THE EXPRESSIVE eyes of the portrait of an Aeta woman carrying a monitor lizard inspire the viewer to take a closer look at the painting. Ryan D. Orig, the painter, said that the image was inspired by an Aeta woman whom he recalled would pass by his family’s house in the province when he was a child. Aeta Girl with Bayawak is one of five portraits of indigenous people by Mr. Orig which are on view and for sale through the “online art marketplace” at FilipinoArt.ph (https://www.filipinoart.ph/).

Alongside Mr. Orig’s portraits on FilipinoArt.ph are Armenius Aralar’s painting titled Jose Rizal and the Gang, August Punzal’s abstracts inspired by places in Egypt, Hermel Alejandre’s painting The Virgin and the Young People, Jose Ehric Egualada’s images depicting life in the farms and fields, and Pamela Lei Bermudez’s views of Pinoy livelihood painted onto cubes.

The launch of the online platform coincided with an exhibition featuring works by the artists at the Art Circle Gallery in Ayala Malls Circuit, Makati City.

Developed by Chanz Global, an IT and digital marketing solutions company which is also behind PropetyAsia.ph website, the digital platform was created “to help Filipino artists to be seen by a wider audience and for art lovers to have easier access to art,” a press release explained.

“FilipinoArt.ph takes away those boundaries by showcasing a whole lot more artists and offer prices for every Juan. And if an original piece of art is still inaccessible because of the price, we also offer prints via our partner, No Blank Walls; it’s a less expensive way of getting beautiful art into your home, office, or personal space,” FilipinoArt.ph CEO and founder Yuri Stegeman was quoted as saying in the press release.

“We started with an online marketing platform [for property] at first. But then we realized that when people buy something, the house is empty.” Mr. Stegeman told BusinessWorld.

“Everybody needs art eventually in their house. [The thing] is if you go for affordable art and go to a department store, [the artworks] are all the same. It’s a bit basic. So, we came up with this platform and tried to see how many artists out there that would be interested,” he said.

HOW IT FUNCTIONS
FilipinoArt.ph currently showcases paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and mixed media works by 37 Filipino visual artists. The website uploads new works every quarter.

According to Mr. Stegeman, they work with experts for the curation of the artists’ profiles and body of work during the selection process. He added that the applicants must be practicing artists. Applications to get on the website is done through an online submission form.

The website is equipped with a “View in a Room” option which shows how the artwork would look like when displayed in a living room. To purchase a piece, the buyer may select the original or a print of the work (except for sculptures). The have to sign in or log in to their account prior to filling out a shipping address and mode of payment.

For Mr. Stegeman, developing an online art marketplace “helps artists to be seen and for art lovers to have easy access to art.”

“[The] problem is that, traditionally, only art from established artists could be easily found. But how can you become an established artist if no one knows you exist?

“People are diverse, and so is art. It is all very subjective. The Internet provides plenty of space to showcase this diversity,” he said. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

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