The
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is known for its comprehensive collection of
paintings from the provinces. These artworks intimate the peculiarities in
various part of the country, and the tendencies that prevail in the places
where the artists hail and practice.
Out of thousands of
Philippine islands, its provincial cities and towns are bestowed with virtuous
artists who deserved to be glorified and not to be forgotten. In the effort to
give recognition to these artists, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila launches
an exhibition titled Distinct Refinements:
Painting from the Provinces featuring selected artworks from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas collection,
complemented with paintings from the MET Collection, the Jorge B. Vargas Museum
and Filipiniana Research Center - University of the Philippines Collection and private
collectors.
Drawn from the
scholarly research of its curator, Professor Santiago Albano Pilar, the
exhibition highlights the idiosyncratic character of each work that reflects so
much of the place where it originated. Every image narrates a story of its
provenance; of history and culture. Perceived through the paintings hanged
against the wall are typical rural milieu; the vista of greeneries from nipa
huts on the hillside, women on their baro
at sayawalking down the street and some images of people doing chores or chatting
in the neighborhood. Portraits of nobilities and few religious paintings are
also on display that connotes the social stature of the owners on their
respective towns.
Despite the lack of
formal academic training, the featured artists thrived in the field and gained
accomplishments through their works. The roster of painters in the exhibit includes
Pedro Ardeña from Capizwho
exhibited in the St. Louis Universal Exposition in 1904, Pedro
Salazar of Batangas, Tomas Diores of Cebu, and Pedro Respall of Iloilo, among
others.
In
conjunction with the exhibit, the MET re-launches its CineMET Program with a
showcase of award-winning short films featured in Cinema Rehiyon, a project
organized by the Cinema Committee of the National Commission for Culture and
Arts. The CineMET x Cinema RehiyonProgram
coincides with the centenary of Philippine cinema celebrated this year.
Distinct Refinements: Painting from the Provincesis on view at the MET Tall Galleries
from June 22 to October 28, 2017.
ABOUT THE MET
The MET is
one of the major museums in the Philippines. It was originally built as a venue
for international art exhibitions in 1976, aimed at expanding the exposure of
Filipinos to the visual arts of foreign cultures while enhancing cultural
diplomacy.
In 1986,
it redefined its vision towards cultivating local pride in the Filipinos’ own
cultural and artistic heritage primarily represented by the BSP’s valuable
collections of prehistoric Gold and Pottery, colonial Hispanic art, and the
growing modern and contemporary collections of the BSP and the MET.
The museum
was among the first to develop and extend its audience reach by embracing the
philosophy of ART FOR ALL by adopting a bilingual approach to exhibition texts and
implementing a vigorous education and community outreach program.
Since
2012, the MET in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has
re-focused and moved forward with a more cohesive and strengthened direction in
positioning the museum as the home of contemporary art by Filipino and
international artists. It seeks to amplify the Filipinos’ sense of artistic and
cultural heritage from the past, to the present and beyond, in contemporary
global contexts and experiences.
Its
diverse range of contemporary art exhibitions and programs reflect the thriving
borderless multi-dimensional environments of scholarship, artistic expression
and the world we live in. The museum has reached out to different audiences
creating off-site programs with different partner organizations.
The Metropolitan
Museum of Manila is located at the BangkoSentralngPilipinas Complex, Roxas
Boulevard, Manila. Museum hours are from 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., Mondays to
Saturdays. For inquiries, email info@metmuseum.ph or call 708-7829.
The Philippine
Contemporary: to scale the past and the possible
On
view at the Upper Galleries (Permanent Exhibition)
UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Manila: Hidden in Plain Sight
July to August 2017, GaleriyaBangkoSentralngPilipinas
Mga Komento
Mag-post ng isang Komento