Jose “Chico” Quizon, a Filipino currently residing in New York City, came home for his first solo exhibit in the Philippines. Entitled “Hypervisual” the exhibit is still ongoing at Gallery Nine of SM Megamall until November 25.
At the opening reception, friends and relatives, as well as art collectors and enthusiasts happily welcomed Quizon and hoped that he will frequent the Philippines more often to do art shows. Among those who attended the opening reception were sculptor and art curator Danny Rayos del Sol, art enthusiast Simkin de Pio, painter Al Perez, Gallery Nine’s Amy Loste, art collector Alvin Co, and celebrity motivational speaker Chinkee Tan.
Quizon said, “I had a wonderful experience working with Gallery Nine. I was quite excited to see everybody’s inquisitiveness and hear everyone’s kind words in reaction to the pieces. I was so grateful that the efforts of my family and friends, who had worked so tirelessly to make the show happen, came to fruition.”
“Hypervisual” features mixed media on Mylar (stretched polyester film); Quizon’s pieces depict familiar visual elements that the artist has re-contextualized to engage and challenge his audience.
Quizon, now 40 years old, was born and raised in Quezon City. At the age of 10, he and his family immigrated to Alabama in 1989. During his high school years, his art teachers introduced him to Picasso, Matisse and Dali. He was granted a Freshman Art Scholarship at the University of Alabama where he spent two years of college before moving to New York City. Quizon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art in 2004 from Hunter College – City University of New York (CUNY).
Aside from being an artist, Quizon was an independent film director whose work was featured in a New York City area film festival. While freelancing as a graphic designer, he also found time to study and work as a web coder and designer.
All these experiences have found their way to his art works. Quizon’s style has evolved with the use of digital tools to compose, process, and enlarge initial sketches to create unique handmade mixed media work.
Among Quizon’s influences include graphic novelists Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio, British painter Philip Rawson, American statistician and data visualization pioneer Edward Tufte, and American-French painter Marcel Duchamp.
Since 2000, Quizon has participated in several exhibitions and his works have been showcased recently at the Greenpoint Gallery in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2013, he returned to Manila and visited the Ayala Museum where National Artist Botong Francisco’s “A Nation Imagined” was on display. This was Quizon’s first genuine experience of Philippine art. He found Botong Francisco’s work iconic and nationalistic. From then on, Quizon became more inspired to bring his own art to his country of birth.
With the unveiling of “Hypervisual” marking his introduction to the local art scene, Quizon hopes to visit the Philippines more often to further re-connect with his roots.
While Quizon has returned to New York and is working on new pieces for the monthly salon shows of Greenpoint Gallery, he is also planning to do another solo exhibit and participate in group exhibitions in Manila. “I want to further establish myself in the art scene in the Philippines,” he said.
For updates, follow Jose “Chico” Quizon on Instagram @chico_works.
