Winners of the 2018 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence announced

It's another year of a successful search for the country's most promising artists.

The winners of the 2018 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence have officially been named, weeks ahead of the 2018 MADE Awarding Ceremony and Exhibit Opening.

Leading the list is Noel Elicana, the Grand Awardee for the Oil/Acrylic on Canvas Category.

His winning piece, “Kanya-kanyang Tinik, Kanya-kanyang Landas, Iisa ang Ginagalawan”, features an elaborate tree with otherworldly figures growing out of its branches. 

In a statement shared with the press, Elicana was quoted as saying, “Every single Filipino has their own yoke to carry. But no matter what their differences are, their eyes shine with positive thoughts. These people envision their dreams and are searching to unlock their journey.”

Alex P. Ordoyo is the Grand Awardee for Watermedia on Paper category, receiving the honor for his haunting piece titled "Destroyed."

The monochromatic piece depicts the devastation that enveloped Marawi. The reduction of the city to ruins is captured in the melancholy lines that cut across the canvas. 

Francis Eugene E. Andrade received a special citation for his work “The Diminishing Memories of Home.”  On the foreground of the painting is a piece of luggage right outside an old house that's been drained of colors. 

Andrade's work is a take on the adage "home is where the heart is", the wheeled bag symbolizing the mobile nature of the feeling of "home."

The winner for the Grand Award for the Sculpture Recognition Program is Maria Ronna Lara-Bes, for her work “Interconnected.”

Lara-Bes' sculpture is composed of spheres that stand for the islands in the Philippine archipelago and stems that stand of the bond its citizen share. As a whole, the sculpture is a visual representation of much-needed solidarity. 

This year’s MADE Painting Recognition Program Final Board of Judges was chaired by one of the country’s leading art critic and 13-time MADE judge Cid Reyes. Members of the Board included 1993 Metrobank Annual Painting Competition winner Alfredo Esquillo, Jr., award-winning visual artist Marina Cruz and curator Ricky Francisco and esteemed member of the academe and art community, Professor Leo Abaya.

Meanwhile, the MADE Sculpture Recognition Program Final Board of Judges was headed by multimedia artist and 1990 Metrobank Annual Painting Competition winner Mark Justiniani. Members of the Board included award-winning international sculptor Daniel dela Cruz, multimedia artist Gerardo Tan, Interdisciplinary artist Josephine Turalba, and sculptor Reginald Yuson.

Now on its 34th year, MADE has set the benchmark among the country’s art competitions, raising the general public’s appreciation for the arts through exhibits and lectures and has long served as the career launch pad of the country’s most admired contemporary artists and sculptors. Among its past awardees are Elmer Borlongan, Mark Justiniani, Jan Leeroy New, Salvador “Buddy” Ching, and Andres Barrioquinto.

The awardees with be formally recognized at the 2018 MADE Awarding Ceremony and Exhibit Opening as part of the 56th anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) on September 20, 2018. — AT, GMA News