Jean Tan at Makati Shangri-La

THE HIRAYA GALLERY and Makati Shangri-La hotel present Jeanne Tan’s exhibit entitled Vanishing, featuring acrylic paintings of seascapes and underwater scenes. It will run from Feb. 6 to 29 at the Mezzanine of the hotel.

Challenging perceptions of reality

THE new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Constructions of Truths, challenges perception of reality and will engage spectators in a critical contemplation of their perception of the world. The exhibit is set to open on Feb. 6 at the museum of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). Curated by MCAD Director Joselina “Yeyey” Cruz, the gallery will feature video installations from 11 award-winning visual artists and creators from around the globe namely, Minerva Cuevas (Mexico), Shuruq Harb (Israel), Luay Fadhil (Iraq), Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore), Thao-Nguyên Phan (Vietnam), Ramin Haerizadeh (Iran), Rokni Haerizadeh (Iran), Hesam Rahmanian and James N. Kienitz Wilkins (USA), and Martha Atienza and Maria Taniguchi (Philippines). The artworks present how digital innovation has blurred the barriers between photography and film with the production of post-photographic image and its altered layers. The viewers might differentiate the truth from the designed reality as the selected videos tackle the concept of “truthiness” and the conditions of shifting truth in the various images presented by the media, government, and nonfiction, among others. Constructions of Truths will be conducted in partnership with the Han Nefkens Foundation for emerging video artists and facilitated with the support of the Edouard Malingue Gallery in Hong Kong, Kurimanzutto Gallery in Mexico City and New York City, The Ruya Foundation in Iraq, and Silverlens Gallery in Makati City. It will be open to the public until April 12. MCAD is located at the DLS-CSB SDA Building, Dominga St., Malate, Manila.

Italian art movement at the Metropolitan Museum

THE Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Embassy of Italy present Arte Povera: Italian Landcape, and exhibit curated by Danilo Eccher. The exhibit captures one of the most pivotal points in the history of Italian contemporary art with the way it broke boundaries in traditional art making, its new engagement with audiences, and its experimental approach in making life and everyday objects integral to art. The travelling exhibit offers for the first time in Southeast Asia the opportunity to see masterpieces of Italian artists who gave birth to the Arte Povera movement during the 1960s and ’70s. The exhibit opens on Feb. 8 at the Metropolitan Museum, Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila.

Aimee Bernardo turns trash to art

AIMEE BERNARDO will hold her fourth annual solo art exhibition — Samut-sari mga Pat’ak ni Aimee Bernardo — at her studio, Factory505, from Feb. 2-11. An independent contemporary artist, with roots in photography, she has added plastic as her found object, turning trash into art in the process, to raise awareness about recycling. Factory505 is located at the Parc Royale Condo, Jade Drive, Ortigas Center.

Free collage workshop

THE Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) will be holding a free contemporary collage workshop featuring award-winning Filipino artists Gary-Ross Pastrana and Kaloy Olavides. They will lead the free lecture and workshop entitled “The Craft of Contemporary Collage” at MCAD of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) on Jan. 25 at The Loop of the College’s School of Design and Arts (SDA) Building. The highlight of the activity is the hands-on demonstration of both Pastrana and Olavides that will allow participants to get a grasp of their design and development process. Under the guidance of the artists, the participants will likewise explore the possibilities as they scan and cut-out their preferred elements from the available materials in pursuit of a new whole visual arts assemblage. In addition to individual works, simple compositional exercises will also be conducted that will spark creativity, such building collaborative collages that will combine the works of the facilitators and the participants. Materials and tools from old magazines, books, catalogues, papers, cardboards and illustration boards to scissors, rubber cement and glue will be provided. The students are likewise encouraged to bring additional supplies. The workshop is a four-hour session, which will run from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information call 8230-5100 local 3897 or e-mail mcad@benilde.edu.ph. MCAD is located at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts Campus, Dominga Street, Malate, Manila.