From showroom to cultural showcase

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MODA INTERNI, a luxury furniture showroom in Quezon City, is trying out something new. With millions of pesos of furniture on display, an event on Nov. 28 gave clients and media alike a taste of life with the furniture, through art, clothing, and chocolate.

“We’re trying to showcase Filipino artistry and creativity,” said Moda Interni President and Chief Executive Officer Goldwin Sison. “We are not selling furniture: we’re curating art for the house.”

Moda Interni did this by tapping the talents of three artists: visual artist Rachel Ngan Dueñas, fashion designer Yumi Christina, and chocolatíer Christian Valdes, and pairing them with their showpieces.

Ms. Ngan Dueñas, who was part of an exhibit at the Carousel de Louvre in Paris earlier this year, showed off her paintings, including one shown in that exhibit (Come Into Life). Her work was paired with Italian luxury brand Turri, with an art deco-vibe taken from its founding in the 1920s.

Yumi Christina (her work name drops her last name, Sakamoto), makes clothes out of discarded antique kimonos. Her work was paired with the opulent pieces from Opera Contemporary, founded in 1886, their work still seen in some palaces.

Finally, chocolatier Mr. Valdes, who advocates for the use of Philippine ingredients (and makes chocolate for high-profile clients internationally), was paired with Moda Interni’s luxuriously curved Pedini kitchens. “As a person who works in the food industry, kitchen design is very important,” he said in a statement. “It enhances accessibility, functionality, and even morale, creating the perfect space for culinary creativity to thrive.”

“Pedini is the perfect kitchen for someone of his caliber,” said Mr. Sison.

Aside from his personal patronage of their work, Mr. Sison brought these artists together because, “There are up and coming artists who are as creative and as artistic” as mainstream artists, he said: the art already displayed in Moda Interni includes names such as Ramon Orlina, Ronald Ventura, and Michael Cacnio. “Since we are curating art in the form of functional art — as furniture — we want to highlight the culture that goes (with it).

“We just want to show them or let them experience a total lifestyle package,” he said about his clients.

“Art is not limited to the visual arts only. Taste. Music. Living,” he said.

The work of Ms. Sakamoto, Mr. Valdes, and Ms. Ngan Dueñas will be displayed in Moda Interni’s Sct. Rallos showroom on the fifth floor of the Bonavida Center, Quezon City until the end of January 2025. The company has plans to open another showroom in Makati. According to Mr. Sison, 50% of the proceeds from sales of Ms. Sakamoto and Ms. Ngan Dueñas’ work will be pledged to the Philippine Cancer Society. — Joseph L. Garcia