Robinsons ARTablado Celebrates Mindoro’s Beauty
Mindoro artists celebrate the beauty of the island they call home through their art that will be on display at Robinsons Galleria’s ARTablado starting May 16.
“Unlimited Grace” will showcase Mindoro’s breathtaking landscapes and seascapes as interpreted on canvas by Wilfredo Rufon, Rodel Cruzado, Lulu Lladones, Chressa Yee Rufon, Ralph John Fatallo, Anna Lumpas, Vanessa Tria, Windsor Magnaye, Angelo Provido, Nilo Evangelista and Elisa Certeza Rufon.
Also on display at the show is the work of Ulway Igoy Gayno, a local weaver. Popoy Cusi (also known as “Master of Watercolor in the Philippines”) will be the guest speaker and also a special exhibitor.
Lumpas, who started painting at a young age, uses the canvas to celebrate the simple life and natural wonders of Puerto Galera, Mindoro’s top tourist destination. Femininity is also a recurring theme in her works.
Born in Valenzuela City but raised in Puerto Galera, Chressa Yee Rufon takes after her father who is also a visual artist. Chressa plays the guitar and draws inspiration from music.
Magnaye, a Fine Arts graduate of the Batangas State University, combines his love for travel and art to create striking pieces. He focuses on what he calls his “oeuvres kalye” or street art that tells the story of beauty and chaos in day-to-day living. A favorite subject is the tricycle, convenient for traveling on off-the-beaten paths but is also faster and more accessible.
For Lladones, a Fine Arts graduate from the College of the Holy Spirit on Mendiola, Manila, art is not only a passion but also a source of strength. Most of her subjects are flowers and Mindoro’s rich flora.
Iraya Mangyan Evangelista hopes to bring attention to his local community through art. He was mentored by Rufon, who he admires for his skill and dedication to the craft.
Also known as Popoy, Cusi is regarded as the “Master of Watercolor in the Philippines”. He hails from Bongabong in Oriental Mindoro and has exhibited his works throughout the Philippines and other countries, like Japan, Spain and Belgium. He has published a book, “Philippine Coral Reefs in Watercolor”, which promotes the Philippines’ rich marine biodiversity.
Fatallo’s family moved from Caloocan, where he was born, to Marinduque when he was seven years old. He later relocated to Mindoro. Moving from place to place, drawings were the constant in his life and a way to fight depression.
Cruzado was a member of a musical rock group in Puerto Galera in the 1980s. At the time, he painted signages on boats, restaurants and dive shops to augment his income. After retirement from being a tourism officer of Socorro, he started his formal training in the arts in 2020.
Manila-born Tria has created an alter ego named “Vanpug”, which she uses in the local art scene. Pugs, the dog breed, are her main subjects, such as “Pug with a Pearl Earring”, her take on the great master Vermeer’s popular work. She participated in curated exhibitions in Singapore and auctioned off her works to collectors all over the country, in Australia and the United States.
Wilfredo Rufon, who is based in Puerto Galera, got his formal training in Fine Arts from the University of the East. He often paints Puerto Galera’s underwater scenes, forests and mangroves, coral reefs and schools of fish.
Her father’s occupation as a jewelry maker got Elisa Certeza Rufon interested in art and jewelry designs. When she got a job in 2004 in Puerto Galera, her passion for art grew stronger as she enjoyed the island’s beautiful beaches and natural environment.
ARTablado, a combination of art and entablado (stage), is part of Robinsons Land’s efforts to showcase Philippine art and bring Filipino artists to centerstage. It especially shines the spotlight on homegrown talents, such as the Hagonoy Art Group from Bulacan back in June 2021, Quezonian artists in February 2022, and Sining Rizal in April 2022.
ARTablado is on the third floor of Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Quezon City.
