Words Jewel Chuaunsu
Photos Coleen Wong
February 19, 2024

Art Fair Philippines returns for its 11th edition with diverse programming and a stellar line-up of exhibitors. Taking place from February 16 to 18 at The Link in Makati City, the Fair spans five floors of the building, with exhibitors on the 5th to 7th floor and most of the sections (Projects, Digital, Photo, Incubators, Talks) on the 7th floor. Don’t miss the Roof Deck, which has an interactive space dedicated to film.

With so much to see, we’ve rounded up some of our top picks from Art Fair Philippines 2024.

ArtFairPH/Projects

On the 7th floor, discover Projects done by select local and foreign artists: Jigger Cruz, Jonathan Ching, Mr. StarCity (based in New York), Eugenio Ampudia (Spain), Andreea Medar (Romania), and Taloi Havini (born in Papua New Guinea and based in Brisbane, Australia).

Alongside these solo presentations is a tribute exhibition to author and printmaker Rod. Paras-Perez, the group show Pambabae: Exploring Abstraction by Women Artists 1969-1989, and a collaboration by young artists under Tuklas, a mentorship program spearheaded by Alfredo Esquillo and Renato Habulan.

In Dialectic Disruptions, Jigger Cruz uses dense oil paint to create layers of textures and forms, akin to sculptural cut-outs on canvas. Seeing a connection between his visual art and the making of his own electromechanical music, Cruz says, “it is made up of trials and errors and bears the history in its layers. Whatever you do, you cannot replicate what you created.”

In They Think We Still Grant Wishes, Jonathan Ching memorializes the flower offerings his mother, a practicing Buddhist, prepares for the altar. He takes photos of the daily arrangements and chooses which ones to paint. On one hand, preserving the memory of the flower offerings may stand for “our negotiations with our gods,” says Ching, “or maybe the beauty in faded things.”

Andreea Medar’s Leftovers from the Future centers on her grandfather’s garden, which flourished under his care, but was later left abandoned and overgrown. Medar recreates the essence of the garden by hand stitching “foliage” on clear plastic sheets and illuminating it with UV light. Medar imagines these plants surviving a post-apocalyptic future and connecting viewers to the past.

Karen H. Montinola Selection

Since 2014, Art Fair Philippines has hosted the Karen H. Montinola Selection, a special exhibit in which an up-and-coming artist is carefully selected and awarded a showcase. In celebration of 10 years of the Karen H. Montinola Selection, Art Fair Philippines has mounted a retrospective of all past recipients, including Pio Abad, Mike Adrao, Mac Valdezco, Mark Valenzuela, Alvin Zafra, Liv Vinluan, Carlo Villafuerte, Melvin Guirhem, and Faye Abantao. This year’s selected artist is Gean Brix Garcia.

ArtFairPH/Incubators

Incubators provides a platform for artist-run spaces and artist initiatives. The Empty Scholar is an alternative art space that hopes to introduce new voices. The Pangasinan Group highlights the vibrant community of Pangasinan artists. The Authenticity Zero Collective is a collaborative platform where artists and designers explore non-representational articulations.

The artist-run space Talyer 15 specializes in limited edition multiples of serigraph prints by prominent Filipino artists. Istorya Studios seeks to tell meaningful stories with publications and collectibles by the likes of Rodel Tapaya, Marina Cruz, Doktor Karayom, Archie Oclos, and more.

Manila Illustration Fair celebrates the growing community of Filipino illustrators. Applying illustrations by 18 artists on objects, their exhibition, Bagay-bagay, answers the question – is illustration fine art? – with a resounding yes.

ArtFairPH/Photo

The sole exhibitor in the Photo section is the photographers’ collective FotomotoPH. Curated by Sandra Palomar, Print is Dead, Long Live Print! thoughtfully puts together contemporary photography by Veejay Villafranca, Wawi Navarroza, Raena Abella, Neal Oshima, Nana Buxani, MM Yu, Mark Nicdao, Frank Callaghan, E.S.L. Chen, Denise Weldon, Arturo Luz, Bencab, and more.

Exhibitors

With over 50 exhibitors, local galleries take it to the next level with notable exhibitions. Secret Fresh dazzles with dedicated spaces for Quiccs, Egg Fiasco, JP Pining, Jade Suayan, and Bencab.

Cartellino’s UN/FAMILIAR TERRITORIES charts a historical look at graffiti through the works of Pilipinas Street Plan artists.

Vantage Contemporary’s Mensahe is inspired by the indigenous philosophy of the human self and others, explored in the works of Anthony Victoria, Rando Onia, and Alfredo Esquillo. Esquillo created a functional sculpture of an angel attached to a miniature bamboo organ, in commemoration of the 200th year of the historical Las Piñas Bamboo Organ.

Presented by Art Verite, Cedrick Dela Paz’s Dog Eat Dog / Rat Eat Rat illustrates the struggle for dominance and the ruthless nature of competition, using rotating discs as a metaphor for conflict between opposing forces.

Art Underground pairs together solo shows for Arce and SAIS. In A Hundred, Arce unveils a rich tapestry of emotions and meanings. SAIS creates a whimsical carnival in black and white in Fete Nocturne.

In her exhibit for Ysobel Art Gallery, Yandra Po reimagines Chinese landscape paintings and makes them more contemporary.

Silverlens presents exceptional works by Patricia Perez Eustaquio, Elaine Navas, Mit Jai Inn, Nicole Coson, Ryan Villamael, Robert Langenegger, Norberto Roldan, Corinne De San Jose, Eric Zamuco, Santiago Bose and more.

Joining the country’s top galleries are foreign galleries from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Some of the foreign galleries represent Filipino artists as well. Mind Set Art Center (Taipei) features diverse works by Hanna Pettyjohn, Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwangan, Lee Paje, and Marina Cruz. Ames Yavuz (Singapore/Sydney) includes Ayka Go, Yeo Kaa, and Johanna Helmuth among their roster of artists.

A standout from Nunu Fine Art (Taipei) is Peruvian artist Ana Teresa Barboza, who recreates landscapes and natural elements in mixed media textiles, blurring the lines between tapestry and sculpture.

SHUKADO + SCENA (Tokyo) curated a feast for the eyes with vivid, dynamic paintings by Miki Kariya and Saki Matsumura, and quietly haunting works by Takahiro Hara.

The Columns Gallery (Singapore) has brought in works by esteemed Korean artists, including monochrome abstract paintings by Lee Dong Youb, Jung Jong Mee and Lee Hyun Joung’s ink on hanji paper works, and Kim Kang Yong’s bricks that challenge the viewer’s perception of reality.

Artemis Art presents Humans of the World, a collection of artworks by Dedy Sufriadi, Oky Rey Montha, Syahbandi Samat, and Taufik Ermas.

Vin Gallery (Vietnam) highlights Dylan Gill’s Cubist works, Katharina Arndt’s paintings depicting mass consumerist aesthetic, and Yohei Yama’s pattern art that points to shifting forms.

Richard Koh Fine Art (Singapore/Bangkok) presents a showcase featuring Oca Villamiel. As an homage to Sadako Sasaki and her thousand paper cranes, which inspired a worldwide call for peace, Villamiel delicately crafted thousands of small white paper birds from silk, handmade paper, and book pages, and clustered them across expansive canvases.

Fair tickets can be purchased in advance at www.artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the reception area of Art Fair Philippines from February 16 to 18.

For more information, please visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph).