To discover drawing is to discover the heart of human history. It is the nucleus of human civilization within the wombs of the caves, of etched lines and markings by prehistoric men, which inevitably gave birth to the outlines of our modern-day culture. A Drawing Show, under Nilo Ilarde’s curatorship, attempts to re-acquaint the audience to drawing as an art practice and an end in itself; not just a B-side or a draft to a masterpiece; but the encore to an artist’s conceptual output. A Drawing Show assembles some of today’s contemporary artists from varied genres resulting to a plethora of possibilities and permutations of drawing styles and techniques. In it, figuration coalesce with abstraction and the only limit set to a stroke or a line is the artist’s willingness to push the boundaries of drawing as a concept. Regardless of the medium, each piece serves as a dot that connects an expanding image – a portrait of the potentiality within the landscape of Philippine Art. This exhibition tries to remind us that an artwork’s value lies not in the pigment but in the artist’s vision; that the emancipation of ideas should not be contained in any medium or material; and each scribble or sketch is a grand gesture awaiting to be realized and actualized. 

Written by Lec Cruz

“It is not simply the physical barrier of the skin since this would overlook both the psychological sphere that EXISTS beyond our basic corporeal boundaries and the reciprocal relationship between self and context.” — Sally O’Rielly

Notions of identity through technology and the COMMODIFICATION of knowledge (as seen by the emergence of the internet) channels a passage to a culture valuing the infinite uses of form and endless movement of signs based on a common ideal that is sharing. the twin figures: dJ and programmer, products of this cultural landscape, practice recycling, re-appropriating, remixing, RECONTEXTUALIZING and reprogramming. By operating with JUXTAPOSitions there is potential to redefine connection, cause growth, stimulate change and generate newness. This does not NECESSARILY mean to DISASSOCIATE from origin but can acknowledge and cultivate it. annexed forms, elements and technological tools situated within the work act as instrument and presence. the journey of a musical loop or sample is likened to as is subject to its conception as mark making and lines congregate in a collaboration defining becoming.

WRITTEN By Katarina ortiz