Iloilo’s award-winning artists and their masterpieces
Iloilo is a junction upon which Malay, Spanish, Chinese and American cultures have met over the course of centuries. This stretches back to a rich pre-colonial culture and the first arrival of settlers — the Malayans, sometime in May of 1212.
It is within this multicultural milieu that Ilonggo artists have found their true “voices,” expressed in their respective styles.
Many earlier Ilonggo artists were self-taught because of the absence of fine arts courses in the province. What harthe nessed their talents and skills was the role of the art group Hubon Madiaas, which served as the prime mover of cultural activities in Panay.
With that, Ilonggo artists are products of the admixture of natural creative endowment, the presence of cultural activities to participate, the challenge of peers and a courageous resolve to continue their art regardless of the lack of patronage by the public in general.
Today, with the rise of local schools offering courses in the arts, Iloilo has been considered the second best next to the National Capital Region in terms of visual arts maturity and development based on the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) survey. And it is on its way to becoming a viable center for contemporary art.
A joint project of SM, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Shell Philippines, The Philippine STAR, with support from the NCCA and Centerstage Productions, “My City, My SM, My Art” is a celebration of Philippine visual arts — painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and filmmaking.
The campaign brings art and people together by showcasing the works of masters, modernists and millennials in a road show around the SM Supermalls. Advocating art for all, the team works with communities to mount exhibits, workshops and contests in key cities around the Philippines.
Guests who attended the event were the family members of master artist Ed Defensor, sister-in-law and Iloilo province First Lady Cosette Defensor, and sister Suzette Tonogbanua, Councilor Jay Treñas and Iloilo City executive assistant for tourism Ding Co.
SM officials led by SM senior vice president for marketing Millie Dizon and SM City Iloilo mall manager Gilbert Domingo welcomed them.
Guests enjoyed the program, which included an AVP presentation hosted by Atty. Richard Bermejo Perillo featuring the master artists of Iloilo and their amazing works. These works were exhibited in and around the My Art Gallery, which was inspired by the Panay House.
Some of the featured artists during the launch were Kris Brasileño, an artist with a purpose. While skilled in painting and drawing in both traditional and digital mediums, he also aims to help create a thriving art community in his hometown; Kat Malazarte, a cum laude graduate of the University of San Agustin, where she took her bachelor’s in fine arts in painting, who says it is her ultimate dream to make art that inspires people, makes them feel the light and stay wide-eyed and child-like; Alex Ordoyo , a visual arts teacher at Iloilo National High School for the Arts, who hopes to pass on his proficiency in and passion for the arts to his students; Ethel Mae Reyes, a visual artist, photographer and award-winning filmmaker; and Cezar Arro, whose works are inspired by heavy metal music, and with that, reflect the morbid, the dark, and the struggle of everyday life. He has now embraced modern contemporary art with less dark subjects.
Other artists featured are Jose Jeline Laporga whose works have won numerous awards including first place in the 2012 GSIS National Open Art Competition (Abstract category); sculptor Martin Genodepa, born and raised in a serene environment in Guimbal, who derived his spirituality and creative energy from nature; Jeanroll Ejar who grew up watching artisans making wooden furniture for his family’s business in Bitoon, Jaro; Gina Apostol who began her foray into the arts with ceramics and terracotta using local clay found in Lemery and Sara near Iloilo City. In 2006, she held a one-woman show titled “Celebration of Panay Churches,” rendered in clay relief; Marrz Capanang, a BS fine arts graduate of the University of San Agustin, who draws inspiration from nature, daily activities of the Ilonggos and their everyday lives; Vic Fario, known for his murals in different provinces like the Quezonian Mural in Quezon Province, which was unveiled by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2005, the Tiagon Mural in Camarines Sur, and the Our Lady of the Angels Chapel Mural in Tibauan, Iloilo; PG Zoluaga, a visual artist who was the 1998 Philippine Arts Awards Jurors’ Choice winner, the 1999 Philippine representative to the ASEAN Arts Awards in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the 1998 Best Entry in Centennial Painting Competition of the Art Association of the Philippines; young artist Harry Mark Gonzales who brought much honor to his hometown when he won the grand prize in the 2007 Metrobank Art and Design for Excellence competition; and Pierre Patricio who represents the Philippines in the United Buddy Bears World Tour Exhibition in aid of UNICEF. His paintings and sculptures are in private and public collections throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.
The highlight of the event was the tribute to master artist Ed Defensor. He founded the group Hubon Madiaas in the 1980s after he was asked by then UPV chancellor Rola to help the artists in Iloilo. The group has inspired many Ilonggo artists and has led the way for them in the region’s cultural and arts scene. In the first workshop of Hubon, National Artist Joya, his mentor in UP Diliman, was the resource person. The group later held exhibits in their gallery in Jaro with visitors from Manila. Today, Hubon Madiaas is the oldest and most accomplished art group in Iloilo.
The man behind Hubon remembers that he used to play with anthill soil in his hometown in Mina, Iloilo. He molded the hills into toys of his choice until the childhood hobby ceased to be play and was transformed into a well-acclaimed artistic career.
Although he initially resisted taking a fine arts course — finishing comparative literature in UP Iloilo and later a master’s degree in UP Diliman instead — he eventually made way for his art inclinations by painting stage backdrops, becoming an artist of the UP monthly and getting involved with the theater group.
But one’s love for art conquers all, and since that time, Defensor has had a fulfilling career as an associate professor in the Division of Humanities in UP Visayas, and as a visual and performing artist as well.
Certainly one of the most active artists working in Iloilo today, he commutes between several art media: the theater and visual arts, particularly sculpture and painting.
Much of Defensor’s work can, in fact, be traced to dance, a performance medium he uses in his theater productions. Whether in sculptural or painting mediums, his figures have an intensity of expression, graceful movements that can be gleaned from the hands, feet, heads and overall drama of the composition.
With its aim of bringing art and people together, “My City, My SM, My Art” also conducted a Woodcut Printmaking workshop. Carvine Traspaderme won the top prize, for which he received P5,000 worth of SM gift certificates.
“My City, My SM, My Art” is a takeoff from the previous “My City, My SM” campaign which promotes tourism, “My City, My SM, My Cuisine,” which highlights regional culinary specialties, and “My City, My SM, My Crafts,” a celebration of traditional art and modern Philippine design in cities where SM has malls. “My City, My SM, My Art”’s next stop will be in SM City San Pablo.