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Journey through space

‘I see the space as kind of a laboratory to test ideas, and I’m always testing the limits of spaces. With this exhibition, the artworks thrive in each other’s company and learn from each other. I hope the art and the space bring about new beginnings and histories.’
LUIS ESPIRITU JR. Column
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The venue at the third floor of the RCBC building is unused, an unfinished space inside an office building. Now it feels like you are entering a galaxy with several universes, each individually distinct, as one artist is different from another but all anchored in one soul with a variety of vibrations. Each masterpiece installation more than anything felt like a vibe. It is something refreshing, new and out of the mold. Here & Now & Now & Then group show curated by Nilo Ilarde is nothing else but visionary.

Mind blowing. In this particular event, the artwork is the content, and the space where it is laid out could be its context.

Juni Salvador, ‘Marcel would have approved…After Duchamp,’ 2017, Glass case, wood panels, nylon string, dimensions variable. Salvador chips off the surface of plywood panels to dismantle both the idea of painting.
Juni Salvador, ‘Marcel would have approved…After Duchamp,’ 2017, Glass case, wood panels, nylon string, dimensions variable. Salvador chips off the surface of plywood panels to dismantle both the idea of painting.
Jose Santos III, ‘Pheromones,’ 2025, cast resin, dimensions variable. This artist presents a colony of curachas — more than 500 cast resin shells of a native crab species endemic to the islands.
Jose Santos III, ‘Pheromones,’ 2025, cast resin, dimensions variable. This artist presents a colony of curachas — more than 500 cast resin shells of a native crab species endemic to the islands.
Nilo Ilarde, ‘faulty landscape,’ 2015, paint tube caps, paint tubes, wooden crate, dimensions variable. Ilarde’s work powerfully illustrate how tools used in the creation of art, which are often overlooked.
Nilo Ilarde, ‘faulty landscape,’ 2015, paint tube caps, paint tubes, wooden crate, dimensions variable. Ilarde’s work powerfully illustrate how tools used in the creation of art, which are often overlooked.
Stream is an evolving sculptural installation by Gary-Ross Pastrana, an artist whose practice is rooted in ideas, process, and the poetic potential of the everyday. Stream is a meditation on translation.
Stream is an evolving sculptural installation by Gary-Ross Pastrana, an artist whose practice is rooted in ideas, process, and the poetic potential of the everyday. Stream is a meditation on translation.
Poklong Anading, ‘fallen map 208-219,’ 2024, Acrylic paint on concrete rubble, dimensions variable. Anading uses found concrete rubble, and renders patterns from ‘trapo’ or rag,using acrylic paint on the flat.
Poklong Anading, ‘fallen map 208-219,’ 2024, Acrylic paint on concrete rubble, dimensions variable. Anading uses found concrete rubble, and renders patterns from ‘trapo’ or rag,using acrylic paint on the flat.
Pete Jimenez, ‘Tall Order 5,’ 2025, wood and steel, 7.5 x 2 x 2 ft (approx.). Jimenez has congregated canoe-like dugouts, chipped and blistered, punctured, primary implements of Filipino fisherfolks.
Pete Jimenez, ‘Tall Order 5,’ 2025, wood and steel, 7.5 x 2 x 2 ft (approx.). Jimenez has congregated canoe-like dugouts, chipped and blistered, punctured, primary implements of Filipino fisherfolks.

Curator Nilo Ilarde, who acts as the primary resource for this new contextualization, couldn’t resist listening when he was offered an unused, rundown, vacant office floor to be used as an exhibition space. Ilarde doesn’t only let art dictate the direction but also allows the space and its unique voice to join the conversation.

It’s so well thought of on how the space interacts with the artists’ works and doesn’t suppress imagination. The event was about transformations — of both the works and the space. One of the featured artist and producer Marco Santos says, “As an artist, showing in the exhibit — Here & Now & Now & Then — feels like placing memory and meaning in the middle of everyday life. The space itself — unlike a typical gallery — challenges how we encounter art. The exhibit disrupts the rhythm of the everyday — inviting people to encounter art where they least expect it. It’s a quiet intervention, asking us to pause, reflect, and find meaning in the in-between. I hope people come with open eyes and leave with something quietly stirring inside.”

Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, ‘Endless Days,’ 2018, Used sandpaper from Soler Santos, 8 x 12 ft. Quisimbing Ramilo presents a collage of sandpaper that was used to build a home.
Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, ‘Endless Days,’ 2018, Used sandpaper from Soler Santos, 8 x 12 ft. Quisimbing Ramilo presents a collage of sandpaper that was used to build a home.
Marco Santos ‘Untitled’ series.
Marco Santos ‘Untitled’ series.
Oca Villamiel, ‘Bahay ng Mangingisda,’ 2025, discarded nylon fish nets. 5 x 7 x 5 ft. Villamiel revisits the theme of the sea, this time focusing on fishing communities, with a sculpture crafted from nylon fish.
Oca Villamiel, ‘Bahay ng Mangingisda,’ 2025, discarded nylon fish nets. 5 x 7 x 5 ft. Villamiel revisits the theme of the sea, this time focusing on fishing communities, with a sculpture crafted from nylon fish.
Juan Alcazaren, ‘Artist’s Proposal,’ 2018. Steel basketball ring with Swarovski crystal embedded, salvaged hardwood floors, 40 x 40 in. The work talks about the struggle to commit to one idea and consummate it.
Juan Alcazaren, ‘Artist’s Proposal,’ 2018. Steel basketball ring with Swarovski crystal embedded, salvaged hardwood floors, 40 x 40 in. The work talks about the struggle to commit to one idea and consummate it.
Ringo Bunoan, ‘In the same breath,’ 2003, Photographs, pillow (12 pieces), dimensions. The work is a personal memorial to her mother, and a reflection on the universal themes of death, memory and communal passing.
Ringo Bunoan, ‘In the same breath,’ 2003, Photographs, pillow (12 pieces), dimensions. The work is a personal memorial to her mother, and a reflection on the universal themes of death, memory and communal passing.
Veronica Peralejo, ‘There Is Water Where The Sun Never Shines,’ 2016, Oil on canvas, 6 ft (diameter). Peralejo portrays a section of the Moon, presenting an imagined landscape.
Veronica Peralejo, ‘There Is Water Where The Sun Never Shines,’ 2016, Oil on canvas, 6 ft (diameter). Peralejo portrays a section of the Moon, presenting an imagined landscape.

This reimagining of space reflects a desire to move beyond institutional constraints, traditional and conventional and more fluid ways of engaging with art. It was extraordinary and expansive pushing imagination to its endless limits but nothing forced — very interactive physically, emotionally, psychologically and even spiritually.

The art space is not merely a backdrop — but an active participant, a framework that shapes and is shaped by the practices it hosts, and by the multitude of ideas that come together. Ilarde ends, “I see the space as kind of a laboratory to test ideas, and I’m always testing the limits of spaces. With this exhibition, the artworks thrive in each other’s company and learn from each other. I hope the art and the space bring about new beginnings and histories.”

Jan Balquin, ‘Untitled (D. Tuazon),’ 2022, Oil on canvas, 5.5 x 8 ft. Balquin continues her series of paintings featuring a blank canvas hung on walls in mundane locations exploring materiality and challenges.
Jan Balquin, ‘Untitled (D. Tuazon),’ 2022, Oil on canvas, 5.5 x 8 ft. Balquin continues her series of paintings featuring a blank canvas hung on walls in mundane locations exploring materiality and challenges.
Lani Maestro, ‘Strange thirst,’ 2018, pages, black ink, brush, wood frame with glass, 15.38 x 11.38 in each (41pieces). Maestro’s Strange Thirst, is a meditative, journal-like work using black ink and notebooks.
Lani Maestro, ‘Strange thirst,’ 2018, pages, black ink, brush, wood frame with glass, 15.38 x 11.38 in each (41pieces). Maestro’s Strange Thirst, is a meditative, journal-like work using black ink and notebooks.
Bernardo Pacquing, ‘Lottery of birth,’ 2023, assemblage, cement mix on panel board (5 panels), 102 x 72 x 6 in each The Lottery of Birth is an assemblage composed of five huge panels.
Bernardo Pacquing, ‘Lottery of birth,’ 2023, assemblage, cement mix on panel board (5 panels), 102 x 72 x 6 in each The Lottery of Birth is an assemblage composed of five huge panels.
Elaine Navas, ‘Nothing moves itself,’ 2017, Oil on canvas, 4 x 5 ft each (4 panels). Navas captures the timeless rhythm of the sea’s constant rise and fall in this series of paintings.
Elaine Navas, ‘Nothing moves itself,’ 2017, Oil on canvas, 4 x 5 ft each (4 panels). Navas captures the timeless rhythm of the sea’s constant rise and fall in this series of paintings.
Roberto Chabet, ‘onethingafteranother,’ 2011, Neon, plywood, metal brackets. 6 x 48 in. Chabet references Donald Judd in his work that highlights the seriality of minimalism.
Roberto Chabet, ‘onethingafteranother,’ 2011, Neon, plywood, metal brackets. 6 x 48 in. Chabet references Donald Judd in his work that highlights the seriality of minimalism.
Nilo Ilarde
Contemporary art exhibit
RCBC art show
Immersive installations
Here & Now & Now & Then

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