February was an art-filled month for me. I got to see the Guhit, Bulilit, Guhit exhibit of Ang INK in Museo Pambata and I got to watch my nephew and the rest of the Sibol Guitar Octet perform in their concert at Varlez Pianos. On top of these, I also got to attend the artist's reception of two solo exhibits: A Sanctuary under the Cappadocian Rocks by Manuel Baldemor and The Roar After Silence by Angel Moreno.
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| Manuel Baldemor exhibit at Art Circle Gallery in Greenhills |
I previously posted about how much of a fan I am of Manuel Baldemor and how the first two paintings I bought are his artworks that were part of an exhibit organized by Art Circle Gallery last year. Francis, my gallery consultant from Art Circle, knows I am a huge Baldemor fan so he invites me every time there is a Baldemor event. That included the vernissage of A Sanctuary under the Cappadocian Rocks which was held at Art Circle Gallery in Greenhills.
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| A Sanctuary under the Cappadocian Rocks by Manuel Baldemor |
All the works in display at this exhibit were about Cappadocia, a famous region in Turkey that is known for its incredible rock formations and its many caves (some of which have been made into hotels). One of the most popular activities in Cappadocia is getting on a hot air balloon to enjoy spectacular views of the amazing landscapes. The paintings at this exhibit featured these iconic rock formations and some even showcased hot air balloons in flight.
Francis told me that the story behind this exhibit is that a patron of Mr. Baldemor seems to have asked him if he had paintings of Cappadocia. This gave him the idea of creating paintings of this region of Turkey which has been in my travel bucket list for a while now. Hopefully, I can visit soon.
Because Francis knows Mr. Baldemor (after all, Art Circle Gallery is one of only a few galleries that gets art directly from him), when there was an opportunity, he took aphoto of me with my favorite artist, which made my evening.
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| Photo op with Manuel Baldemor |
Five days later, I attended the The Roar After Silence solo exhibit by Angel Moreno. This was held at the Art Center in SM Megamall.
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| The Roar After Silence exhibit by Angel Moreno |
I met Angel when I purchased my Yeye Calderon painting from Artasia. He was there because his artworks were on exhibit at that time. I ended up having a long and very interesting conversation with him. I learned that he suffered a stroke and lost a lot of mobility and control on his right side. Somehow, he overcame that adversity by learning to paint with his non-dominant left hand. Wow! I was so blown away by that, especially when I saw his paintings. I couldn't imagine how anyone could paint something so artistic and so beautiful with their non-dominant hand. We ended up adding each other on Facebook and he invited me to his solo exhibit in Megamall Art Center that he said would happen in February. Thankfully, I was available that evening. The title - The Roar After Silence - was very appropriate given that this was Angel's roar back into his passion after suffering a life-threatening condition.
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| Photo op with Angel Moreno |
Many master artists were present at the vernissage, including Tam Austria, Popoy Cusi, and Raul Isidro. I also had a chance to have my photo taken with Raul Isidro too.
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| Photo op with Raul Isidro |
Arguably the most popular themes of Angel Moreno's paintings are koi ponds. You will see that many of the paintings in this exhibit were of these vividly colored fish.
I also learned during this artist's reception that he actually didn't use to paint tigers. One of his #1 patrons gave a speech that explained how it all started. He said that many years ago, he saw Angel's paintings and he really like Angel's style but he really wanted a painting of a tiger. He got Angel to agree to do a commission work. That was the first time he painted a tiger and since then, he's painted a lot more of them. This exhibit featured several paintings of tigers and even a lion, which made sense thematically given the exhibit title.
I really am thankful that I got to attend these two art events and be immersed in such beautiful pieces of work that tell great stories of the lives and experiences of their amazing artists.
