The women in and of art at Altro Mondo
ALTRO Mondo Creative Space rolled out over the weekend its penultimate set of shows for the year that keep true to the curatorial intentions of the months-old gallery in Makati City. Since relocating in late February, at 1159 Chino Roces—in a two-story, 850-square-meter space that used to be a repair shop for high-end cars— Altro Mondo has been presenting contemporary art at its best, according to creative director Remigio “Boy” David.
“We didn’t have the facility or the space before, but now we’re able to invite more artists, including international talents,” he said. “Of course, the locals are still the ones taking the lead, but we try to internationalize our image by putting international artists in our gallery.”
David said the vision is carried out in the five new exhibitions. The lineup is threaded by the common theme of women in art, with three exhibits showcasing works by female artists, and one dealing with woman as subject.
One of the female artists in the lineup is abstractionist Meneline Wong. In her debut solo show at Altro Mondo, titled Luminescence, Wong shines with her fast-rising take on fluid art, wherein the paint flows in gentle waves as much as it cracks like hard concrete, depending on the viewer’s perception.
The dramatic movement is achieved by knowing the characteristics of the paint. Wong said she takes into consideration not only the color, but also the viscosity and weight of the material, along with its composition.
Wong has a medical degree in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University of Santo Tomas, and holds clinic at the Chinese General Hospital. She first dabbled into the arts in late 2017 by painting on paper. Soon after, she came across fluid art and tried her luck at the 2018 GSIS National Art Competition, where she won second place in the nonrepresentational category, becoming the first female artist to win a major award at the competition. She also joined the 2018 Robinsons Land National Art Competition and won the top prize in the same division.
In Luminescence, Wong presents nine works, three of which were made with fluorescent paint.
“I love lights,” the artist said. “Bata pa lang ako, kwarto ko puro glow in the dark na. I want something dramatic. Here, I use fluorescent paint [for the artworks] to stand out under black light, but at the same time [they] can stand alone without the special effects.”
The result is almost as captivating as a cosmic event, especially on the black canvas of Dancing in the Moonlight. The black light illuminates the green in glowing neon, the red in crimson warmth and the blue in mysterious navy—with touches of gray, purple and yellow to balance out the painted galaxy.
“The abstraction that she developed on her own is different from other abstractions,” David said of Wong. “She put luminescence and incandescence in her work.”
The two other female-fronted exhibits at Altro Mondo are the coming-of-age group show, titled Why Am I the One Always Packing Up My Stuww?, featuring Poeleen Alvarez, Tammy de Roca and Faye Pamintuan, and Interior Landscape, the one-woman show of Pep Manalang.
Now based in the US, Manalang is described by David as a “very intuitive and serious artist,” being a physicist and a teacher. Manalang challenges in the show the complexity of the digital world and the “sensory overload” it brings by stripping the notion down to simple shapes.
“One way to feel grounded with a semblance of stability is to create order through geometry, symmetry and repetition,” the artist writes in the exhibition note. “Through the use of simple geometric shapes, symmetrical compositions and repetitive elements, these paintings provide a quiet space for reflection .... In effect, the reduction is an attempt to expose the underlying monospace code beneath the complexity.”
Finally, on the theme of championing women, Altro Mondo’s 300-sq-m main gallery is filled with works that portray female subjects by French painter Matteo Andrea.
Born in Buenos Aires days before the end of the Argentine military dictatorship in 1983, Andrea moved with his artist parents to Paris where he is still based. Andrea said he identifies himself more as Parisian, having lived in the city for most of his life. He attended the École Nationale Supérieure des BeauxArts and has presented his art around the world.
Andrea brings his works to the Philippines for the third time. His show at Altro Mondo is his first solo here, where he honors women with a “tribute” of 20 pieces, presenting them as unabashedly bold against the subdued colors of the pieces.
The exhibition is titled Femmes Fatales, inspired by the literary archetype of a seductive woman whose charms ensnare her targets. Andrea said his subjects are people from the Internet, magazines, posters and the streets, but once he draws them, they are not individuals anymore but rather the very idea of a woman.
“I have a lot of respect for women in general,” Andrea said. “They are too important. A woman is a mother, a sister someone who gives life, someone who’s very strong. Also, I think they’re more interesting to draw. Even if sometimes they’re a bit serene, something is still happening. They’re alive.”
“Andrea talks about the contemporary woman that intrigues, that loves, that caresses,” David said. “His works are all about women, but presented in the most contemporary sense in all the expressions.”
Rounding out the ongoing exhibitions at Altro Mondo is a group show, titled Pensive Junctures. The exhibition grapples with the idea of being between the lines, featuring works by Roberto Feleo, Winner Jumalon, Edrick Daniel, Josh Palisoc, Krista Nogueras, Ferdinand Riotoc, Rodney Yap, Orley Ypon and Danny Sillada. (See related story.)
The five shows at Altro Mondo are on view until December 2.
David said the gallery’s year-end show next month will also involve a group show of local artists and international artists, including those from Spain, Colombia and Italy. One of whom is Italian painter Alessandro Papetti.
More of the same can be expected next year, David said, along with an exhibition of augmented reality that will take up the whole gallery, slated in September. “We have a year full of surprises,” he said. ■