MANILA, Philippines - Young artist Ronson Culibrina mounts his first solo exhibition titled “Before Sundown” which opens on Sept. 20 at 1335 Mabini. The show is on view until Oct. 17.
“Before Sundown” features a series of large-scale paintings that appropriate pastoral scenes from the works of National Artist Fernando C. Amorsolo, juxtaposed with iconic images or elements from the work of foreign contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Yue Minjun, and Ai Weiwei.
The exhibition is Culibrina’s homage to Amorsolo, whose works and practice from the 1920s to the 1930s greatly influenced the tradition of making rural and genre scenes of movements such as the Manila-based Mabini artists by the 1950s. Housed in ornate and ornamental frames and labeled with engraved plaques, the paintings use pastiche and distortion as visual elements to underscore the meeting of past and present.
Ronson Culibrina graduated from the Technological University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts and has been exhibiting his works since 2008. In 2009, Culibrina won the grand prize at the 23rd PLDT-DPC Student National Art Competition and followed through with a series of other awards in various national painting competitions from 2010 to 2012.
The show is curated by Ruel Caasi.
1335 Mabini is at 1335 A. Mabini Street, Ermita, Manila. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday 2 to 6 p.m., Sunday by appointment. For information, call 254-8498 and 0917-2578047, or visit www.1335mabini.com.