These exhibitions highlight the poignancy of the photographic image, the provocative edge of the underground, and how ready-mades signify the human pursuit of identity and home
2025 marks the end of the first quarter of the 21st century—both a cosmic and cultural marker.
If 2025 were a person, it would be an adult in the throes of a full-blown quarter-life crisis, hounded by questions: What now? Is there a better way? How should we then live?
Incidentally, it’s also the year when Gen Alpha (who aren’t even adults yet) gives way to Gen Beta—a generational shift that feels both inevitable and bizarre, especially for someone like me, an ‘80s kid Millennial. At this strange juncture, it feels as though global culture, and, by extension, the global contemporary art scene, is bracing for a long-overdue shift that is both tidal and far-reaching.

If the emergence of more conceptually charged works grappling with existential themes throughout 2024 is any indication—think Geraldine Javier’s “The Story of Plants Without Us” at Art Basel Miami, Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan’s “Head/Home” at the Groninger Museum’s Children’s Biennale, Oca Villamiel’s “In Between Quiet Clouds” at Blanc Gallery, and Ai Weiwei’s “What You See Is What You See” at Faurschou New York—2025 will be the year when the obsession with novelty and spectacle continues its decline, replaced by something far more thoughtful, urgent, substantive, and spiritual.
2025, I feel, will be the year of shedding that artifice. It will show contemporary art stripping back the noise and honing in on something far more profound and human.
Amid the frantic energy and the onslaught of projects that typically come with the start of a new year, here are twelve must-see exhibitions that capture the poignancy of the photographic image, the provocative edge of underground culture, and the way “ready-mades” serve as signifiers in the human pursuit of identity and home.
1. MM Yu, “either/or” at MO_Space

“Yu re-uses her images and places them in different contexts and configurations. Spanning more than two decades of practice, MM Yu is considered as one of the most enduring and consistent to explore photography’s concepts. With the familiar images of discards and debris seen in the work, ‘A Few of my Favorite Things’ (2009), which is printed on silk fabric, and ‘Inventory’ (2001-2025), which is an ongoing series of images of used goods and commodities, she re-stages these images the way we rebuild our memories—constantly restoring, deleting, and back again at restoring. This cycle is most evident in one of her oldest works, ‘Memoirs’ (2001) which has achieved complete transformation in the form of lenticulars. It affirms how memory can become mutable, depending on the angle and position through which they are seen.”
—Cocoy Lumbao, author of “either/or” exhibition notes
“either/or” runs until Feb. 9 at MO_Space, 3rd floor, MOs Design Bldg, B2 9th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig
2. Hannah Reyes Morales, “Home Holds Still” at Tarzeer Pictures

“Seeing my images in a physical space reminds me of why I fell in love with photographs in the first place. A moment happens in front of you, and later on you can hold that moment in your hand and stay with it.”
—Hannah Reyes Morales, photographer and multidisciplinary storyteller
“Home Holds Still” runs until Jan. 30 at Tarzeer Pictures, 2288 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati
3. Marciano Galang, “Works on Paper / 1968” at West Gallery

“I think Mars Galang is a very underrated artist. This exhibit is special not only because it is exceptional but also because the works are being seen by the public for the very first time.”
—Soler Santos, visual artist and West Gallery gallerist
“Works on Paper / 1968” runs until Feb. 16 = at West Gallery, West Avenue, Quezon City
4. Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, “Project Belonging: From There to Here. The Familiar in the Foreign” at Ateneo Art Gallery

“‘Project Belonging: From There to Here’ is an exhibition in two parts featuring Enrique Marty and Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan. It shows two different approaches on themes of family, relationships, home and belonging. Thus, the opposing subtitles ‘The Foreign in the Familiar’ and ‘The Familiar in the Foreign.’ Enrique Marty exposes the ‘Unheimlich,’ the uncanny in the domestic environment, while the Aquilizans works can be considered ‘Heimlich,’ that which is familiar, intimate or homely as seen from a spectator’s point of view.”
“In both cases, they respond to the triple meaning of belonging: to be, as an existential declaration; to long, or to yearn for something; and to belong, to find meaning within a family, community or society.”
—Kristine Guzmán, exhibition curator of “Project Belonging: From There to Here. The Familiar in the Foreign”
“Project Belonging: From There to Here. The Familiar in the Foreign” runs until Apr. 16 at Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University Arts Wing, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
5. Jed Gregorio, Celine Lee, Pam Quinto, Miguel Lorenzo Uy, Wipo, “Moth and the Flame” at Finale Art File

“There is a quiet serenity that permeates the show, but beneath this calm lies a dynamic tension—an interplay of opposing forces, or a quiet disturbance that subtly pulses throughout the collection. This sense of yin and yang is both meditative and unsettling.”
—Janice Liuson-Young, FEATI School of Fine Arts associate dean, on the curatorial design of group exhibition “Moth and the Flame”
“Moth and the Flame” runs until Jan. 30 at Finale Art File, Gate 1, La Fuerza Compound, Warehouse 17, 2241 Chino Roces Ave, Makati
6. Various artists, “Melted City 5,” co-curated by Louie Cordero and Jordin Isip, at Blanc Gallery

“From the very first Melted City in 2012, its current re-staging has evolved into an immense assembly of over 300 artworks hailing from two cities and even beyond—Manila and New York. Beginning with two pioneering artists and longtime collaborators, Louie Cordero and Jordin Isip, who first recognized the parallel trajectories of raw, boundary-pushing artworks reflecting the two cities’ complex histories and shared atrocities, ‘Melted’ has become an anticipated event, offering a survey of where contemporary art stands across these two regions.”
—Cocoy Lumbao, art writer and author of “Melted City 5” exhibition notes
“Melted City 5” runs until Feb. 2 at Blanc Gallery, 145 Katipunan Ave, Quezon City
7. Le Dernier Cri, “DC Manilla / le dernier cri exhibaction” at Pablo Gallery

“Pakito Bolino, director of Le Dernier Cri, is familiar with some Filipino artists’ works. He has done prints for Louie Cordero, Romeo Lee, Jeona Zoleta, Pow Martinez, etc., under his Le Dernier Cri workshop. For this exhibition, all works were shipped from Marseille. Art enthusiasts should expect really, really weird imagery—some are shocking, while some of the stuff he prints are very dark underground.”
—Manuel Ocampo, visual artist
“DC Manilla / le dernier cri exhibaction” opens on Jan. 18 at Pablo Gallery, C-11, South of Market, Taguig
8. Jayson Oliveria, “Psychosomatic Paint” at Brixton Art Space

“I started my art collecting journey 25 years ago, and Jayson was one of the artists I went for. So I guess Oliveria’s ‘Psychosomatic Paint’ is a reunion of sorts: previously, as a collector of art, and now as a newbie gallerist mounting a show for an artist whose works appealed to me early on.
Looking at the works for this new show for the first time blew me away, as they had the energy and greatness I used to appreciate as a collector when I looked at Jayson’s works.
As a gallerist now, I feel both honored and excited to share Jayson’s works with people—both long-time fans and the uninitiated.
What can people expect from Jayson Oliveria’s ‘Psychosomatic Paint’ this Saturday? As Jayson said, ‘cool paintings, good art,’ and I want to say that, at the very least, they will not disappoint.”
—Jay Taruc, art collector and Brixton Art Space gallerist
“Psychosomatic Paint” runs until Feb. 18 at Brixton Art Space, 11 Brixton Street, Kapitolyo, Pasig
9. Julieanne Ng, “A Glimpse Across the Fleeting Light”

“My work attempts to visualize what goes beyond the physical world through the use of a candle. Culturally, candles are regarded as a bridge between our world and the afterlife and are often used as a metaphor for human life. Especially with wax drips, I see these as witnesses to a specific event or time that has passed, and they also echo human tears. Through the process of printmaking, I find the act of rolling the candle mimics how you would open and read a scroll as a way to find some sort of answer to human existence. But the thing is, the more I try to make sense of it, the more abstract it becomes.”
—Julieanne Ng, visual artist
“A Glimpse Across the Fleeting Light” runs until Feb. 9 at MO_Space, 3rd floor, MOs Design Bldg, B2 9th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig
10. Aze Ong, “Kaloob” Philippine Women’s University JCB Gallery

“Embracing the flow of intuition, ‘Kaloob’ is about the gift or offering. In the Yijing, what you have is what you can offer. It does not demand anything from you; yet, you naturally give and offer because it is what you have and can share. Kaloob is my path to ‘no resistance.’”
—Aze Ong, fiber artist
“Kaloob” opens on Jan. 23 at the Philippine Women’s University JCB Gallery, Leon Guinto Street, Malate, Manila
11. Ryan Jara, “Tagpi-Tagpi, Dugtong-Dugtong” at Artinformal Gallery

“Pinagsama-sama at pinagtagpi-tagping bakal, bato, at kahoy upang mabuo ang mga imaheng nais kong bigyang buhay muli. Isang bagay na nasira, ngunit kailangan mong palitan at tagpian upang mabuo ulit at maging makabuluhan sa ating buhay. Parang sa buhay ng tao na kailangang ayusin, palitan, o tagpian upang maging mas matibay at mas kapaki-pakinabang.
Dito sa exhibit na ito, nagdagdag ako ng mga mekanismo—mga makalumang mekanismo na naka-attach sa mga sculpture at tao upang maipakita ang pagbibigay-buhay muli sa mga bagay na nakalimutan na natin. Sa ngayon, nandito rin ang pinakamalaki kong nagawang artwork.”
—Ryan Jara, visual artist
“Tagpi-Tagpi, Dugtong-Dugtong” runs until Feb. 1 at Artinformal Gallery, C1, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati
12. Datu Arellano, “Parse This” at The Drawing Room

“In a culture where privacy is secondary to the needs of the family unit and collective cohabitation, ‘Parse This’ presents as a defiant monument to introverts and the private, a cache of fragmented narratives re-ordered, deconstructed or mythologized as redacted text.”
—Paschal Daantos Berry, independent Filipino-Australian curator and performance maker
“Parse This” runs until Feb. 1 at The Drawing Room, Ground Floor, Building C, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Barangay Magallanes, Makati