Contemporary Philippine artists in Art Jakarta

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TWO Philippine galleries participated in the recently held Art Jakarta art fair — The Drawing Room and Vinyl on Vinyl — attracting bigger crowds this year than last.

Speaking about the various Asian galleries that attended, Art Jakarta’s fair director Tom Tandio told the press that “stable regional art markets are rife with opportunities for international collaborations. By bringing together all the key players of this larger art market, we’re able to offer artists and creative minds a platform to hone their creations. It is a show of force of our countries’ importance in the global art world,” he said.

When BusinessWorld visited the two Philippine galleries during the fair’s run early in October, they were swarmed by passersby attracted by the art. Both reported that the foot traffic seemed heavier than last year (an impression later corroborated by Art Jakarta’s official count: 38,368 visitors in 2024, compared to 35,578 visitors in 2023).

THE DRAWING ROOM
At The Drawing Room’s booths hung paintings showing three women’s unique reflections on the world around them.

Nicole Decapia, the gallery’s strategies consultant, said that the goal was to bring in “striking works that might resonate in Jakarta” and that featuring all female artists wasn’t intentional.

One of the artists was Kitty Kaburo, whose colorful paintings are a great example of the kind of striking works the gallery was going for. Her paintings simulate transformations over time by depicting human activity in natural settings. The three pieces she contributed depict a playground in South Korea, its people and surroundings lit up in vibrant colors.

“As a Korean-Filipino artist, she talks about how Korea is slowly becoming a tropical climate due to changes in the environment, leading to a blurring of what is Korean and what is Filipino,” said Ms. Decapia.

Meanwhile, Victoria Montinola’s landscapes show off a classical painterly technique in the portrayal of trees. Her three works achieve both a mundane yet fantastical look due to the subtle use of color and texture.

Placed in a fair which highlights both similarities and resonances among different art practices across Asia, both artists’ works are a mark of “everything blending together in a clear display of talent.”

“The Philippines, Indonesia, and other Asian countries have similar histories, experiences, and stories, from the diaspora to the post-colonial. These connections make this fair very strong,” Ms. Decapia said.

A major draw to The Drawing Room’s booth were two paintings by Chelsea Theodossis. In them, levitating Tetris block-like objects stand out in gravity-defying compositions, creating a surreal still life.

Ms. Theodossis told BusinessWorld that it was common for people to approach her works to try and figure out if it was a mixed-media or installation work, only to find that it was a realistic painting.

“The energy here is high-level,” she said of the art fair. “It’s my first time to come along with my works because I usually just send them over. The first thing I have to say is that I’m Filipino, because we Filipinos look Indonesian!” she said.

She then talked about her art, particularly the importance of giving life to the seemingly ordinary objects that she paints. “I feel that it’s good to live as an artist now because there’s a lot of understanding for different points of view. It’s very joyful,” said Ms. Theodossis.

VINYL ON VINYL
The diverse eye-catching works of five artists who have done well internationally filled the booth of Vinyl on Vinyl.

On its outer wall facing one of the central hallways hung Iyan De Jesus’ dreamlike painting of female faces amid lotus pods and swans, composed of graceful lines and circles.

Inside, pieces by Teo Esguerra displayed a peculiar combination of aerosol paint, acrylic, and cutouts on canvas, achieving a vivid memory-like collage. These were contrasted by Dennis Bato’s striking, monochrome abstraction.

Two returning artists were part of the fun, too.

TRNZ (real name: Terence Eduarte) was the gallery’s sole artist in Art Jakarta last year, and featured animated depictions of warm, childlike scenes — not unlike his two paintings shown in this year’s edition.

Back in 2022, the first year that Vinyl on Vinyl participated in the fair, they featured a Reen Barrera solo show. This time, his return is marked by a large, colorful painting of a patchwork-faced character, with wood-and-resin figurines adding spunk to the booth.

Pia Reyes, one of the gallery’s co-founders, told BusinessWorld that it was the first time they did a group show at Art Jakarta.

“There’s no formula as to what artist will connect [with the fair’s visitors], because all of them have the potential to do so. Dennis Bato’s work is abstract-conceptual while Reen Barrera’s is more figurative, and they’re both a hit here,” she said.

“You never really know, so it’s nice to provide diversity.”

For Vinyl on Vinyl co-director Gaby dela Merced, the bond between Indonesian and Filipino artists and collectors helps a great deal.

“From the start of our gallery, we’d already been exhibiting Indonesian artists, so we enjoy bringing our Filipino artists here for a change,” she said. “If you go to fairs like Hong Kong, Singapore, or Korea, it’s more international because there’s a lot [of art] from the West. Our advantage here is the homegrown feeling, the unique flavor that comes from us relating with each other.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana