The Garden Exhibit at Sweet Ecstasy, Cubao X

Last June 22, art, music and tons of inspiration converged at Sweet Ecstasy in Cubao X for Coy Placido's The Garden exhibit. Despite the rainfall and traffic that Saturday night, people crowded the venue to view the artist's work. The exhibit showcases more than 30 artworks that include digital paintings, vector art and photo manipulations, created with the central theme of duality or in Coy's own words, "the inescapable condition of our nature within humanity and beyond the bounds of society to think in contrast or in twofold." 

Two floors of Sweet Ecstasy displayed Coy's work, and exhibit goers were also engaged in an origami challenge  to be included in the sea of paper cranes that served to support one of his more minimalist digital illustrations called "Sweets In Every Fold". I struggled to follow the instructions lined beside the staircase, but eventually managed to give my share of paper folding sweetness.

Aside from awesome art, the crowd was also treated with fantastic music from Abby Asistio, Session Road, KAZE, Pedicab, Top Junk, Peryodiko and Coffeebreak Island. It was an exhibit turned street party as the audience inched closer to the stage, ignoring the rain drops whilst singing, dancing and taking photos of the performers. 

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The Garden: A Digital Art Exhibit by Coy Placido

Poster by Coy Placido

Music and art really go hand in hand in most cases and with Coy, it's no different. He's the guitarist extraordinaire of the bands Session Road and Top Junk and is the founder and creator of the graphic design company, Folding8. He's also a photographer-slash-lomographer, writer and traveler and The Garden is just a peek into the clockwork of his creative mind. 

Looking forward to seeing his digital art works, illustrations and photomanipulations this coming month at Sweet Ecstasy, Cubao Expo! My band KAZE will be playing music at the exhibit! 

Do check out more of his works at Folding8 and coy-placido.tumblr.com

UPDATED [5/7/2013]: The exhibit will be postponed to a later date which will be announced on Coy's website. :)

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Botong Francisco at The Ayala Museum

Last week before going to the DFA in Megamall for my passport renewal, Jim and I went to Ayala Museum to check out Carlos "Botong" Francisco's "A Nation Imagined" Exhibit. The last time I went to Ayala Museum, their Third Floor Gallery was closed, so I contented myself with the Diorama Experience and the Crossroads of Civilizations gallery on the second and fourth floors respectively. It was Jim's first time to go to Ayala Museum so he enthusiastically visited all the galleries starting at the top floor.

Botong's Pista sa Nayon, image from  thegridcrosser

The stunning Crossroad to Civilizations Collection showcased archaeological artifacts from pre-colonial times. It's a 3 part exhibition of textiles, ceramics and gold pieces that made us want to go back in time and see how our ancestors wore and used these items before the Spanish arrived. I especially enjoyed looking at the treasures from the Gold of Ancestors Exhibition which displayed more than 1000 pieces of excavated gold from several parts of the country such as Surigao and Butuan from the 10th to 13th Centuries. It gives the audience a clue of how Filipinos expressed social prestige, spirituality and aesthetic preferences and it makes one wonder (and generally accept) how humans have this innate desire to create and express no matter what the culture or era we live in.

The highlight of our visit was the showcase of National Artist Botong Francisco's artworks.  The exhibit was a collection of 40 artworks including large scale paintings and sketches and studies that were never before displayed in public. His works usually depicted Filipino folk traditions like Pista sa Nayon, Harana and Bayanihan sa Bukid  and important historical events such as the famous Martyrdom of Rizal, First Mass at Limasawa and Blood Compact. You're probably familiar with his more famous murals in Intramuros, National Museum and UST but it was surreal to be seeing his sketches and studies up-close. It somehow shows you a glimpse of the artist's creative process and allow you to connect the dots on how the he was able to conceptualize the image from his head down to a small scale study, then to a larger scale painting. While the massive oil paintings were spectacular, I was more enamored by his smaller watercolor artworks. The precise lines and the technique of his washes is nothing I have ever seen! Mukhang vector art sa sobrang linis! I was really itching to take photos, but as an obedient spectator, I kept myself from using my Lumix inside the premises and respect the rules of the museum. Here's a photo from outside instead.

Nakaka OC lang yung second "O", tagilid!

The Botong Francisco's A Nation Imagined Exhibit runs until March 31 at the Ayala Museum, located at Makati Avenue corner Dela Rosa St, Makati City.
Entrance fee: 225 Php

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