Young artist sets up own gallery in Antipolo
IMPATIENCE and passion have brought young and emerging visual talent Nadia Marie Ibay to put up her own art gallery where she can, of course, showcase her own works.
“I was going around the galleries and they have a waiting time of two years. I was like ‘No.’ So I made my own. I saved money to build a gallery. If my paintings have to wait for it, wala eh. I don’t really have the patience for that,” said the 21-year-old artist.
At 18, she was able to sell her abstract works which she then used to open her eponymous gallery.
The NMI gallery is located in Antipolo Rizal and opened on Dec. 13. The gallery will be home to contemporary Filipino abstract artists and their art works.
And of course, Ms. Ibay is NMI’s first featured artist.
Called Intuition of Colors, the ongoing exhibition on view at NMI art gallery runs until Dec. 31.
On showcase are her works in acrylic, spray paint, and mineral pigment.
“I love colors,” said Ms. Ibay, whose other passion includes music and makeup, and antiques and crystals.
With a penchant for texture, Ms. Ibay’s style includes multiple layers of colors, and incorporation of techniques like drip paints, splatters, and splashes of acrylic.
“All of my works have texture. I don’t even mind if someone touches my art. It’s fine. For example, there’s a blind person, I want them to appreciate the art,” she said.
A riot of colors in her canvas, she said that “each piece is always busy,” yet planned despite being abstract.
Written in a small note about the artist, it’s said that she sets herself apart from the other artist thanks to “the dichotomy of her old soul” which becomes “the quintessence of her art.”
“My art inspiration comes from my everyday experiences and my other passions,” she explained.
A self-taught artist, Ms. Ibay said she doesn’t have an art idol she looks up to, but she likes Banksy “because he’s scandalous and mysterious.”
Her youth and vigor allows her to work and finish ten abstract paintings in one week.
“I don’t sleep. The only rest I have is when I am waiting for them to dry,” she said while laughing.
“My mind is always on. I never stop,” she added.
Besides aiming to become a home for young artists looking for their platform, NMI is also self-serving. The artist-owner said: “It’s also my showroom, I have a lot of friends who wanted to see my painting, so I opened this for that [reason].”
Her ongoing exhibition has prices that start at P40,000 up to P60,000.
After Ms. Ibay’s Intuition of Colors finishes on Dec. 31, the artist-owner will be opening the NMI line up with another exhibition of her work.
Her second show is scheduled in February and will be about the Greco-Roman mythology. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
