Ex-TV show host Jomike Tejido mounts 25th solo exhibit

Jomike Tejido, host of now defunct TV show Art is Kool, presents his latest solo exhibition in Art Lounge Manila, on view at the art gallery’s The Podium mall branch until today.

Marking Tejido’s 25th solo exhibition, Celestial is a luminous reflection on gratitude, time and creative evolution. In this body of work, Tejido turns his gaze skyward — toward the heavens, toward cycles of day and night, and toward the intangible yet powerful forces that shape our paths. Through vibrant color fields, flowing organic forms and sculptural kinetic mobiles, Celestial celebrates life’s seen and unseen elements with reverence and joy.

“As this is a thanksgiving show, I wanted to express gratitude to a higher power,” Tejido shared in a statement. “We often look up for hope and guidance—and that upward gaze became a central gesture in this collection. Celestial is my way of honoring that journey.”

At the heart of the exhibition are two large paintings — Celestial Gratitude (Day) and Celestial Gratitude (Night) — which explore dualities of light and shadow, motion and stillness. Warm ochres, luminous golds and coral tones evoke the vitality of sunlight, while violets, deep blues, and silvery hues suggest introspection under starlight. These abstract landscapes are populated with joyful recurring motifs — floating mushrooms, floral bursts, soft-edged orbs — that represent abundance, calm, and imaginative freedom. Carefully structured yet emotionally intuitive, the works reflect Tejido’s background in architecture, visible in the precise layering, balanced grids and symbolic repetition.

“Even though my compositions are abstract, I approach each canvas like a building façade — planned, structured, and detailed,” he said. “But unlike architecture, in art, I’m free to build worlds where emotion leads.”

Adding a new dimension to his practice, Celestial also debuts Tejido’s all-metal hanging mobiles—kinetic sculptures inspired by his painted motifs, suspended from the gallery’s soaring ceilings. These moving elements continue the narrative of upward motion and spiritual openness.

“They’re like pieces of my canvases floating off the wall,” he noted. “They bring energy, movement, and that sense of looking up — of hope and inspiration.”

Celestial follows Tejido’s 2023 exhibition Nordic Sky Worlds, which was rooted in mythology and Norse cosmology. In contrast, Celestial is more grounded, universal and emotionally resonant.