For a Limited Time, You Can View Ramon Orlina’s Masterpieces at a Luxury Resort in Tagaytay

Ramon Orlina is 81 years old, but the way he’s still actively creating and sharing his art to the world, there’s no question he’s still at the top of his game. Known for his glass sculptures, the artist remains as dedicated to his craft as he was when he first started nearly five decades ago.

Ramon Orlina with his artworks at the exhibit in Anya Resort Tagaytay

Last March, Orlina himself of his latest exhibit at Anya Resort Tagaytay, standing before the audience not as an aging artist reminiscing about past achievements, but as a creator still looking forward. The exhibit, which was born after he launched a book about his works at the same venue last December, will make its way to different venues around the country; a way to bring his art beyond the walls of his museum in Tagaytay and into spaces where people can truly experience it.

“This initiative brings the museum’s collection beyond its walls, fostering meaningful collaborations with esteemed institutions like Anya Resort,” Orlina said during his speech.

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Master of glass

It’s impossible to talk about Philippine sculpture without mentioning Orlina. More than his instantly recognizable pieces, the artist represents innovation and creativity for being a pioneer in taking an unconventional material—glass—and turning it into a medium for fine art. 

"Nobody was doing glass sculpture here when I started,” Orlina tells Esquire Philippines during a brief chat at the exhibit opening.  “That's the one thing I was able to capture—the essence of making glass." 

Ramon Orlina with his son Michael

Since then, he has refined his techniques, perfecting the process of cutting, grinding, and polishing glass to bring out its inherent beauty. While some sculptors carve from stone or mold from clay, Orlina's pieces are about light, reflection, and precision.

Today, decades after he made a name for himself in the country and abroad, he is passing his legacy on by training his two children to follow in his footsteps.

“They’re continuing the legacy that I started,” Orlina says, clearly proud. “They studied abroad—in Europe and America—and they’ve slowly become artists in their own right.”

While his children are also sculptors who work with glass as a medium, they’re not just copying their father’s style but are creating their own paths in glass art. His daughter, for example, experiments with colors in a way that Orlina himself never did. His son, on the other hand, works more closely in his father’s tradition, refining the techniques that have defined Orlina’s career but still injecting his own personality into his work. 

Even outside his family, Orlina is aware that many artists in the Philippines today have been influenced by his work. “Many people now are doing glass sculpture, and some of them even create art that looks like mine,” he admits. “And I cannot blame them. I’m not selfish. If other people want to explore glass as a medium, I’m happy about that.”

Still working

While many octogenarians are taking it easy and perhaps gone into retirement, Orlina says he still spends at least five days a week working in his studio. His latest exhibit at Anya Resort is proof that he remains not just productive but deeply involved in the artistic process. This particular collection is special because his wife helped him personally choose the pieces to be exhibited. One of them, a sculpture inspired by the pineapple, holds personal significance for Orlina—it’s part of his own collection and is not for sale. He says some artworks, like those that appear in his book, serve as a personal archive of his journey as an artist. 

Asked about his proudest work throughout his career, Orlina finds it impossible to name just one sculpture. His art can be found in museums, institutions and private homes across the globe; in churches and in public spaces. He does however point to one specific piece: the altar he created for the Greenbelt Chapel in Makati, which is the very place where he got married.

How long does he think he’ll keep working?

“Maybe until I'm 90 or 99?” he smiles, his eyes twinkling. "As long as you keep moving, exercising, doing things, and staying motivated, you just keep going." 

The exhibit of Ramon Orlina’s artworks in Anya Resort in Tagaytay is ongoing until May 15, 2025.