MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Metropolitan Museum of Manila has revealed its latest cultural exchange program on August 20, 2019 entitled “In Harmony with Nature”. In partnership with the Bank of China, China Daily Mail and the Chinese Culture and Art Association Limited, the project bridges artists from the Philippines and China in an immersive and exploratory cross-cultural experience that also aims to spur dialogues on environmental awareness through art.
The first stop of the program is right here in the Philippines on September 23, 2019 at Flower Island, Palawan where five Chinese artists will stay and find inspiration for their paintings which will be exhibited in Manila starting September 26, 2019.
On October 20, 2019, the five chosen Filipino artists will then fly to Shenzhen, China and then take a train to Liling, Hunan in the afternoon to inspire their paintings to be exhibited in Shenzhen starting October 24.
Tina Colayco, President of MET, shared that these locations were chosen with culture and environment in mind as Liling, Hunan is widely known for its meticulously made porcelain which will provide the delegates from the Philippines a deeper understanding of one of the country’s oldest crafts. In turn, Flower Island, Palawan will be providing a stunning landscape for the Chinese participants to explore the island’s precious South Sea pearls. These places also hold a lot of promise for these artists to have a more broader and yet focused look into the effects of climate change to nature.
The Artists
The curators from China and the Philippines were selected for their years in the industry, impressive collection of stunning works and potential synergy with their counterparts.
MANUEL BALDEMOR – Painter, Sculptor, Illustrator
Baldemore is a painter, sculptor, illustrator. His works are known for their folk characteristic, with the use of simple forms and vibrant colors. He was born in Paete, Laguna on March 1947 and studied at the University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts and Design.
In 1992, he received the grand prize for the Art Association of the Philippines Competition. He was a columnist for The Manila Times and The Philippine Star, and his works have been chosen for the UNICEF greeting cards for over 30 years. His works have been exhibited in France, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Spain, Israel, the United States, and Russia.
RICO LASCANO
Lascano graduated at the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor Degree in Visual Communication. He is currently teaching at The University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. Lascano has exhibited in several group and solo shows in New York, New Jersey, and Singapore. He has also exhibited in galleries around Manila, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
PHYLLIS ZABALLERO
Zaballero grew up in the United States and Europe before moving to the Philippines for university. She has an Associate in Arts degree from Barcelona and a Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines. In 1978, she was given the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Thirteen Artists Award and became a teacher in her former university. Since 1988, she has received six residency and study grants from governments of the United States and Europe.
NORBERTO CARATING
Carating is a multi-awarded painter who studied at the UP College of Fine Arts. His works showcase a native sensibility that acknowledges local color and folk beliefs and narratives and a deeply felt and meditative nature. Carating is one of the well celebrated painters in the Philippines, having been a recipient of prestigious awards including the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Thirteen Artists Award. He has exhibited in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Cuba, Canada and the US.
JONAHMAR SALVOSA
Salvosa is a watercolorist from Calabanga, Camarines Sur. Growing up in a tropical country heavily influenced him to depict images of nature in his works. He paints expressionist portraits and scenic views of seas and forests. He studied at the University of Caceres and later moved to the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. He is the current president of AgosKulay, the Watercolor Society of Manila. In 1976, he was honored as an emerging artist by the Art Association of the Philippines. In 2002, he was awarded as a Top Watercolorist by Gallery Genesis. His work for the First Filipino Saint Art Competition wo the grand prize and has been included in the Vatican Museum Collection.
KUKU CHAI
Chai is a celebrated painting and calligraphy artist and director of the China Artists Association. She is also the Visual Arts Advisor and Examiner of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Executive Chairman and secretary-general of Chinese Culture and Art Association.
She served as the first overseas secretary-general of China Culture Academy of Painting & Calligraphy, was a visiting Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Beijing Institute of Technology, Shenzhen University, etc. Kuku is a multiple-prize painter with an unmistakably unique personal style.
CAI ZHIXIN
He is a first-class national artist, member of China Artists Association, Assistant Curator of Jiangsu Culture & History Research Institute, member of Art Committee of China Central Calligraphy and Painting Art Institute for Research. His works are collected by the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Museum, Jiangsu Art Museum, etc.
DING JIE
Born in Nantong city, Jiangsu province, in 1958, Jie Ding, the national first class artist, graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Nanjing Normal University, and studied at the Department of Chinese Painting, the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
He has hosted personal art exhibitions at National Art Museum of China and many museums in China, and organized invitation exhibitions and group exhibitions in various countries and regions, such as Russia, France, Thailand, Cuba, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. A few pieces of his art works have been collected by various art institutions, including NAMOC and many art museums of provinces.
HAO PING
Hao Ping graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Yunnan Arts Institute in 1980 and graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1986. He is currently a council member of the Chinese Artists Association, deputy director of the Chinese Artists Association’s Printmaking Art Committee, honorary vice chairman of the Yunnan Federation of Literary and Art Circles and honorary chairman of the Yunnan Artists Association. He was awarded the Print World Award and the Lu Xun Medal by Printing World of the People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, the Liao’s Printmaking Award by the famous American printmaker Mr. Liao Xiuping and the Lu Xun Printmaking Award by the Chinese Print Artists Association.
LIU SHE
Professor Liu She graduated from Nanjing University of the Arts in 1987 with a B. A. in Chinese Painting, is the president of the school of fine art of Nanjing Normal University, Jiangsu province. Professor Liu She has won several prizes and participated in various national and international exhibitions of Chinese art including the 7th, 9th and 11th National Art Exhibition of China and the Great Exhibition of China Contemporary Hue Art, the Chinese Art Biennale (in Canada), the Exhibition of Chinese Art (in U.S.A.) and the First Chinese Landscape Painting Exhibition, etc.
Go to https://metmuseum.ph/ for more information.
