THE HOPE THAT NATURE GIVES
An art auction for kids afflicted with cancer
Bishop Desmund Tutu once said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” It is perhaps why the vividness, color, and beauty of nature best symbolize hope. It is in knowing and appreciating that when the sun sets, it will eventually rise and that in seeing the bountiful landscapes and seascapes, there is unwavering symmetry and balance.
Visual artist and philanthropist Joyce
Herrera-Wong captures this essence in her art exhibit and charity auction dubbed as “The Hope That Nature Gives,” which opens today, Nov. 12 at the Yuchengco Musuem, RCBC Plaza, Makati City.
Whereas her first solo exhibit in 2016 introduces her visual mastery of the classical realism technique, this one is a visionary awakening of her humanity.
She was inspired to pursue another solo exhibition after her visit to House of Hope, the halfway house for children with cancer in Davao City.
She narrates, “It all started when a friend forwarded a video to me. After just 10 minutes of watching, I had a lump in my throat as I saw children as young as two years old suffering from cancer. So, upon the invitation of Dr. Mae Dolendo, a pediatric oncologist and project manager of the House of Hope, I flew to Davao City to attend what they call Survivor’s Day which is held every December. I expected to get overwhelmed with sadness as I kept thinking—for a young child who is in pain, what is the meaning of hope? To my surprise, I saw children who were happily dancing, saying hello to strangers, and making silly gestures when I had a photo taken with some of them. Some were experiencing pain, hence the round-the-clock need for medication. But seeing their resilience first-hand was a truly humbling experience. It serves as a reminder to us adults that in this journey called life, pain in any form is something that we have to face head-on.”
After that visit, she immediately planned her next art for charity event, together with the help of friends and fellow artists. This will be Herrera-Wong’s second Philippine solo exhibit after a very successful show at Ayala Museum last Oct. 2016.
Joyce first held a painter’s brush in 1986 when her family was based in Taiwan. She was introduced to the world of Chinese watercolor painting where expressive calligraphic brush lines were the chief means employed to animate objects. While in Hong Kong in 2007, Joyce started to learn the classical realism technique that was perfected by the old masters and then, she found her niche. She loved the depth, beautiful light effects, and details of colors that this technique showed.
Aside from the four years of classes, Joyce had also attended the following workshops: Plein Air Workshop in
Acrylic with renowned master Marcia Burtt in San Luis Obispo, California, Plein Air Workshop in Oil in New York City with multiawarded American landscape artist Phil
Starke, and HandsOn Painting Workshop with Buds Convocar, long time president of the Saturday Art Group of Artists in Manila.
Joyce believes that whatever artistic capabilities she has, God is the ultimate giver. To express her gratitude, she wants to share with others that gift. She had joined exhibits where the proceeds go to charity, enhancing the lives of people in need through her art. Her early group exhibits were “Beyond Borders 1” (Nov. 2009), “Beyond Borders II” (Nov. 2010), and “Beyond Borders III” (Nov. 2011), which were all sponsored by the Philippine Association of Hong Kong and held at the Philippine Consulate of Hong Kong. Proceeds of her sales were donated to Gawad Kalinga.
Together with other like-minded artists, Joyce is one of the founding members of Pintura Circle, an artfor-charity group based in Hong Kong where she served as the group’s first president. Pintura Circle successfully launched “Artruism I” (Oct. 2012) at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Center and all of the proceeds were donated to Kids International Ministry, a charity that shelters and educates children who are abused, abandoned, and neglected. “Artruism II” was held in April 2014 and all proceeds from the exhibit provided 16 fiberglass boats to the fishermen in Leyte who were affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
In June 2014, Joyce exhibited some of her artworks at the Marco Polo Prince Hotel. Titled “The Best of Philippine Arts,” she was one of the Filipino artists invited by the hotel to showcase their works with national artist Benedicto Cabrera (BenCab) as the main attraction. She donated all the proceeds of her sales to Kids International Ministry.
The Philippines Center Art Gallery in New York City was the venue of her exhibit in 2016 when her artworks were featured in a threewoman show. Net proceeds of her sales were donated once again to Kids International Ministries as well as Munting Tahanan of Nazareth, a facility for poor, abandoned, mentally challenged, and epileptic children.
During her last six exhibits, all of Joyce’s artworks were well received and were completely sold out. Her works are now in the homes of collectors from Hong Kong, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Memphis, London, Vancouver, Bangkok, and Manila.
‘But seeing their resilience first-hand was a truly humbling experience. It serves as a reminder to us adults that in this journey called life, pain in any form is something that we have to face head-on.’