This March 21, Space Encounters Gallery holds back-to-back solo shows featuring three of the country’s prominent young artists: Kris Abrigo, Nonie Cruzado, and Soleil Ignacio.
In Brut Salad, Abrigo plays around with postmodern abstract expressionism and suprematism, juxtaposed with his signature of colorful street and pop art. Abrigo sets these against “brutalist contemporary trends”—an attempt to marry all varied art movements in one fell swoop. Elements that pay homage to his hometown in Bicol lend a sprinkle of nostalgia in this series.
Meanwhile, Cruzado, whose works border on dark, sci-fi fantasy, explores perceptions of reality in Slumber Party. Cruzado, who has had a series of exhibits in Metro Manila and in California (where he is currently based) presents intriguing ideas that prompts the viewer to prod a little deeper and “question wakefulness.” “I feel we are in the era of shifting from our old ways to something better. It’s about recognizing that we are sleeping the whole time, and it’s time to wake up,” he further elaborates.
In Platera, Soleil Ignacio deviates from her usual medium; in lieu of paper, ceramics from Hey Kessy serve as the canvas and an extension of her domestic pursuits—“something I’ve been enjoying for the past year,” she quips. As with her paintings and illustrations of self-possessed women, this choice in fragile material conceals something more potent: “challenging the traditional notion that Filipinas should be dainty, neat, and ‘di makabasag-pinggan’ to be considered acceptable in this society.”
These exhibits are in partnership with The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
