Each piece in THIS IS BETHEL is both relic and resurrection. Viewers encountered handwritten letters never meant to be read, sketches drawn in moments of chaos or calm, and paintings where color itself became scripture. The exhibit unveiled the holy in the broken—the sacred dialogue between suffering and recovery, humanity and divinity.
Art with a Mission: Fundraising for the Frontliners of the Soul
Beyond art, THIS IS BETHEL served as a fundraising initiative for the Citizen’s Support Your Navy Foundation, supporting the mental health of brave Filipinos stationed at the West Philippine Sea—men and women who guard our nation’s waters while quietly fighting unseen battles.
As Kristine found her voice through art, she extended that healing to those who serve in silence. Proceeds from artwork sales directly fund programs that nurture the mental well-being of these modern-day sentinels of the sea.
The exhibit ran from October 7 to 10, 2025, at THE GROOVE, 7T General Malvar St., Araneta City, Cubao, and culminated in a Closing Cocktail Night on October 10—a communion of art, advocacy, and storytelling.
From Healing to Celebration: A Dual Exhibition
Immediately following THIS IS BETHEL, Kristine opened a second offering, VELVET AND VINES, on October 11 at Wine Story, EDSA Shangri-La. In this collection, she translated wines from around the world into art, transforming flavors into textures, aromas into colors. From bold Cabernets to delicate Rieslings, each canvas became a glass poured and rendered into pigment.
What began in Bethel as lament matured into VELVET AND VINES—a toast to life itself. The journey came full circle: from tears to taste, from therapy to terroir.
