Paradise

Gil Maningo’s Major Solo Art Exhibition

December 24, 2021 – January 4, 2022

Closing Ceremony
January 4 | 4 PM

SM Art Center
4th Floor, Sm Megamall Building A, Julia Vargas Avenue, Corner EDSA, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, 1554 Metro Manila, Philippines

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
– Genesis 1:1 (KJV)

Inside his workshop in Cebu, Gil Maningo stands at the center of the chaos and sets to the task of putting form and structure in his universe. What follows is a visual journey of mythmaking spread across a multitude of canvas that bears witness to this artistic creation. Art Circle Gallery culminates 2021 with a grand finale and a promise of new beginnings in this grand solo exhibition featuring Gil Maningo.

In the Beginning

Born and raised in Cebu, the nation’s cradle of Christianity, Maningo has his religious beginnings firmly rooted into his humanity. And as a young creative sapling, he sought to branch out to more diverse forms of art, bearing artistic fruit over the course of his career.

Despite the far-reaching and prolific portfolio and experience, he has amassed, Maningo remains grounded in his art, one that he considers to be God-given. “Beginnings have a way of finding you, wherever you are in life,” he reflects at the serendipitous turn of events that inspired him to interpret the iconic story.

Maningo’s Eden

Genesis and the story of Creation serve a literary leitmotif as well as Maningo’s artistic endeavor. He describes the process as the greatest power any artist can have: “To create something out of nothing and to turn it into visual verse on a canvas is a lofty and worthy pursuit.”

What comes out of Maningo’s deft brushwork is a masterclass in visual storytelling. From the origins of life to Adam and Eve’s plight out of Eden, ‘Paradise’ is a story of humanity’s triumph over the odds. “Even if we are cast out of the light, we can find it again. Paradise is something we make for ourselves through our love for each other and community.”

During this year of challenges, Maningo chooses hope and sees new beginnings in the distant dawn.