Frida Kahlo tribute, 3 solo shows land in Space Encounters Gallery reopening lineup

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AGROUP exhibition dedicated to Mexican painter Frida Kahlo on her birth month and three solos form the new set of shows of Space Encounters Gallery, its first in nearly four months. An offshoot of the furniture design company of the same name, the Pasig-based art space closed shop ahead of the government-imposed lockdown in mid-march due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The gallery had shifted its focus to Art for Science, a fund-raising project to donate PPE kits to the University of the Philippines Medical Foundation, and now returns with new exhibitions that were launched over the weekend.

“We wanted our reopening to remain true to our brand: colorful, adventurous, fun and a little alien,” said

Thor Balanon, one of the owners of the gallery.

The Frida Kahlo tribute exhibition celebrates the transcendent influence of the famed Mexican artist and feminist icon on the occasion of her 113th birthday last week.

Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. Characterized by her unique appearance and iron will, she endured a polio-stricken childhood and a near-fatal car crash, proceeding to make her mark in the fields of art and political activism.

The Space Encounters Gallery exhibition dedicated to her, simply titled The Frida Kahlo Show, features seven artists that were chosen on the basis of who could show a new aspect of Kahlo, from her iconic imagery to her influence on pop culture. The participating artists are Pat Frades, Irish Galon, Soleil Ignacio, Ganansilyo ni Maria, Isabel Barredo-del Mundo and Bryan Yabut.

The mix of varying styles of the group, according to Balanon, creates “an interesting and complex snapshot of Kahlo’s influence on the current generation of artists.”

“Pat Frades sculpts body parts with coral-like blooms growing out of them, while Irish Galon is a pop surrealist who always hides the faces of her subjects under floral infestation. Soleil Ignacio is an illustrator who campaigns for and redefines brown-skinned beauty,” Balanon said. “Gansilyo ni Maria makes cute, artful plushies. Isabel Barredo-del Mundo creates grotesquely beautiful creatures that reflect her views on growth and love. Manu San Pedro paints surrealism and popular culture with stark realism, and, finally, Bryan Yabut makes playful, neon-ized portraits of comic book, film, music and animation icons.”

Yabut also gets his own spotlight in one of Space ❷

Encounters Gallery’s three oneman shows. His exhibit, titled Throwback, Too, is the artist’s continuing tribute series to his pop culture heroes and favorites, where he now takes on musician Bjork, anime character Danbo, and characters from cartoon shows Dexter’s Lab and South Park.

The two other solo shows are Humbly’s Friends from Outer Space and Martkills’ Laa Laa Land.

Friends from Outer Space features the expanded cast of colorful characters of painter Bryan Antonio aka Humbly. Balanon describes the show as “science fiction meets comic books meet street art.”

Meanwhile, in Laa Laa Land Gemart Ortega aka Martkills presents his lowbrow art that is influenced by Filipino folk tales crossed with pop culture. His most recognized creation is the one-eyed tiyanak,

which takes on various reincarnations in his art.

The return of Space Encounters Gallery also welcomes new health and safety guidelines. Visitors have to set an appointment ahead of time, and only four individuals will be allowed within the gallery premises at an hourly rotation. There is a “no mask, no entry” policy.

“There will also be no gala nights or artist receptions,” Balanon said. “To make up for that, the exhibition opening will run for a week or so and then we’ll focus on selling the artworks online. I think this will be the status quo for the coming months.”

Space Encounters Gallery is set in a 124-square meter area that was originally intended as an extension of the furniture showroom of Space Encounters, the furniture company that Balanon and Wilmer Lopez established in 2009. The gallery was created after the owners were inspired by the back-tobasics idea of one of their furniture collections.

“We did everything manually and brought the romance back in creation,” Balanon said. “While doing that, we exposed ourselves to a lot of art, which led to the birth of Space Encounters Gallery.” ■