The exhibition presents the nature-inspired abstract works of globally acclaimed female artists from the Philippines and abroad

“Nature is obviously the ultimate source of visual experience,” remarked curator John I. H. Baur in the exhibition catalog “Nature in Abstraction” displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1958.

Deriving from this identical notion is the Metropolitan Museum of Manila exhibition “Wild: Exploring Nature Through Contemporary Abstract Art” that is on public display from Mar. 21 to June 22, 2024.

Led by New York-based curator Kathy Huang, “Wild” emerges as a celebration of female abstract artists who draw inspiration from the natural world. The genesis of this exhibition stemmed from a collaboration between Huang and businessman and collector Timothy Tan.

Their work together has culminated in a selection that spans diverse thematic territories, with an eclectic range of established artists from various corners of the globe.

Metropolitan Museum of Manila Wild — Curator Kathy Huang

The pieces converge to redefine the boundaries of abstract expressionism.

Huang says, “I think there’s a lot of interlapping that’s happening now between abstraction and figuration. You can’t really put artists in a box now. You’ll see a lot of the works here are not purely abstract either. There are elements of figures and some are less abstract than others—but there’s always some element of figurative abstraction.”

From the emotive landscapes of Singapore-based artist Jane Lee to the intricate cyanotype works of Corinne De San Jose embedded with grains of sand from distant shores, “Wild” invites audiences to contemplate this interplay between nature and abstraction.

Among the featured artists is Katharina Grosse, who presents both a strikingly large-scale and smaller wall-mounted work. On the other hand, renowned British painter Cecily Brown, drawing from her childhood memories of English landscapes, infuses her canvases with blurred compositions of past gardens.

There are also works by Sara Jimenez, a Filipino-American artist, who weaves abstracted landscapes from colonial photographs and invokes a poignant reflection on history and identity as well as Nicole Coson, who presents her printmaking works created through repetition.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila has been steadily building an impressive roster of exhibitions in its new space. Within the modern building, the museum has held exhibitions such as “The Hat of the Matter” that explored our local hat-wearing culture through a variety of mediums. At present, there is an exhibition filled with works by Annie Cabigting that continues until April.

READ MORE: Hats Off to Bambina Olivares

This coming Mar. 23, Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. Huang and San Jose will lead the curatorial walkthrough of this latest edition of “M Conversations” at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. There will also be a Facebook livestream on Inquirer.net.

RSVP at bit.ly/WildMConversations to secure your spot.