Luna, Hidalgo Headline Visayas Art Fair Collections
Artists from all over the country have joined this year’s Visayas Art Fair at the Oakridge Business Park in Mandaue City. The annual art fair runs until today, November 24.
Among the pieces on display are by the old Filipino masters Juan Luna and Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo. The paintings are on exhibit at the booth of Museo Cariño, a museum that is still set to open in December.
Ambassador Jose Mari Cariño, who built the museum in the mountains of Cebu, said during the opening on Thursday that it took him 20 years to build the facility on KM 17 of the Transcentral Highway near the summit of Mt. Pung-ol.
Museo Cariño has over 25 galleries and rooms and features a permanent collection of 19th-century Philippine art. Several of those are on exhibit at the fair.
Ambassador Jose Mari Cariño with 'Ut Diligatis Invicem' by Juan Luna at right and 'The Galician Coast' by Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo behind him.
"Ut Diligatis Invicem" by Luna "is a multi-figured, complex painting by Luna in the mold of the Spoliarium and the Hymen o Hymenee," the museum said. Museo Cariño said it has more than 20 original works by Luna.
Also on display at the fair is "The Galician Coast" by Hidalgo. The museum said the painting is "Hidalgo at his neo-classical best" and displays his chiaroscuro mastery of contrasting light and dark.
"While the scene seems to foretell an impending storm, the shafts of sunlight on the shore and the clouds speak of a brighter day," according to the museum info.
Visayas Art Fair has works from all over the country.
Museo Cariño is also exhibiting "The Holy Family with a Lamb" (copy of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) by Simon Flores, "El Cochero" (The Coachman) by Miguel Zaragoza, "The Rose Garden" by Félix MartÃnez, and "Lady in the Garden" by Fabián de la Rosa.
The fair also features a massive dragon art installation made of driftwood and recycled items. It is located outside the building where the fair is being held. The six-meter dragon, named "The Bearer of Infinite Blessings," took a year to create and was displayed at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. It was created by driftwood sculptor James Doran-Webb, whose other works are on display at the Bodega Caravan, which is held a few buildings away from the Visayas Art Far.
A hawk eagle and dragon at the booth of James Doran-Webb in Bodega Caravan, which is being held simultaneously with the Visayas Art Fair.
Bodega Caravan and the Visayas Art Fair are held simultaneously by the rebranded Cebu Design Week, which is now known as the Cebu Culture Art and Design Foundation.
Balik Batik features clothes made of native fabric from different communities in the country.
National Artist Kidlat Tahimik is also featured in the Visayas Art Fair. Davao City-based artist Kublai Millan leads a contingent from Mindanao as part of Gallery Down South. The fair has 31 participating galleries from all over the country.
In her opening speech, Visayas Art Fair 2024 chairperson Lorenza Boquiren said more than art, the event "is about igniting a passion, a curiosity, a deep appreciation for creativity in all its diverse forms. We strive to provide you with a why behind every brush stroke, every sculpture, every installation, every piece of art on display."
The Visayas Art Fair is from November 22 to 24 at Oakridge Business Park, P. Remedios Street, Mandaue City, Cebu. General admission is at P170.
