ROCKWELL’S annual visual arts festival in Power Plant Mall, held in cooperation with Galerie Joaquin, will have its 2016 edition, “Unparalleled Inspirations: An Interactive Approach to Works of the Vanguards of Philippine Art,” on July 1-24.
Exhibits will be installed at the North Court and Concourse of Power Plant Mall in Rockwell.
Festival will formally open July 3, 4 p.m., with a special exhibition of abstract works at the North Court called “Vanguards of Abstraction.” Paintings by National Artists Federico Aguilar Alcuaz and Abdul Mari Imao as well as Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Juvenal Sanso will be exhibited, along with those by Raul Isidro, Edwin Wilwayco, Caress Banson, Ross Capili, and Ombok Villamor. Also on display will be sculptures by Joe Datuin and the late Eduardo Castrillo.
Contemporary metal sculptor Ram Mallari will feature his found-objects sculptures of airships, machinery, historical figures like knights and samurai, and pop culture icons such as Stormtroopers from Star Wars. Exhibit is called “The Foundry.”
Highlight of July 3 opening is a special contest called “Paint Like Sanso.” The coloring book, “In Bloom: A Coloring Book of Juvenal Sansó’s Floral Sketches,” will be available for sale. Mall-goers can participate in the coloring contest, 4-6 p.m.
Jurors will be Fundacion Sanso Director Dida Salita, curator Ricky Francisco, and Art+ Magazine editor Duffie Hufana Osental. Ten winners will be announced July 10, 4 p.m. Winners will receive special Sanso prints and have their works on display during the festival.
Second week will start July 11. At the North Court will open a major exhibit, “Dual Inspirations,” by renowned sculptor Michael Cacnio, featuring works that incorporate works by such artists as Sanso, Aguilar Alcuaz, and renowned character painter Dominic Rubio.
Rubio will also exhibit a replica of his recently-unveiled mural at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC.
At the Concourse level will be “Aqua,” an exhibition of works inspired by water by Sanso, Rudolf Gonzalez, Erwin Mallari, Toti Cerda, Karina Baluyut, and Jun Impas.
Final week will open on July 18 with “Luminous Inspirations,” the two-man collaborative exhibition of renowned abstractionists—painter Justin Nuyda and sculptor Ramon Orlina.
Nuyda will exhibit his famous “Mindscapes” series while Orlina, his renowned glass sculptures. The two are close friends, having been contemporaries at the University of Santo Tomas, the cradle of modern art in the Philippines.
“Unparalleled Inspirations: An Interactive Approach to Works of the Vanguards of Philippine Art” will allow the public to experience “the best of Philippine art, learn about artists and their practices, and participate in some fun activities,” said Gallerie Joaquin. “It should be a priority on any art calendar.”
Call Galerie Joaquin at 7239418; e-mail info@galeriejoaquin.com.