Charlie Cojuangco’s NOVA Gallery finally opens its doors this November with Conquistador. But its debut show, Juana Manahan-Yupangco discovers, has a more altruistic purpose: the Rogue Media-Art Cabinet study grant

“There are not only more people collecting—there are more people collecting for the wrong reasons,” Mary Boone, the legendary New York gallery owner, said. “It’s the latest get-rich-quick scheme. They buy art like lottery tickets.” For businessman Carlos “Charlie” Cojuangco, however, there is a more benevolent raison d’être behind his artistic investments.

Cojuangco began collecting art in 1995, for no reason other than his own enjoyment. These were mostly pieces with a socio-realist vein, starting with artists from his home province of Negros. Eventually, he founded the Negros Occidental Visual Arts (NOVA) Gallery in Mandalagan, Bacolod to house his growing collection. He also organized the Carlos Oppen Cojuangco Foundation with the primary goal of supporting cultural and artistic efforts, especially in the fields of music, literature, history, theater, fine arts, architecture, and the preservation of historical works.

From a distance, Del Castillo’s panels look aged, and possess an amazing attention to detail.

This month, NOVA Manila (Warehouse 12, La Fuerza Plaza, 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati) will open its doors in the new gallery-rich area of Pasong Tamo. The profits, according to Cojuangco, will help fund the activities of the Foundation. And in tune with the gallery’s altruistic roots, its opening show on November 25 will be a fundraising exhibit, Conquistador, featuring the new works of multi-awarded artist and modern iconographer Anton Del Castillo. The beneficiary? Art on the Verge, a new art scholarship grant organized by Rogue Media, Inc. and Art Cabinet Philippines (artcabinetphilippines.com), an arts management outfit headed by Dindin Araneta and Trickie Lopa.

Curated by former Philippine National Gallery of Art curator Patrick Flores, the Conquistador pieces echo Cojuangco’s interest in socio-realist art. Like many preeminent local artists, Del Castillo hails from the Fine Arts college of the University of the Philippines, where he also received his M.F.A. But unlike some of the rabble-rousing figures that emerged from its halls, Del Castillo’s art is fine-tuned and well researched.

As a grant recipient of the Asian Culture Council, he was sent to New York to study Byzantine art. It was there where Del Castillo found a new love: the icon. In an icon, there is a tendency to remove action from the image—which conveys the figure as divine, as if praying to the picture would bring it to life. This quality of contemplative stillness is clearly evident in his work. 

His passion for making icons—together with his well-trained technique of conserving polychrome wooden sculptures—formed the unique artisan that he is today. He is adept in estofado, a method used in decorating the garments of saints by painting designs in oil over gold leaf. From a distance, Del Castillo’s panels look aged, and possess an amazing attention to detail. From the layering that is involved in estofado, Del Castillo slowly added dimensions: etchings over the gold leaf and paint, mixed media bas reliefs on canvases or wooden backings, and eventually a full transition into sculpture.

This evolution is apparent in Conquistador, where he explores the modern-day conqueror. Different forms of maps—which can actually be manipulated, as in Charts of War—are brought to life with a rare combination of carpentry and the dazzling effects of estofado. His Toy Soldier series (which wowed the crowds at Art Beijing 2008) are part of the show, as well as brand new pieces from his recent exploration into sculpture: battle ships, tanks, aircrafts, and other “vehicles of chaos.”

Cojuangco’s passion for educating through art, coupled with Del Castillo’s multi-layered storytelling, makes Conquistador a dream come true for socio-realists—more so for those with an equally fervent love of history. 

Conquistador runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 22 at NOVA Gallery Manila, Warehouse 12, La Fuerza Plaza, 2241 Chino Roces Ave. (Pasong Tamo), Makati.

ART ON THE VERGE
Rogue Media and Art Cabinet Philippines join forces for Art on the Verge, a scholarship program for emerging Filipino visual artists
 
Purpose: To encourage the artistic development of emerging visual artists up to 32 years of age; to advance the development of Philippine contemporary visual art to an international level; and to promote Philippine contemporary art and visual artists to the public audience by: (1) Providing financial and related assistance to Fine Arts majors to complete an undergraduate or graduate degree of study in the Philippines; (2) Providing financial and other assistance to acquire materials necessary in the production of brave new works; (3) Facilitating opportunities to enable them to advance in their career through assistance in the development, exhibition, and acquisition of their works by linkages with individuals and organizations; (4) Encouraging the exhibition of brave new works.

Assessment Criteria: (1) Artistic merit and potential, based on the work submitted and the information provided in the application form; (2) Benefit of the proposal to the visual artist’s creative and professional development; (3) Reliability and/or ability of the visual artist to complete work based on academic and professional recommendations. Applications will be assessed by a committee of representatives from Rogue Media, Art Cabinet Philippines, and the visual arts sector.
 
The first beneficiary of the Art on the Verge program is Brendale Tadeo, 22, a talented Zambales-based artist who dropped out of school due to lack of financial resources. A fundraising exhibit for Tadeo, Conquistador, will be held on Wednesday, November 25, 6 P.M. at NOVA Gallery Manila. For inquiries, call Art Cabinet at (0928) 550-4816 or 812-4354, and Rogue at 729-7747.