Singapore's glossy mags feature RP artworks

Contemporary Philippine artworks got a major boost in Singapore this month when two high-end glossy magazines, "The Peak" and "Prestige," featured them in several pages of their August issues. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said "The Peak" devoted six pages to the recently held Philippine Art Trek in feature story entitled "Pinoy Art Goes Mainstream," and two picture gallery features entitled “Art Trek" and “Bridging the Arts." Its s feature story also has special interviews with two participating artists in the month-long Philippine Art Trek – main draw artist Manuel D. Baldemor, whose Singapore debut was the show “Windows", and printmaker Virgilio “Pandy" Aviado, who joined the group show “Contemporary Print Philippines" at Momentous Arts Gallery. “With pieces of Philippine art works going for a song, (with prices at the Art Trek show ranging from several hundred Singapore dollars to not more than S$6,000) there’s no time like the present to be buying up for your favorite pieces," it said. It also said gallery owners interviewed also recommend that “now is the time to invest" and that “much of the (Philippine) art is under-appreciated." Prestige magazine ran a 60-page feature story “Hot Country, Cool Canvas" accompanied by colorful reproductions of Philippine contemporary art pieces by artists Mark Justiniani, Nona Garcia, Bernard Vista, Jose Santos III, Christian Tamondong, Rodel Tapaya Garcia, and Marcel Antonio. The magazine said Philippine art has been selling briskly in the major auction houses – with Sotheby’s sale of a Winner Jumalon piece for US$23,400 (well above its high estimate of US$3,250), Christie’s sale of a Nona Garcia artwork for US$27,640 (from a quoted high estimate of US$2,300) and Geraldine Javier’s work which sold for US$36,485 (from a high estimate of US$2,300). Also mentioned is the April 2007 Larasati Auction which saw 70% of its Philippine lots bought off the floor and many by Singaporean and Indonesian art collectors – a breakthrough in itself, given their previous predisposition towards Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese art. A side story on Benedicto Cabrera “Auction Star" talks of a long waitlist of buyers for the artist’s pieces. “Philippine art is indeed making a splash in this city-state, helped in large part by galleries that have devoted all, if not a major chunk, of their calendars to exhibiting art, among them Galerie Joaquin of Jack Teotico, Artesan of Bunny Dans, art Sentral Asia of Rico Hizon, and Utterly Art of Dr. Pwee Keng Hock, an avid supporter of Philippine art. All told, these developments do not only augur well for the cash tills of the galleries but more so for Filipino artists and Philippine art in general, with the growing base of aficionados in this part of the world," said Ambassador Belen Anota. - GMANews.TV