Internationally award-winning Filipino sculptor Joe Datuin is mounting a solo show of steel sculptures and paintings, “A Touch of World Class”, at the Gallery of Greenbelt 5, Makati City.
Featuring over 40 stainless-steel sculptures, mosaics and mixed-media paintings, the exhibition “narrates over 30 years of the artist’s creative and prolific journey in North America, Europe and Asia, and his musings on an array of subject matter tackling Filipino society, ideals and nature in his quest for artistic identity and the license to claim that his art ranks among the best in the world,” says the artist’s notes.
“Dancing Rings” will be up for auction during the special preview, proceeds of which will go to Hero Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the education of children of Filipino soldiers killed-in-action or those totally incapacitated while in line of duty.
Datuin is known for his long-running stainless steel-ring sculpture series. His abstracted forms are made of gleaming stainless-steel rings welded in perfect balance to reflect light and defy space. The exhibition presents a new breed of artworks that combine abstracted paintings of vibrant hues and rich textures, achieved by interchanging blocks of color with deliberate strokes of paint and impasto, with concentric forms in stainless steel.
The artist won the gold medal in the Olympic Sport and Art Competition during the 2008 Beijing Olympics; his work bested entries from 35 other countries. He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Filipinos in 2012 and received thef Ani ng Dangal Presidential Award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2008. His monumental works can be seen along Roxas Boulevard in Luneta.
“A Touch of World Class” runs until Nov. 27.