Art and progress

Held at the Power Plant mall, the annual Ateneo Art Awards was presented by YStyle and the Ateneo Art Gallery, the country’s premier museum of modern Philippine art. The awards night recognized how the global Filipino youth has defined the level of creative imagination of visual art in our country. The idealism and brilliance of young Filipino artists were inspiring and proved that innovation and optimism is still alive in the local scene.

Tessa Dragon

How do you express your creative energies?

Working for a new artistic brand forces me to open up to a lot of colors and textures! I think I’m more of jack of all traits, talent of none. I try to channel it out through my work and self-expression through style.

Mark Nicdao

What catches your attention whenever you view a nude painting?

The face, because I’m always looking for a certain expression.

Karla Alindahao

What kind of art best describes your personality?

Surrealism and the whole Salvador Dali art era. I love the bizarre.

Leah Caringal

Do you prefer to collect art for investment or for your own collection?

I have a few pieces that were chosen only on the basis of personal preference. I am mostly attracted to colors and composition.

Troy Bernardo

If you were to give PGMA a painting, what would it be?

I’d send her Carlo Saavedra’s "Manual Descent", a dark, abstract painting of a person crumbling under the oppression of his circumstances – a warning to PGMA.

Carla Sibal

What kind of artwork do you have in your bedroom?

I have pieces from Annie Kabigting and Sanso. My room is French provincial in style – the paintings are juxtaposed against the classic, European mood that is prevalent in my surroundings.

Virgil Prieto

Whose nude painting would you hang in your bedroom?

That of my girlfriend Kara! I dabble in a little bit of sketching, so I could do it myself. I think that would make it doubly significant.

Kara Tolentino

Would you rather have an abstract or nude portrait of yourself?

Nude, so that I can show my grandchildren how fabulous I was!

Llie Crespo

How does visual art stimulate your imagination?

I put myself inside the artwork and it takes me to another world.

Isa Lorenzo

Which form of visual art should be exhibited along the stretch of EDSA?

Replace billboards on EDSA with fantastic architecture. That’s the kind of visual stimulation we need so desperately in Manila. And don’t forget to throw in fine art photography.

Astrud Crisologo

If you were to pose nude, who would you choose to render it?

Mark Ryden, an American pop surrealist known for his dark, menacing images, such as a young Lolita in a meat shop. Locally, Kiko Escora – his work screams pop culture. I also love his provocative imagery of skulls, stilettos and sacred hearts!