In Manila’s bustling art scene, here’s a selection of some must-see exhibitions to explore this November
From milestone exhibits of pioneering modernist women to delicate hand-painted ceramics, and a collaborative dialogue between visual art and music, all interspersed between many group exhibitions, there is so much art to see in Manila this month.
While it’s impossible to catalog every artistic project flourishing across the city, here are a few exhibitions worth taking the time to study and see this November, inviting all to explore, reflect, and engage with curation in various spaces.
Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Nena Saguil, “Material Inspirations” at The M
In a groundbreaking exhibition that celebrates the pioneering spirit of Philippine modernism, “Material Inspirations” unites the works of two remarkable women artists for the first time.
Born in the same year and graduating together as classmates from UP Fine Arts in 1933, Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Nena Saguil carved distinct paths in the male-dominated art world of their time. While Magsaysay-Ho mastered egg tempera to become the sole female member of the influential Thirteen Moderns, Saguil refined her pen-and-ink techniques in Paris.
Curated by Patrick Flores, this intimate showcase explores how these contemporaries thrived despite their different trajectories.
“They were rounded in the fields and atmospheres of memory and fantasy wherever their fascinations took them, whether quaint or abstract,” Flores says. “In a marketplace of teeming smoked fish in Manila or in an ascetic attic in the heady cosmopolis of Paris.”
“Material Inspirations” runs from Nov. 9 to Dec. 8, 2024 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, 3/F South Gallery, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Hannah Reyes Morales at Tarzeer Pictures
In her first solo exhibition “Home Holds Still,” Pulitzer Prize finalist Hannah Reyes Morales presents a decade of intimate visual storytelling that captures moments of profound stillness amid turbulent circumstances.
From documenting victims of the drug war to recording lullabies across the globe, Morales’ lens finds quiet resilience in seemingly impossible spaces. Her work, rather than merely capturing moments, offers them as meditative pauses.
In collaboration with Emerging Islands, co-founders Nicola Sebastian and David Loughran write about Morales’s work, “The world looms, claws outstretched, hungry as ever. But for now, there is a mother and her child, a man and a leviathan, a survivor and her lover, a flock of fisherfolk and the full moon. In the stillness that pervades Hannah Reyes Morales’ photographs, the moment is not captured; it is offered up in surrender.”
“Home Holds Still” runs from Nov. 16, 2024 to Jan. 30, 2025 at Tarzeer Pictures 2288 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City. Opening reception is on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 4 to 9 p.m.
Ian Anderson at León Gallery International
Entering the gallery, one sees the painted words on one wall “Neo Comatose Funk” adjacent to cheeky blue bird-like figures. In “Daily Drudgeries, Sublime Moments”, a project of León Gallery and DF Art Agency, Ian Anderson continues to showcase his skillful technique in drawing meticulous small figures in pencil, pen, and ink.
The artist continues his exploration of small polyptych works that explore negative space. He shows his figures still walking through mazes. Some frames show smaller drawn boxes featuring words that spell out cryptic phrases like “Note of Tender Adieu” and “Read the Room.” While the artist continues to present thousands of unique, meticulously made characters.
Anderson also debuts larger-scale works focusing on singular figures amid negative space. Ultimately, Anderson continues to draw on the micro scale to make hugely impactful artwork.
“Daily Drudgeries, Sublime Moments” runs from Nov. 5 to 16, 2024 at León Gallery International, Corinthian Plaza, G/F, 120, 121 Paseo de Roxas, Legazpi Village, Makati City
Joanna Lhuillier at León Gallery Maison
Through glass beads and crystals, Joanna Lhuillier’s debut solo exhibition “Living Color” presents a vibrant exploration of nature, family, and everyday beauty. Having grown up in a household of designers and refined her aesthetic with her eponymous brand, she continues to channel her creative energy as an artist with intricate beadwork.
“I leave a part of my heart on every piece that I create,” Lhuillier shares. The exhibition showcases her palette of sand-made glass beads, constructed into joyous compositions representing textures and meaningful connections.
“Living Color” opens Nov. 21, 2024 at León Gallery International, Corinthian Plaza, G/F, 120, 121 Paseo de Roxas, Legazpi Village, Makati City
Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan at the Ateneo Art Gallery
After living abroad for 18 years, Filipino artist-couple Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan exhibit “Project Belonging: From There to Here. The Familiar in the Foreign”—the second half of the two-part exhibition curated by Spain-based Filipino curator Kristine Guzmán.
Exploring self-representation in connection to society and symbolic interaction, the exhibition features the installation “Nothing to Declare” (2024), wrapped objects atop blue plastic pallets. This is alongside “Horizon Line” (2017-2024), a series of maritime landscape postcards that speak to themes of migration, memory, and belonging.
Working in dialogue with guest artist Enrique Marty, the Aquilizans explore the dichotomy between the familiar and the uncanny through personal objects collected over years of migration, transforming individual narratives into a collective story that bridges their departure and return, much like the symbolic balikbayan boxes that once marked their leaving.
“Project Belonging: From There to Here. The Familiar in the Foreign” runs Nov. 9, 2024 to Apr. 16, 2025 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Pickup Coffee’s Christmas showcase
While the coffee brand’s two-day exhibit has culminated at Secret Fresh Gallery, apart from the auction, fans of contemporary pop art can still access the work through the Christmas planner, which can be acquired by accumulating stamps.
Winnie Wong
The Christmas showcase prompted artists to create uplifting art pieces in line with the coffee brand—from Risa Rodil’s digital drawings of figures surrounded by friends and nature to Winnie Wong’s cat holding a cup of joe. Other exhibiting artists included Winnieyippie, Dondi Fernandez, Hey Mady!, Sean Go, Jethro Olba, Raco Ruiz, and Jesse Camacho.
The Pickup Christmas Showcase ran on Nov. 7 and 8, 2024 at Secret Fresh Gallery, Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Ave, San Juan City.
READ: Artist and content creator Raco Ruiz does more than clown around
Barbie Almalbis and Martin Honasan at White Walls Gallery
Echoing the essence of the exhibit name, “Parallel Psalms” presents the artistic dialogue between husband-and-wife visual artist Martin Honasan and musician Barbie Almalbis.
Honasan’s continued fascination with the human visage meets Almalbis’ evolved sonic landscapes and candid lyrics. Taking a unique angle, the exhibit features nine of Honasan’s new works, characterized by bold colors and striking figurative elements using acrylic, aerosol paint, and shaped fabric. These were created independently of Almalbis’ new album tracks yet are mysteriously connected through her subsequent naming of each painting after her songs.
The exhibition transcends traditional artistic collaboration to explore the profound human experience, faith, and family life. Together, their parallel creative journeys invite viewers and listeners into a multifaceted conversation about life, spirituality, and the universal themes found in the ancient poetry of the biblical Psalms.
“Parallel Psalms” opened Nov. 6, 2024 at White Walls Gallery, Warehouse 12A, La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City
READ: Barbie Almalbis and Martin Honasan transcend the artist-muse relationship
The Empty Scholar at the Mark Bumgarner Atelier
The Empty Scholar curates their latest exhibition, “When Things Are Quiet.” The group exhibition invites viewers into a contemplative exploration of stillness in our chaotic world, bringing together the distinctive voices of 10 contemporary artists including Nicole Tee, Raffy Ugaddan, Summer De Guia, Miguel Borja, Carla Gamalinda, Faye Pamintuan, Matina Partosa, Lilianna Manahan, Erika Abe, and master sculptor Ren Zhe.
Through their diverse artistic expressions, the exhibition creates a sacred space for introspection, challenging visitors to embrace the power of silence and discover the profound revelations that emerge when external noise subsides.
As these artists interpret the essence of quietude through their unique perspectives, they collectively weave a narrative that celebrates the transformative potential of stillness, encouraging viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their inner selves in meaningful ways.
“When Things Are Quiet” runs from Nov. 9 to Nov. 23, 2024 at Mark Bumgarner Atelier, 3rd and 5th floor 8445 Zentro Building Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City
Aleth Ocampo at Aphro
Chef, painter, and ceramicist Aleth Ocampo, while graduating with a degree in fine arts, majoring in painting from the University of the Philippines, and having been mentored under Roberto Chabet, found herself drawn to pottery and its “slow and deliberate nature… Pottery also instilled in me a sense of humility, as it requires acceptance when outcomes do not align with initial intentions,” the artist says.
In her exhibition “Nostalgia: Aleth Ocampo’s Painted Vessels,” she creates functional pieces with delicate hand-painted imagery, from flowers and their delicate petals, to swirling clouds, vegetables, and koi fish. The sets range from cups, plates, and saucers to dipping dishes.
“Nostalgia: Aleth Ocampo’s Painted Vessels” runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 21, 2024 at Aphro Living, The Alley at Karrivin, 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City
“On the Self” at Faculty Projects
Jason Montinola’s artist-run initiative Faculty Projects presents their latest group exhibition “On the Self,” curated by Lifestyle Inquirer’s contributor Patrick de Veyra. The curator writes that the group exhibition, “tackles the complexities of identity, bringing together artists whose works—stylistically diverse and rooted in distinct visual languages and processes—reveal a shared exploration of personal memory, the subconscious, and one’s immediate environment.”
Exhibiting artists include Raffy Napay, Ayka Go, Clarence Chun, Gio Panlilio, Stephanie Frondoso, Jason Montinola, Isabel Reyes Santos, Wipo, Sid Natividad, Neil Pasilan, Sarah de Veyra-Buyco, Julieanne Ng, Geremy Samala, Jing.
“On the Self” runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 15, 2024 at Faculty Projects, Santa Rosa House, 54 Santa Rosa St., Kapitolyo, Pasig City
ICA art fair
You’ve heard of the Xavier Arts Fest. But what about the school’s female counterpart ICA? Well, the galleries and artists are coming together in a new space in BGC later this November, with gallery exhibitors such as Artinformal, Finale Art File, Blanc Gallery, West Gallery, Silverlens Gallery, Art Verite, Art Underground, Ysobel Gallery, Village Art Gallery, and The Annext.
Expect to see artists such as Marina Cruz, Lao Lianben, Luis Antonio Santos, Soler Santos, Luis Lorenzana, Daniel Dela Cruz, Katrina Cuenca, Ayni Nuyda, Raffy Napay, Winna Go, and Prim Paypon.
The ICA Art Fair runs from Nov. 21 to 23, 2024 with the vernissage on Nov. 21, 2024, and free public days from Nov. 22 to 24 at 28th st. cor. 11th avenue, W High Street, BGC
READ: Filipino artist Sid Natividad captivates viewers at Art Taipei 2024