Master of Print
Cultural Center of the Philippines artistic director and VP Chris Millado, SM Hotels and Conventions president Elizabeth Sy and Conrad Manila GM Harald Feurstein cut the ribbon at the opening of Of Art and Wine: The Masters of Print at the Gallery C of Conrad Manila.
If the walls of Gallery C of Conrad Manila could talk, it would speak messages of joys and blues, endings and rebirths, passion and surrender, longing and fulfillment, failure and success. On the wall panels of the gallery hang 25 fine prints done by the country’s distinguished visual artists.
Conrad Manila, with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Montes Wines, recently launched Of Art and Wine: The Masters of Print. The exhibit’s unrivaled collection of 25 pieces of prints showcases classic and limited works from National Artists Ben Cabrera and Arturo Luz and other established and distinguished printmakers in the country. Their artworks will be on display at Gallery C until August.
“Of Art and Wine underscores Conrad Manila’s strong support to promote Filipino arts and culture. With the CCP as our partner in this first-of-a-series exhibit, supported by our generous sponsors, we set the bar high in promoting the best of Filipino artists. Most importantly, we reiterate that at Conrad Manila, we provide guests with intuitive, heartfelt service and genuinely committed to promote art beyond its decorative function,” says Conrad Manila GM Harald Feurstein.
The prints are truly a collector’s limited edition, available for procurement in a set of 25. Aside from the National Artists’ works in the collection, the prints done by Romulo Olazo, Eugene Jarque, Neil Doloricon, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Brenda Fajardo and Renan Ortiz are also part of the limited edition set.
Other celebrated artists participating in the exhibit are Ambie Abaño, Jose Santos Ardivilla, Virgilio Aviado, Mars Bugaoan, Benjie Torrado Cabrera, Joey Cobcobo, Fil Delacruz, Janos Delacruz, Noell El Farol, Jess Flores, Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi, Lenore RS Lim, Angelo Magno, Jonathan Olazo, Manuel Rodriguez Sr., Wesley Valenzuela and Pam Yan-Santos.
Aside from the geometric abstract with playful lines of Arturo Luz and the Sabel incantation on the BenCab etching, I am drawn, too, to the works of Renan Ortiz, Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi and Jose Santos Ardivilla.
Ortiz’s Nanay Mameng is a depiction of inexplicable happiness amidst sordid squalor. On the other hand, Ardivilla’s The Unwritten Made Powerful by Chaos tells of distant divinity and hungry humanity. Both prints romanticize the lamentations of the soul yet provide hope in every stroke. Theirs is a study in morality, how good and bad are portrayed in life. The spectator’s biases will determine who will win the tug-o-war.
There is seemingly serene silence permeating in Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi’s November. The quiescence is heard in an overcast community where the elevated stone houses are separated from the distant mountain by the perceptible lake. November is a sweet surrender into the arms of the universe. It speaks of contentment that seems to emerge from challenging experiences.
The printmaking method is known as intaglio. It’s a graphic technique where the artist’s design is engraved, embossed or carved into a material. The piece effortlessly adapts to its creator’s aspirations, from linear to the almost painterly.
Serigraphy or silkscreen printing is another method used in printmaking.
Of Art and Wine: The Masters of Print exhibit will be on display at Gallery C until Aug. 6. All proceeds will benefit the CCP’s arts, education and audience development programs.
(For inquiries, please call 833-9999 or e-mail conradmanila@conradmanilahotels.com.)
(E-mail the author at bumbaki@yahoo.com. I’m also on Instagram @bumtenorio and Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)
