Notes on the Ateneo Art Awards 2010
OF THE 12 short-listed artists in the Ateneo Art Awards, Mark Salvatus would be the most logical choice as winner. This was evident in the exhibition of the finalists? works at the Grand Atrium of Shangri-La Plaza mall.

Inspired by the Quezon Provincial Jail, Salvatus? installation ?Secret Garden? and painting ?Do or Die? were the most political. They spoke of the lives we?d rather forget.

Considering that previous winners weren?t political, Salvatus? triumph was surprising. He had, in fact, not expected to win the prize.

But, of course, everything is political. In the context of the art show being held in a high-end mall, with mostly foreign shops, the show indicated that.

Representative works from the artists? exhibits (the Awards named the Best Exhibits last year) were installed with more care than usual.

Not exactly successful

But most of the recreations were not exactly successful. After all, how does one approximate the original exhibit of Leslie de Chavez?s ?Buntong Hininga,? which was shown simultaneously at Silverlens, Slab and 20square galleries in Makati?

How can we even begin to enjoy Kawayan de Guia?s ?Katas ng Pilipinas, God Knows Hudas Not Play? when all that the Shagri-La exhibit could mount was one jukebox and two paintings against white walls?

Kiri Dalena?s ?The Present Disorder Is the Order of the Future,? which was originally mounted in a dark cave of a place at Bonifacio High Street, was reinstalled in a brightly lit, happy mall, frankly a disservice.

One work wasn?t on the short list: Michelline Syjuco?s contribution to last year?s ?Draped in Silk: The Journey of the Manton de Manila? at Yuchengco Museum.

Obviously, there?s a need to give justice to the original exhibits. Perhaps other options should be explored. Should videos of the original exhibits be presented? Should write-ups better contextualize the original exhibits?

More accessible

Some of the works were more accessible than the others, such as Patricia Eustaquio?s works from ?Dear Sweet and Filthy World? and Leeroy New?s works from ?Corpo Royale,? which attracted quite a crowd with its bright colors, skulls and Baby Jesus.

Ditto with Pow Martinez?s abstracts from his West Gallery exhibit ?1 Billion Years,? though its bright and happy colors are quickly up by the abstraction.

It?s difficult not to get into some wishful thinking: Imagine a whole mall, not just one lobby, being taken over by these works. Yes, it would be a security nightmare, but how crazy it would be to have the various exhibits set up in the mall?s several halls and walls. Ah, the possibilities!

The winners of the 2010 Ateneo Art Awards were De Chavez (?Buntong Hininga? at Silverlens), Martinez (?1 Billion Years? at West Gallery), and Mark Salvatus (?Secret Garden,? part of the group show ?Sungduan 5: Daloy ng Dunong? at the National Museum).

Salvatus bagged two residency grants: Ateneo Art Gallery-Common Room Networks Foundation Residency Grant and Ateneo Art Gallery-La Trobe University Visual Arts Center Residency Grant. The grants will allow him to spend from from two weeks to one month in Bandung, Indonesia, and Bendigo, Australia, respectively.

The recipients of the Ateneo Art Gallery-Artesan Gallery Residency Grant (Singapore) and the New York Art Project (Art Omi, New York) will be announced later.