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.
CURATOR Bambina Olivares
Photographs courtesy of Metropolitan Museum
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.
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
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.
