Mark Copino: Untitled Lovers

DISTRICT GALLERY

ALLEGORIES AND REALITIES Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi: In Retrospect

22 February to 24 May 2020

Literature and art history strongly influence the works of Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi. Earning two degrees in Fine Arts and English from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, her approach to image making emanates from her deep understanding of the literary and visual arts. Close friend and fellow artist Nonon Padilla once noted that “the world of the divine is very much present in” Gelvezon-Tequi’s works. She has been highly acclaimed for her use of allegory to express and articulate statements on social ills and current struggles. Culled from medieval manuscript illustrations and biblical texts, her series of prints in the mid-1980s were filled with images of the sacred juxtaposed alongside the ordinary and everyday. Yet her works are also heavily grounded on the real and personal — family life and losses, greed and corruption, the turbulent political climate, or simply a row of trees, a lush garden or a still life. Referring to Gelvezon-Tequi’s prints and paintings, Leonidas Benesa notes a strong sense of “nostalgia for the past… but the idiom is pop, even folk” in her works. Aside from appropriating medieval texts, she also explored silk painting (an old Asian practice) with aniline pigments and adopted the format of the anting-anting for a series of prints. Religious personages are rendered with as ordinary folks — familiar and with warmth. Her more recent painted works assume similar qualities — composed in a hierarchical scheme, figures float in minimalist almost blank backgrounds as in medieval illuminations and frescos. Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi maintains a consistent presence in the local art scene. She exerts that although based in France, “I don’t address myself to the French, but to Filipinos.” Hers is a voice empathic of the conditions of the marginalized and critical of the foibles of the dominant.

Not Visual Noise

Not Visual Noise is a seminal photography exhibition that features more than 30 artists living in the Philippines and in the Filipino diaspora. It aims to showcase a diverse range of artists engaged in photography-based art practices whose works broadly represent what is happening in the fields of photography today — from photojournalism, long-form documentary photography to conceptual and installation photography, and web/social media-based projects. The exhibition examines the tension between high/low culture and high/low art photography in a media-saturated world in the hopes of drawing in wider and newer audiences. Not Visual Noise is curated by artist, writer, cultural organizer and educator, Angel Velasco Shaw.

Inscapes: A Retrospective by Agnes Arellano

Agnes Arellano looks back into her 36 years of practice in Inscapes. Combining several sculptures created from 1983 to 1996, Arellano retraces her life's journey through works that dwell on the themes of Sacred Feminine, Eros, yin and yang, mythology, and psychology among other inspirations.

Sad Emitting Pancake

ART UNDERGROUND | LEON GALLERY Opening Reception on Feb 18, exhibition runs until February 28.

Material Culture by Daniel Dela Cruz

Feb 8 - 29

Art Cube Gallery
February 8 - 29, 2020