Art Appreciation at Art Fair Philippines 2017

Appreciating art is something I love to do. I get my monthly fix of art at the Provenance Gallery at Shangri-La at the Fort where some of the most exciting contemporary artists in the country as well as international artists get to showcase their masterpieces.

Another event I look forward to is the Art Fair Philippines, which is held once a year at The Link Carpark in the heart of Makati. It all started out as a vision project of Trickie Lopa, Dindin Araneta and Lisa Periquet in 2013 to showcase Philippine contemporary art to a bigger audience. Through the years it has grown exponentially from 6,000 visitors in its first year to almost 22,000 in 2016. This year 46 galleries are participated in the fair.

I spent a good five hours walking around going up and down the three floors appreciating all the amazing artworks on display. I can really say that it gets better every year. I could not help but marvel at the masterpieces of artists Fernando Zobel, Betsy Westendorp, Joya, BenCab, Gus Albor, Patricia Eustaquio, Jose Tence Ruiz, Jeona Zoleta, Nicole Coson, Martin Honasan, Geraldine Javier, Demet dela Cruz, Andres Barrioquinto, Lynyrd Paras, Yeo Kaa, Marina Cruz, Ronald Ventura, Jigger Cruz, Erizal As, Ionnis Sicuya, Ferdinand Canio, Michelle Perez, Monica Delgado, Ian Fabro, Japanese artists Chikako Motoyama, Takuro Sugiyama and Keiko Moriuchi from the YOD Gallery.

The collaborations of some of the most brilliant minds in the art world today were simply stupendous

The collaborations of some of the most brilliant minds in the art world today were simply stupendous, such as Manuel Ocampo x Jigger Cruz, Renato Habulan and Alfredo Esquillo’s Rise and Fall, Lilianna Manahan x Jiri Pacinek’s Hand blown glass and hot sculpted glass, Gabriel Lichauco x Filip Houdek and Josef Hlavenka’s Stained glass and metal light, Emlmer Borlongan/Emmanuel Garibay/Mark Justiniani, Lynyrd Paras x Yeo Kaa of Studio Fresh, Ged Merino x Aze Ong and Manue Ocampo x Jigger Cruz from The Drawing Room.