Skip to main content

From Forgettable to Essential


ManilART didn't start as anything special—just another art fair. Galleries, new artists, and old masters all showed up to hang their work and make some cash. It was functional, but utterly forgettable, like a plain white wall.





The organizers looked at that "basic market" and declared, "Nope. We're going bigger." They didn't want a mediocre local show; they wanted a bridge to launch Filipino artists onto the international stage.

Today, ManilART is a sophisticated hub. It's not artworks hung side-by-side like strangers; it's an electrical surge of creative collaboration. And it's the collision of different disciplines that creates magic.




They truly get it: The exchange of ideas across different creative fields is the whole damn game. They aren't just selling art; they're stirring the pot and letting the sparks fly. They took a simple concept and gave it personality, and in art, that's everything.









See you next year!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eric van Straaten's 3D-Printed Statuettes

I can't remember when I first became entranced with Eric van Straaten 's 3D-printed sculptures. I think I stumbled onto his work through tumblr when I was searching for new artists to follow. Eric's attention to detail is pretty amazing, and the image of the eroticized child-woman is familiar throughout his work. Most of his hyper surreal pieces are 3D-printed in sandstone material, which are created by laying down a thin layer of gypsum powder and using a binding agent and color inks to print a pattern onto it. Once the entire model is printed, it is withdrawn from the print bed and the excess powder is removed. The model is then sealed and ready for display. "I think that the girls I create in my work are visualizations of my own feelings, fantasies and thoughts," the Dutch artist explains. "The girls actually look like someone I (used to) know and the different ‘portraits’ tell something about what I think of myself in regards to her or women ...

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

The Mystical World of Akiya Kageichi

Sometimes I go to tumblr, type in a random word or phrase and see what catches my eye. When I found Akiya Kageichi's blog and it began to load, my eyes were dazzled by the expertly rendered illustrations. They're mystical, chaotic, ominous and deliciously so. Well, never mind what I have to say, the work speaks for itself.