Art in nature and the nature of art

NATURE HAS always been a major inspiration for visual artists. Here, three international artists set foot in the Philippines to showcase the art of nature according to their lenses.

EXHIBIT
Between the Sky
and Earth in Siquijor
On view until Oct. 28
Galleria Duemila

Italian artist Viviana Riccelli finds home in the Philippines, particularly in Siquijor, the land of mystique. Between the Sky and Earth in Siquijor, on view until Oct. 28 at Galleria Duemila, explores the mystery, and, at the same time, openness of the island province.

“When I first arrived in Siquijor, and I was approaching its coast, its colors touched my heart: green, blue, turquoise, red, and yellow like the hot sun. I felt immediately that this was my place,” said Ms. Riccelli, who has studied art in Rome, Berlin, Venice, and Cairo.

She said there is something in Siquijor that captured her heart and made her stay. “I arrived in Siquijor after an attentive search, after many years of traveling and after asking myself where is the place I would like to spend the rest of my life.”

The kaleidoscopic colors of Siquijor and her journeys in her newfound home are captured on canvas. She said: “The visions and diary of this journey treads through into my art work.”

EXHIBIT
Finding Freedom
Between the Lines
On view until Nov. 10
Makati Shangri-La

A visual pleasure that captures the meeting of west and east, Finding Freedom Between the Lines highlights the Chinese calligraphic techniques, colors, and wisdom found in art.

Taiwanese artist Yang Ding-Xian works with Western painting tools to express the ancient wisdoms of the East through a palette that simulates a garden: tranquil, green, balanced, and pleasing.

On view until Nov. 10 at Makati Shangri-La’s mezzanine, her artworks speak of life and vitality as seen in her hard stones cutting through the soft moss or mountains with pink flowers.

EXHIBIT
Limaciform
On view until Nov. 25
Silverlens Gallery

Limaciform, a collaboration between Silverlens Gallery and Jakarta’s ROH Projects, is a solo exhibition by Bandung-based artist Syaiful Garibaldi. He is not new to the local art scene as Mr. Garibaldi has been featured at Silverlens in the 2016 and 2017 editions of Art Fair Philippines.

Comprising videos, miniature sculptures, drawings, and installations, the show delves into the cycle of life and death, and the survival of organisms in an ecosystem. While we see death as terrifying, Mr. Garibaldi challenges this notion to re-contextualize how the decomposition of the flesh can also be a form of metamorphosis and reincarnation.

His works are participatory; inviting and allowing the curious audience to recreate his works, which renders them open-ended, multi-interpretational, and infinite in form and meanings. – NFPDG