Life, Land, and Memory: Exhibitions in January 2025
Words Amanda Juico Dela Cruz
January 21, 2025
UNTITLED, Christian Babista, Photographic transfer on cement 15 x 25 in, 2025. Photo courtesy of Gravity Art Space.
In the world of contemporary art, diverse expressions of resilience, memory, and environmental consciousness intertwine. From crumpled canvases that mirror the fragile yet resilient relationship between land and people, to intricate depictions of everyday life that reflect cultural history, each work presented here explores profound connections to both the natural and human worlds. This collection offers a glimpse into the intimate tensions between tradition and transformation, hope and decay, capturing fleeting moments that evoke deeper reflections on our existence, societal struggles, and the delicate interplay between individual and collective memory.
Yvonne Quisumbing. Installation view of Sanctuary at Silverlens Manila, 2025.
Yvonne Quisumbing. Installation view of Sanctuary at Silverlens Manila, 2025.
“Sanctuary” by Yvonne Quisumbing at Silverlens Galleries
In her latest series, the artist creates sculptural, crumpled canvases that echo her personal connection to the land. Inspired by her time in a rural sanctuary, she explores the tension between fragility and resilience, layering native plants over human forms. These plants, often used for healing, symbolize hope for the land’s revitalization. Contrasting the lush vegetation, the artist includes a snapdragon, whose dried petals form skulls—evoking the decline of sugarcane farming. Symbolic blue wings of the tikarol bird, able to resist the sun’s bleaching, suggest perseverance. These works merge anxiety and hope, offering glimpses into an intimate yet distant reality.
BUHAY ESTUDYANTE, Acrylic, Oil, and Marker on Canvas, 26 x 22 in. Photo courtesy of Qube Gallery.
THE MUNDANE WORLD OF HIPON, Colored Pencil on Paper (framed w/glass), 22 x 16 in. Photo courtesy of Qube Gallery.
“Local Linkage” by Rey Narvasa at Qube Gallery
Vivid scenes of everyday life unfold through intricate pen and ink work, with acrylic highlights adding depth and vibrancy. Bustling markets, street vendors, and religious symbols—such as the Santo Niño and historic churches—come alive on canvas with stunning realism. The artist’s careful, photorealistic technique invites viewers to pause and appreciate moments often overlooked, capturing the essence of Filipino culture. The textured interplay of ink and acrylic offers a tactile quality, while varnish preserves these vivid snapshots. A dialogue between memory and experience, the work draws from both distant pasts and fresh perspectives, blending tradition with a contemporary eye.
Exhibition Shot of “A Glimpse Across The Fleeting Light” by Julieanne Ng at MO_Space
PRINTED MANUSCRIPT, Julieanne Ng, Candle print on xuan paper, 10 in x 11.5 m, 2024. Photo courtesy of MO_Space.
“A Glimpse Across The Fleeting Light” by Julieanne Ng at MO_Space
Cycles of life, like a candle’s flame, burn bright and fade into nothingness. The artist captures fleeting moments, documenting impermanence through intricate mark-making. In the process of imprinting, pressure is applied to create images—each one a trace, like fossilized remnants or tree rings. The repetition of these marks mirrors nature’s endless cycles, from chemical processes to meditative gestures. Patterns emerge from everyday objects, overlooked in their ubiquity—plastic cups, paper, fabric. Through careful, patient manipulation, the artist transforms these mundane materials into a language of repetition, bridging the human, natural, and industrial worlds in a contemplative dance of creation.
Artist Jeanroll Ejar during his exhibit at Eskinita Art Farm
Exhibition Shot of “Tagpi-tagpi” by Jeanroll Ejar at Eskinita Art Farm
“Tagpi-tagpi” by Jeanroll Ejar at Eskinita Art Farm
In this collection of wood sculptures, the artist explores the resilience and ingenuity of Filipino communities through intricate, hand-carved depictions of sawali walls. These bamboo panels, often patched with scrap materials like cardboard and plywood, serve as canvases for everyday objects such as farming tools, fans, and notebooks. Each sculpture is a delicate yet powerful reflection of daily life—depicting both the hardships and strength of families living in humble circumstances. By transforming ordinary scraps into profound visual narratives, the artist elevates these commonplace materials, revealing the quiet dignity and unity that sustain these communities despite their struggles.
“New Art Frontiers” by Alessandro Artini, Alessandro Bevilacqua, Alessandro Miotti, Anastasiya Parvanova, Bogdan Koshevoy, Chiara Calore, Chiara Peruch, Emanuele Pagnanini, Eric Pasino, Fabiano Vicentini, Federica Zanlucchi, Filippo Rizozonelli, Francesco Casati, Francesco Zanatta, Guilia Maria Belli, Giulio Malinverni, Greta Ferretti, Jingge Dong, Jonathan Colombo, Ketty Gobbo, Leonardo Furlan, Luisa Badino, Marila Scartozzi, Nina Ćeranić, Paolo Pretolani, Pierluigi Scandiuzzi, Simone Rutigliano, Thomas Braida, Tommaso Viccaro, Wenliang (Gabriele) Zhao at Altro Mondo
This exhibition presents the innovative works of emerging artists from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, each pushing the boundaries of contemporary artistic practice. Through diverse mediums—painting, sculpture, photography, and digital technologies—these artists explore themes of memory, identity, and perception. Their works invite viewers into fragmented, dreamlike spaces where materiality and emotion intertwine. Some pieces delve into the abstract, capturing the tension between the human body and its environment, while others reflect on personal histories and universal narratives. This collection embodies a dynamic dialogue between tradition and transformation, offering a rich visual experience of contemporary art.
UNTITLED PORTRAIT (PARADISE), Jomar Galutera, Duratrans print, light box 24 x 16 in, 2025. Photo courtesy of Gravity Art Space.
UNTITLED, Christian Babista, Photographic transfer on cement 15 x 25 in, 2025. Photo courtesy of Gravity Art Space.
“Mga Pagitan ng Gunaw” by Camille Quintos, Christian Babista, Efren Nantes, Jomar Galutera, and Paulo Catolos at Gravity Art Space
The works explore the intersection of natural disasters and socio-political constructs, focusing on the visual poetics of climate crisis and its systemic roots. Through mediums like family photographs, everyday objects, and layered materials, these pieces emphasize the entanglement of personal and collective histories with environmental collapse. They evoke the fragile tension between destruction and resilience, with textures reflecting decay and transformation. By interrogating power structures, colonization, and capitalism, the artworks reveal how the climate crisis is not just an environmental issue but a deeply political one. Through their intimate and abstract forms, they challenge viewers to reconsider the profound impacts of catastrophe on both space and memory.
