Like many of us, Arno Salvador was one of the kids who grew up with comic books and cartoons. Yet there is something to be said for his affinity with superheroes, particularly when his paintings resemble grunge and graffiti as opposed to portraying them in their usual dignified stance. In…

In the late 18th century, France was on the brink of bankruptcy due to their involvement in the American revolution as well as King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending which, on July 14, 1789 (known as Bastille Day), led to the start of France’s own revolution. Inspired by both real and…

Journal Entry 6.11.22 — Whenever I’m in serious danger of taking life too seriously, I remember all the poets and myths who came before me saying “We called it didn’t we?” Maybe I’m just pleasure-mongering about fear-mongering. I wish this were just another recitation to get that go signal from my mentors and curators…

Journal Entry 12.19.22 — The Alunsina Network turns the pursuit of love into: “a conquest of the world through pictures of prospective partners” — Mele Yamomo I wanted to tell the long story — a metanarrative of sorts, a tale as old as primordial soup, albeit from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. How…

When I was asked to be a tour guide, as early as my second day as a volunteer at the Ateneo Art Gallery, I was more surprised and excited than I let myself express. I tried to play it cool. I said yes, of course. I expressed my desire to…

In the art world, none has been so polarizing as the debate between abstract vs. figurative art. If we look back at the origin of art, art was utilized to represent the observable world around us. It wasn’t until the 20th century that art was for art’s sake rather than…

“Hiraeth is the music you play constantly in your head hoping that you do not forget — it’s a place of comfort that you always return to,” — Eric Ngalle Charles The quest is simple as it is complex. Four artists illustrate an object of longing, never quite within reach…

While most people are ready to call it a day, for night owls, the day has just begun. Artist Alvin Paraguison is one of them. Like a lot of creative types whose minds are visited by a muse during downtime, Paraguison confesses that the late hours of the day are…

It is said that in the past, the measure of happiness was not health or even positivity, but the ability to stay in a flow state or that moment when you are so absorbed in your work that your sense of time disappears and you are able to work without…