World Center

L’Écho des Nouveaux Mondes presented by Port Tonic Art Center is an exhibition of new works conceived by the artists Yassine Balbzioui, Fabro Tranchida, Jigger Cruz and Arvin Nogueras.

This artistic exposition, which runs until 31 September showcases the innovative and diverse artistic expressions of these four distinguished artists, two of them carry the Philippine flag with pride (Cruz and Nogueras). Port Tonic Center is a non-profit association that works in favor of contemporary artistic creation in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Built in a former 4000m2 shipyard facing the sea, they manage an artists’ residence in Les Issambres that welcomes six to seven artists each year for residencies of one to three months. The association operates exclusively on private funds through the competition of amateurs, collectors and corporate sponsorship.

This year, the space prides in the current lineup of international masters to be. Jigger Cruz, is a globally renowned artist who’s a graduate of Far Eastern University graduate in Manila. This artist is listed in international auction houses, exhibited in both solo and group shows, and featured in multiple public collections worldwide. Cruz’s art is characterized by his playfulness with defacement and vandalization, using oil, color, spray paint and rough interventions on canvas.

Arvin Nogueras, popularly known as Caliph8, is a celebrated and outstanding multidisciplinary Filipino artist. His brilliant exploration into visual and sonic experimentation deals with merging sensibilities and creating hybrids. Yassine Balbzioui is born in Marrakech, Morocco. His work explores the theme of masks and appearances — hard to miss the absence of the human face in Yassine’s work; the paintings are marked with animals and birds representing stories or scenes on characteristics of animals and similarities to human habits. Fabro Tranchida is a winner of the Guggenheim Museum New York award, has exhibited visual investigations on representations of youth and masculinity. He gives postgraduate seminars on curatorship, art criticism and regularly exhibits of his work since 2012. He is the founder of the artistic duo Los Picoletos, together with Dante Litvak.

Their residency at Port Tonic Art Center allowed them to explore new ideas, collaborate, and push creative processes to a higher level bringing a unique perspective and style. They were given opportunities provided by the residency program, spent weeks of immersion and creation on-site. It becomes an artistic space for cross cultural learnings and experiences. More so an interactive and welcoming landscape of diversity and inclusivity. The Center presents all works and achievements to the public, and offers works for sale to collectors during the annual ART TONIC exhibition, which takes place from early July to late September.