Daily TribuneThe opening evening was well-attended by a stellar lineup of ambassadors and diplomats, industry magnates and business tycoons, artists and art lovers, the stalwarts of the social scene in a celebration of female empowerment.
Three pieces by Imelda Cajipe Endaya.
‘SpiraL Joy (1997)’ by Rosario Bitanga.
‘Picket Dreams’ (2019) by Leonore R.S. Lim.
‘Ode to Babaylan (2024)’ by Susan Fetalvero-Roces.
‘Exuberance (Aegean Sea) (2024)’ by Marivic Rufino.
Art critic Cid Reyes.
Ambassador Jesus Tambunting, Marge Tambunting and Menchu Concepcion.
Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss and insurance magnate Peter Coyuito.
Marivic Rufino, Archbishop Charles John Brown, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Susan Fetalvero-Roces.
Mia Borromeo, Maritess Pineda, Ayni Nuyda, Mayenne Carmona and Lulu Tan-Gan.
Mita Rufino and National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario.
The attending artists: Susan Fetalvero-Roces, Imelda Cajipe Endaya and Marivic Rufino.
Rhoda Caliwara, Flor G.Tarriela, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas, artist Marivic Rufino and Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines Marielle Geraedts.
SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation’s consultant Nes Jardin, SMHCC chairperson and president Elizabeth T. Sy and Philippine Honorary Consul to Lebanon Joe Assad.
NATIONAL Artist Virgilio Almario, sculptor Ramon Orlina and Deanna Ongpin-Recto.
Olga Severino Martel, TESDA Director-General Jose Francisco ‘Kiko’ Bantug Benitez and Chona Lopez.
To genuinely empower female artists is the name of the game, and Appassionata III continues on that sincere promise, even more than a decade later.
Originally launched in 2013, the initial installment was born out of an impassioned conversation between Marivic Rufino and Deanna Ongpin–Recto. This no-nonsense duo tapped Susan
Fetalvero-Roces. The trio then eventually evolved into a formidable collective of five women artists, all accomplished achievers veterans in their respective callings.
With varied wide spectrum of arts, it would be seemingly impossible to contain them into a specific theme. After all, each artist had their own specialism. And so, the name Appassionata was proposed, a reflection of their lifelong love affair with art.
Leon Gallery in Makati City served as the prime space for the affair. It was a mini-reunion for the three Philippine-based — to borrow a term from Ongpin-Recto — “appassionartists” Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Susan Fetalvero-Roces and Marivic Rufino. With Leonore R.S. Lim, who found a second home on foreign shores, together dedicated the exhibit to their fifth member, the late Philippine abstraction pioneer Rosario Bitanga.
The stretched-out hall was elegantly transformed and stood witness to the personal journeys of the creators, as their profound pieces mirrored their lives and beliefs, struggles and triumphs.
Bitanga is considered a foremost painter and adept sculptor, who has mastered both forms. Meanwhile, Cajipe Endaya injects feminism and indigenous culture at the forefront with her folk symbol-inspired artworks. Lim revives and preserves printmaking techniques and integrates them into her modern-day creations to critical acclaim. Fetalvero-Roces enjoins the guests to be part of her artwork, as their own stories are as relevant to the interpretation as her own. Rufino soothes viewers into a sense of calm through her watercolor objet d’art, which all are a reflection of her life’s timeline, featuring one of her many muses, valiant horses.
The opening evening was well-attended by a stellar lineup of ambassadors and diplomats, industry magnates and business tycoons, artists and art lovers, the stalwarts of the social scene in a celebration of female empowerment. Since the exhibiting artists have dabbled in their respective fields since the 1970s, they certainly are considered to be deserving torchbearers!
