Ma, I'm in the magazine!

If you look closely enough at the left page, over there in the background on the right after the curtains is a vertically shaped canvas--it's a 2011 work of mine, acrylic on canvas, entitled "Mother, I Have Something to Tell You." It was originally exhibited at Nineveh Artspace in Santa Cruz, Laguna, with four other works in the same size. This one is now in the collection of Waya Araos Wijangco. That's her sala in Teachers' Village.

Wondering why I feel good? 

A refreshing art space in Laguna

From left:"Alamat ng Saging" and "Alamat ng Bayabas" 
by Brenda V. Fajardo; "Walang Llihim" by Imelda Cajipe-Endaya

Nineveh Artspace, the first and only art gallery in the capital town of Santa Cruz, Laguna, and the biggest in the province, comes as a breath of fresh air for the Manila-based visitor, especially on exhibition opening day. There is none of that cocktail-party artifice where one tries valiantly to view the works while maintaining a decent conversation and balancing a small plate of finger food on one hand.

Untitled sculptures from Paete Laguna; 
in the background, "Uniporme" by Jaypee Samson

At Nineveh, expect a mini barrio fiesta with similar performances from local choirs or dance troupes to keep the familiarity levels up. Food unique to Laguna is served like kalamay sa talulo, especially made in the town of Cavinti, mo-le (actually deep-fried balls of banana heart), akin to kare-kare  and ordered from Pila native Joe Lat, vegetable dishes and miki-bihon pancit.

These touches reflect the down-to-earth personality of Louie Sevilla, the moving force  behind the art space. Apart from teaching Philippine history, art appreciation and the Rizal course at St. Peter’s College Seminary in San Pablo City, he writes and directs plays, the most significant of which are variations of the senakulo (plays on the passion and death of Jesus Christ).

"Blind Item Series #4" by Brave Singh

He opened his home and made it part of the country’s gallery circuit “at a time when I was collecting artworks like mad and wanted to share this passion with others,” he says.

In bringing art to his residence, Sevilla says his friends tell him “it’s a joy to visit it every now and then because there’s something different each time.”

He was partly inspired by The Second Gallery in Angono, Rizal, owned by Totong Francisco who turned his garage into a display area, by a sampling of what gallery work is like when a set of paintings was loaned to him for a move-over show and by an opportunity to exhibit 13 Artist awardee Noel Soler Cuizon’s new works.

Clockwise: "Sa Akin ang Lahat" by Jeho Bitancor; "Sakada" by Nunelucio Alavarado 

and "Mnemosyne" by Noel Soler Cuizon

 Cuizon's show did it for Sevilla. By November 2003, Nineveh, a biblical name to mean both “root” and “dwelling,” opened its first solo and has since built up a track record of putting up at least seven simultaneous shows three to four times a year, or 21 shows yearly.

What sets Nineveh apart from other galleries in the country is the volume and variety of works, its big backroom and a nature space that is home to a number of plants and animals.

Sevilla says: “While we do have some artists who, by regularly exhibiting with us, have become identified with us, we don’t opt for exclusivity. We have encouraged many young artists to exhibit here, with some having their first solo here.”

The place has seven exhibition spaces with sizes suitable for a modest solo show to a bigger space for group shows.  Sevilla says: “If we were to accommodate two outdoor shows for outdoor sculptures, for instance, and allot one gallery space for two exhibits, there would be room for 10 simultaneous shows!”

"Banal na Aso" by Julius Samson

"Tanghalian" by Bernard  A. Vista

He chooses exhibiting artists whose works he appreciates and feels should be recognized by a wider audience. He examines works for the excellence in craftsmanship and the idea or philosophy being put across by the artist.

Sevilla quotes a departed friend, Bobi Valenzuela, who once said: “If a work moves you, then it’s good.”

This year, he upped the ante by also setting aside a room for the works of 13 Artists awardees, explaining, “While Nineveh would like to encourage young unknown artists, we need to show the works of recognized artists because these are what draw art aficionados to patronize the gallery. Moreover, exhibitions featuring the works of 13 Artists serve as models of excellence for beginning artists and the viewing public. Any one show has a mix of renowned and unknown artists. We invite students from elementary to collegiate levels to visit our exhibits to upgrade their knowledge of and taste in Filipino art.”

 From left: "Tured" and "Manag Ba-bain" by Brave Singh

Sevilla suggests these other spots to put in one’s Laguna cultural itinerary good for a weekend: Pila, a heritage town that is a perfect example of the Spanish colonial setup and renowned for its preserved turn-of-the-century houses; Lumban for its barong; Paete for sculptures and paper mache; Pakil for its church and the Danilo Dalena museum; the liturgical museum in Liliw; and the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan.

With this entire month dubbed as “La Laguna,” an arts and culture festival, it’s a good time to head south. Nineveh Artspace is at 2452 1st Avenue Villa Silangan Subdivision, Santa Cruz, Laguna.--Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga

First published in Vera Files/Yahoo Philippines, April 21, 2012. The current exhibits are on view until April 30.

At Nineveh Artspace in April

            Nineveh Artspace in Laguna welcomes Easter with several shows, the most significant one gathering Charlie Co, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Alfredo Esquillo, Jr., Brenda Fajardo, Emmanuel Garibay, Renato Habulan, Don Salubayba, Jaypee Samson and other CCP 13 Artists Awardees in “Tagpuan: Taa.” Nineveh is at 2452 1st Ave., Villa Silangan, Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

            The six other exhibits are: “Traslacion” by the brothers Samson: Jerson, Julius, Pogs and Jaypee; “Kinatao” by Jeminic Real and Brave Singh; “Dos Mil Dose” by Elmer Roslin; “A Baby Changes Everything” by Babeth Lolarga; “Doon Po Sa Amin” by Bernard Vista; and “Engkwentro,” new works of seven young artists. All shows, which run until April 30, are curated by Noel Soler Cuizon. Below are some of the works to be exhibited.

"Walang Lihim," acrylic and lace collage on canvas by Imelda Cajipe Endaya

 "Bloodlines #43," mixed media by Don Salubayba

"Three Pinocchios Riding the Eco-car," oil on canvas by Charlie Co

 "Batang Deboto," oil on canvas by Jaypee Samson

 

Babushka moves on to her 6th solo show of paintings

"A Baby Changes Everything"

Solo exhibition of paintings by Babeth Lolarga

April 8-30, 2012

Nineveh Artspace
Villa Silangan, Santa Cruz, Laguna


In last year's "My Romance" at this same venue, the painter dealt with the subject of her daughter's pregnancy as cause for celebration. It was, for the painter, a personal milestone because then would-be lola transitioned from questioning adult to what the ancients called "crone-hood".

The show's title is from a song composed by Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman and K.K. Wiseman and popularized by Faith Hill in a Christmas album. In it, it tells of "a pregnant teenage girl faced with the uncertainty of her future and coming to terms with the fact that her life is about to change. In the bridge of the song, it is revealed that the teenaged girl and baby in question are in fact the virgin Mary and Jesus Christ." (source: wikipedia.org)

The lyrics end: "My whole life has turned around/I was lost but now I'm found/A baby changes everything, yeah/A baby changes everything."

This year's show is also celebratory in spirit as that much-anticipated grandchild marks a year as a mortal born, a child who is wanted, a bringer of laughter and light in the life of one initiate crone.

Deriving ideas from the colors, bordering on loudness, the shapes, pared down to their basic appearance, and some titles from songs in her list of personal favorites, the painter tries to capture the changes brought by this new life in a family that had grown too comfortable with the status quo.

When the baby moved to Baguio, physical space had to be made for her, her layette, her stimulating toys. Her clothes have become the priority in the laundry. Adjustments are still being made almost daily to accommodate her growth.

But more than anything, her presence reminds the adults around what our essential purity is all about: to again look at the world with fresh, curious eyes, to experience it even if it means bumps, pain and tears.

The late-blooming painter acknowledges and thanks her art tutor Norman Chow for helping put order amidst the chaos of her mind, her partner Rolly Fernandez for letting her muck around in an improvised studio at the carport in Baguio and facilitating transport of the bigger works, her daughter Kimi for allowing use of Butones herself, her books, toys, socks and shoes as subjects, the Lolarga family members of Pasig who are the painter's favorite critics and hecklers, and Nineveh's Louie Sevilla who has had firsthand experience on how babies change everything, including babies/children of the mind.

The painter's style, if it can be called that already, has been described by friends as "naïf." This she takes pride in as she considers herself a six-year-old at heart with an accrued biological age of 50 plus.

"Into the Wild"
57 x 42 cms.
Acrylic on canvas
2012

"Tell Me Dolly Dimple Cheek
Why You Play and Hardly Sleep"
57 x 42 cms.
Acrylic on canvas
2012

"I Heart Orphaned Socks"
42 x 57 cms.
Acrylic on Canvas
2012

"All Eyes"
42 x 57 cms.
Acrylic on Canvas
2012

"Up on the Shore They Work all Day/Out in the Sun They Slave Away"
61 x 68 cms.
Acrylic on Plywood
2012

"I Hear Babies Cry/I Watch Them Grow/They'll Learn Much More/Than I'll Never Know"
79 x 79 cms.
Acrylic on Wood

"Egg Hunt in the Nursery"
118 x 121 cms.
Acrylic on Wood

Nineveh Art Space/Jonah's House of Prayer is at 2452 1st Avenue, Villa Silangan Subdivision, Santa Cruz, 4009 Laguna with phone/facsimile numbers(+6349)808-6617 and (+6349)810-6315; or e-mail the gallery at nineveh_artspace@hotmail.com.