Pinoy sculptor Daniel dela Cruz to open Hong Kong exhibit Dec. 8

A Filipino sculptor will open an exhibit of his works at Hong Kong’s prestigious Fabrik Gallery on December 8, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong said on Friday.   Sculptor Daniel dela Cruz will feature works like “Armed and Ready” at the exhibit at Fabrik Contemporary Art at Gallery 12 Art One, M/F Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.   “Fifteen sculptural works will be on display, depicting Dela Cruz’s lighthearted view of his favorite subject—women,” the Consulate General said on its website.   The event, dubbed “Ms. Interpretation,” will be Dela Cruz’s first solo exhibition, it added. Its opening is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The exhibit runs until January 21, 2012. “This is his ninth solo exhibition to date. He has also been featured in Singapore and Italy, where he won the gold medal at the Festival of Nativities in Rome in December 2008. His Nativity sculptures won the highest honor in a field of 131 entries from 71 countries,” the Consulate General said. According to the Consulate General, each piece in the exhibit is “individually and painstakingly made by hand from small strips of brass and other metals, using multiple working techniques of hammering, welding, soldering, and jewelry making to come up with sculptures unlike any other.” Dela Cruz, born in 1966 in Metro Manila, earned his degree in Philosophy from the University of the Philippines before pursuing a career as a commercial product designer.   His exposure to different materials such as wood, ceramics and resin during the course of his work made him realize that he did not want to work with materials that he typically encounter in his line of work and are geared for mass production, which led him to decide to work with metal.   This ensures that each piece he makes is one of a kind.   National Artist Arturo Luz gave dela Cruz early encouragement when he was starting out, telling the budding artist to “use the kind of material that would make the sculpture as permanent as possible.”   Dela Cruz mounted his first solo exhibit at the Ayala Museum in the Philippines only in 2007. - VVP, GMA News