Major winning works in the Visual Arts categories of the 29th Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) National Competition have spirituality and humanity as subjects.

 

For Painting, which has the subcategories Oil on Canvas and Watermedia on Paper, the Grand Prize winners are Alvin Florentino’s “Nilay-Nilay,” Herbert J. Pajarito’s “Intercession,” and Darby Alcoseba’s “Perseverance.”

 

Oil-on-canvas “Nilay-Nilay” (48” x 36”) portrays a man and a woman in one body immersed in a bathtub in what seems the artist’s take on the relationship between the sacred and the profane, sin and repentance.

 

Florentino, 23, said he sought to portray the need for cleansing to stop the cycle of human immorality.

 

An Interior Design student of the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (Earist), Florentino said he was influenced by the works of contemporary artists Andres Barrioquinto, Jerry Morada and Ronald Ventura.

 

Oil-on-canvas “Intercession” (48” x 36”) is an abstract rendition of “explorations of the soul.”

 

Pajarito, 31, said he was influenced by the works of Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. A Fine Arts graduate of Adventist University of the Philippines, he said he wanted to become an “art evangelist.”

 

Watercolor-on-paper “Perseverance” (22” x 30”) is a depiction of the dignity of labor and the need for sacrifice.

 

Alcoseba, 30, comes from a family of artists in Cebu. He has a BS Computer Engineering degree from Cebu Institute of Technology.

 

The Grand Prize for Sculpture is “Bulalas!” by Merlito Gepte. Made of resin and fiberglass, the work depicts a face cut in half right in the middle, showing the lighted image of a tree that stands for the soul and nature.

 

Like his father, Gepte, 59, is a full-time artist from Pampanga. He is a graduate of  Guagua National Colleges and considers Michelangelo and Bernini as his models.

 

The jury was chaired by Jaime C. Laya, trustee of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Members of the jury were Julie Lluch, Ronald Ventura, Eghai Roxas, Joe Datuin, Elmer Borlongan and Cid Reyes.

 

Awarding ceremonies will be at Le Pavillon, Pasay City, on Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m.

 

The awarding ceremonies will feature a special selling exhibition by past MADE visual-arts (painting, watercolor, sculpture) winners to raise funds for the Metrobank art-therapy program.

 

A free art lecture and a workshop on the arts and wellness for teachers will be held Sept. 20-21, respectively.