SCULPTOR Gabriel “Gabby” Barredo, also known as the pioneer of kinetic art in the Philippines, passed away on Jan. 6. He was 62. Mr. Barredo was known for using found objects in his sculptures and mixed media installations which found fame both here and abroad and even inspired artists in other fields.

Silverlens Galleries, which represented the artist, made the announcement on its Facebook page. “It is with great sadness that we share with you that our dear friend, Gabriel Barredo, artist, has passed away. He leaves behind his daughter, and a lifetime of art making. Gabriel Barredo’s incomparable work has paved the way for kinetic art. His thoughtful approach to his practice took months of building, bricolage, sketching, and painting. Barredo created immersive spaces that encouraged viewers to rethink form, structure, and experience. A brilliant artist. We will miss him.”

At the first Art Fair Philippines in 2013, Mr. Barredo mounted a 30-foot-long installation of sculpture elements and kinetic objects. The English and Catholic culture-themed Asphalt — which featured an assortment of objects such as sharp metal bits, toys, and lights — was acquired by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy and displayed at the LVMH museum in Berlin, Germany.

One of his most recent solo exhibitions was Opera (2015), an installation of corpse-like mannequins and sculptures presented in Silverlens Galleries, was adapted into a dance performed by Ballet Philippines (BP) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2016.

Born in 1957, Mr. Barredo studied sculpture at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Among the accolades he received in his life were gold medals from the Art Association of the Philippines Annual Competition for Painting (1981), and Art Association of the Philippines Annual Competition for Sculpture (1982); and the 1998 Araw ng Maynila Award.

Family and friends posted tributes to him on social media.

Theater actress and singer Cara Barredo wrote on Facebook: “Our dearest Tito Gabby (Gabriel Barredo) passed away this morning leaving his house exploding with his beautiful art — finished and unfinished. Beautiful. Crazy. Very much like him. He was the silent type and mostly kept to himself. Never even bragged about his art or being an artist. But he was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. We would like to ask for your prayers for the peace of his soul and for strength for the family.”

“I’ll always remember him as handsome and funny. Creating treasure out of trash. Bustiers, purses, paintings, sculptures. Pieces I couldn’t always define, but could definitely feel,” Mr. Barredo’s cousin, award-winning theater actress and singer Lea Salonga, wrote on Facebook.

“What a cousin to be proud of always. His passing is not just a loss to our country, but a loss for our family,” she added.

Art Fair Philippines: “Our thoughts are with Gabriel Barredo’s family, including his devoted team of workers whom he considered his family, on his untimely passing.

“Gabby was a steadfast supporter of Art Fair Philippines. We remember, with gratitude, his dedication to delivering the best of himself through his landmark piece, Asphalt, for the first edition of the fair, in 2013.”

Journalist Emmie Velarde posted a note she wrote for his very first exhibit: “Gabriel Barredo takes us on a journey inside, the most forbidding of all, there to meet creatures and things, thoughts and emotions at once dreaded and desired, forgotten and anticipated.

“It is the world in his mind, where imagination is memory and detail is essence. Headless faces float in a lake of dreams, or weep for liberation from the clutches of a clock’s hands… Gabriel invites us into his extraordinary mind. Fasten your brain waves: The sights are maddening.”

On a more personal musing she wrote: “Invariably, while the others then busied themselves ogling the latest pieces (they were always changing!) inside his cathedral-like home and also in his studio across the street, the two of us sat in a corner catching up on… our children. He was very shy that way; I never asked why.

“And I am not asking now why you left as suddenly, as inobtrusively, as you did yesterday.”

Details of his wake are yet to be announced.

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