From masters to emerging artists, explore a diverse range of sculptures, paintings, and even books at the inaugural fair
You’ve heard about the Xavier Art Fair, but what about that of its nearby counterpart, the Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA)? The first-ever ICA Art Fair is now open, curated by Glenn Cuevo, a highly respected collector. It was organized by the 2000 Vanicx ICA batch with proceeds going to their charitable projects.
The ICA Art Fair is located at the W Building in BGC near Serendra, with its entrance right next to the Bentley dealership.
The fair features diverse works, with multiple pieces by the masters, many established contemporary artists and a handful of emerging artists.
The selection includes pieces by young Chinese female artists such as Winna Go and Maria Angelica Tan. A “collector’s vault” section highlights masterpieces from the masters like Ang Kiukok, Malang Santos, and Fernando Amorsolo. Another area is dedicated to sculptures, showcasing creations by Arturo Luz, Daniel dela Cruz, and Jinggoy Buensuceso.
For book enthusiasts, there is a stall by Marina Cruz and Rodel Tapaya’s Istorya Studios, which serves as both a bookshop and publishing arm. There are also available small framed prints by both artists. This is alongside offerings from Anvil Books, which specializes in children’s stories and educational reading material. The fair also features art installations by Casa Bella, integrating the stylish and functional furniture of the Cassina line.
Visitors can also enjoy artisanal Angkan coffee and capture their art fair memories at a nearby photo booth.
The ICA Art Fair runs until Nov. 23. On Friday, Nov. 22, a design talk by Anthony Nazareno will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., while a children’s art class by Art Caravan will also be held on the third day, Nov. 23, starting at 2 p.m. The auction runs until Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. and can be accessed at icaartfairbid.com.
The fair is made possible through contributions from renowned galleries, artists, and collectors, including Paulino and Hetty Que, Artinformal, Finale Art File, Blanc Gallery, West Gallery, Marina Cruz, Lao Lianben, Maria Angelica Tan, Luis Santos, Soler Santos, Luis Lorenzana, Silverlens Gallery, Art Verité, Art Underground, Ysobel Gallery, Village Art Gallery, The Annex, Daniel dela Cruz, Katrina Cuenca, Ayni Nuyda, Raffy Napay, Winna Go, Ken Hakuta, Glenn Cuevo, and Prim Paypon.
Here are some must-see artworks at the fair.
Popular favorites
Marina Cruz
Globally renowned artist Marina Cruz is known for her hyperrealistic depictions of fabric. In “Blue Birds Beyond The Horizon,” she shifts focus from portraying a full dress to zeroing in on the intricate details of fabric, with its yellowing cloth and delicate blue patterns.
Zean Cabangis
Artist Zean Cabangis continues to explore his practice of transposing real-life scenes of place into enigmatic, collaged landscapes. These latest small works feature transpositions of bright, splashy hues with a sense of dynamism.
Romulo Olazo
There’s something magnetic about modernist artist Romulo Olazo’s diaphanous oil paintings. This same sense of ephemerality is tangible in this green and sepia-toned piece from 1985.
Winna Go
Young contemporary artist Winna Go is a spotlighted artist in the inaugural ICA Art Fair. Go often depicts silk robes, adorned with Asian iconography. She also explores themes of Chinese migration, and other symbolic cultural meanings tied to these forms.
Lao Lianben
An elusive yet unexpectedly extroverted artist, Lao Lianben’s work continues to radiate calm, featuring touches of shadows on stark white monochrome canvases. The artist’s contemplative approach to art is showcased under a section titled “The Vastness in Small Things.”
READ: Seeing as a way of thinking with artist Lao Lianben
Contemporary gems
Nice Buenaventura
Nice Buenaventura’s works are deeply conceptual and thought-provoking, yet also aesthetically striking. In her series of work for “Mt. Pareidolia,” the artist explores “the framework of the archipelagic, a multitude of tensions between various ecological concerns, colonial histories, and technological developments.”
Renz Baluyot
Renz Baluyot, known for working across a range of mediums from sculpture to painting, presents “Temple” at the ICA Art Fair. The piece features dramatic details of draped fabric, drawing from the artist’s practice, which explores themes such as “migrations, wars, territorial conflicts, and colonization, among others.”
Rinne Abrugena
Rinne Abrugena’s striking life-sized abstraction (one of two in the fair) is the kind of work that demands a second look. Presented with The Drawing Room, the piece showcases new forms and marks on a large-scale canvas, with underlying references and meanings woven into its composition.
Nic Navarro
Emerging artist Nic Navarro’s compositions evoke a sense of liminal spaces. His largely monochromatic work, with only subtle variations in tone, are interspersed with elements that suggest surrealism.
James Clar
In a separate interior room at the ICA art fair, James Clar’s “Magwheel Night” was created in collaboration with Filipina olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz for his Silverlens show “By Force of Nature.” The piece references semi-truck rims, found objects that Diaz used in her training as an adolescent, before she could afford professional equipment.
Editor’s picks
Bernardo Pacquing
Renowned artist Bernardo Pacquing explores a combination of abstracted painting and sculpture. His 2024 piece “White Noise” at the ICA Art Fair layers a mix of wood and cement on a canvas board, forming geometric shapes that are both precise and imperfect.
Emmanuel Garibay
Emmanuel “Manny” Garibay, a North Cotabato-born, Davao-raised artist is renowned for his figurative expressionist works laden with social commentary. His oil painting “Hanap” depicts a solitary figure with blacked-out eyes and no mouth, evoking what seems a sense of voicelessness.
Maria Angelica Tan
New York-based, Chinese-Filipina artist Maria Angelica Tan presents colorful, fluid forms that swirl together on the canvas. Her work exudes an ethereal yet contemplative quality, striking a delicate balance between movement and stillness.
Gerrit Rietvield x Lor Calma
Right at the entrance of the fair, a small room showcases vibrant pieces by Dutch furniture designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld alongside Filipino architect Lor Calma.
Rietveld’s “Red and Blue Chair” chair, painted in red, blue, and with yellow accents, is representative of the early De Stijl art movement created in the 1920s.
Complementing this is Calma’s bright yellow “Tear” sculpture of a painted mild steel plate, which highlights his versatility in both architecture and furniture design, among other mediums.
Valerie Chua
Valerie Chua’s poignant piece “Entangled” captures the shadowy impression of a man and a woman locked in a bashful embrace. Her signature use of soft, dreamlike colors adds layers of emotional depth.
The ICA Art Fair runs from Nov. 22 to 23, 2024 at W High Street BGC, 28th st. cor. 11th ave. For inquiries, contact Patrick Co at +639175201827.
Photography by J.T. Fernandez
Produced by Angela Go-Agustin