Fabric of form: A new dialect for Philippine painting at the M
The works are a masterclass in manipulation. Materials are sliced, tufted, pleated and folded, proving that the medium isn’t just the message — it is the master.
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The works are a masterclass in manipulation. Materials are sliced, tufted, pleated and folded, proving that the medium isn’t just the message — it is the master.
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JEROME Gomez, Wawi Navarroza, Olivia d’Aboville, Ayni Nuyda and Ram Bucoy.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
LIBET Virata and Met Museum president Tina Colayco.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
CARA Wilson and Lizzie Zobel.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
JAIME Ponce de Leon, Mark Wilson, Michelle Perez, Bambina Olivares and Ces Drilon.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
Robert Magsaysay-Ho, Jessica Wise, Charles Deletaille
GEMMA Gemayel, Mitzi Kaspar and Marissa Lopa.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
APA Ongpin, Manny Samson and Tommy Villanueva.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
IÑIGO and Marilen Elizalde.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
RAULITO Fores, Veana Fores, Eli Antonino, Tinette Puyat, Bledes Fores Legarda, Joey Tanjangco, Mar Roxas, Abba Napa, Lia Groh, Stapatt Sankosik and Oye Fores.
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
Patrick Co, Chunchi Soler
Yuan Ongpin, Toñico Manahan
Rene Alcala, Carlos Tanseco, Derek Flores, Pong Magtibay
David Guerrero, Angel Guerrero
In the sphere of style and substance, there is a certain alchemy that occurs when the hand meets the medium — a tactile conversation that transcends the flat surface of a canvas.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, this dialogue takes center stage with the opening of “Material Instincts” last 10 February — a curated exploration that strips away the artifice of imagery to celebrate the raw, rhythmic pulse of materiality.
Curated with a discerning eye by Bambina Olivares, the exhibition serves as a sophisticated sequel to the ongoing discourse on contemporary painting.
The quartet of Filipino artists featured — Olivia d’Aboville, Marionne Contreras, Monica Delgado and Michelle Pérez — each command a different dialect of abstraction.
D’Aboville transforms textile into a fluid field of experimentation, while Contreras delves into the cozy yet complex architecture of yarn and felt. Meanwhile, Delgado and Pérez treat paint not as a pigment, but as a physical body, coaxing it to leap off the pictorial plane and into the third dimension.
The works are a masterclass in manipulation. Materials are sliced, tufted, pleated and folded, proving that the medium isn’t just the message — it is the master. In this definitive take on post-painterly abstraction, let the material speak, and the form will follow.
“Material Instincts” will be on view through 30 April at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
