Softest Gavel
I first noticed Mimi Salibio’s work in a friend’s house. It was a wooden sculpture of a Walt Disney character with tattoos and I found it very interesting and captivating.
Years later, Mimi Salibio would showcase her works in Art Underground as part of the recently concluded Art Fair Philippines (AFP). Her art has changed. This was not the sculpture I saw years ago… but her works were still captivating.
The young and talented artist is an alumna of Far Eastern University with a degree in Fine Arts Major in Painting and is currently taking up her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Philippines, Diliman. Salibio had her first solo show in 2015. Her latest and fourth solo exhibition entitled “Softest Gravel” is a collection of her work done in embroidery and fabric. Beautiful, pure thread and framed textiles of hand-sewn images were mounted on the walls of Art Underground.
As Cocoy Lumbao states in the exhibition notes for the show, “In Salibio’s series of works, ambiguity looms and stems from the title itself: ‘Softest Gravel.’ This provides us no recourse but to imagine an impossible yet possible thing: that out of the hardness of rocks there exists an exception — and like fabric, it lies soft, without resistance. And, like Mimi Salibio’s works, it is in our capacity to accept strangeness is what makes them astoundingly beautiful.”
They are indeed “astoundingly beautiful.”
Congratulations, Mimi!
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Art Underground is located at 814 Balagtas Street, Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City. Call (02) 87210745 or email [email protected] for inquiries.
Hotel Okura Manila opens
Hotel Okura Manila, the first Okura Nikko Hotels property in the Philippines, officially opened last week. Guests witnessed a Japanese cultural display including a koto performance, taiko drumming, and the traditional breaking of the sake barrel, Kagamibiraki, to usher in good fortune.
Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. president Toshihiro Ogita said, “We are delighted that Hotel Okura Manila officially opens today. At this hotel, we are confident that Okura’s omotenashi, together with the warmest Filipino hospitality, in conjunction with our spirit of ‘Wa’ (meaning harmony or teamwork), would evolve into the ultimate hospitality.”
Hotel Okura Manila, which soft-opened last Dec. 28, 2021, is part of Resorts World Manila. The 190-room luxury hotel even offers a Hinoki-yu Room which features Hinoki (Japanese cypress) wooden bathtubs handcrafted by Japanese artisans from the mountainous Nagiso Town, Nagano Prefecture… and all rooms have a Japanese bidet! At the SORA Rooftop, a 20-meter heated pool awaits guests overlooking the Manila skyline. Hotel Okura Manila restaurants include Yamazato, the signature Japanese fine dining offering authentic Japanese Cuisine and Yawaragi, an all-day dining venue that offers Japanese-oriented food with Western and Asian specialties, as well as high tea and cocktails. It also features a robatayaki counter.
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For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 5318 2888, email [email protected], or visit www.hotelokuramanila.com. Follow @HotelOkuraMNL on Facebook and Instagram.
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