Metropolitan Museum of Manila Presents a Major Exhibition of Works by Alfonso Ossorio

 The Metropolitan Museum of Manila presents Alfonso Ossorio: In My End Is My Beginning as part of M 50 Now, its year-long celebration marking the Museum’s 50th Anniversary.

The exhibition presents the evolution of the work of Philippine-born American artist Alfonso Ossorio, tracing his artistic practice from the 1930s to the 1990s. A distinctive figure in modernism, Ossorio worked on the tension between abstraction and expression, bringing together dreamscape elements and the gritty substance of found objects. 

Featuring an extensive selection of works, from early drawings to the celebrated Congregations series, the exhibition offers a closer look at the artist’s changing approaches to medium, form, and artistic expression. It also highlights Ossorio’s connections to key figures of the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York, including Jackson Pollock, and his place within the broader history of modern art.

Drawn from the Lito and Kim Camacho Collection, the exhibition brings together one of the most significant and wide-ranging collections of Ossorio’s work, offering Philippine audiences an opportunity to encounter the many facets of his practice.

The exhibition takes its title from one of Ossorio’s works, reflecting his belief in the continuous transformation of life and form. As the artist once observed, “Either the bone disintegrates, or it’s fused into the picture. It’s a step in the continuity. It’s not dead, it’s continuing.”

Alfonso Ossorio: In My End Is My Beginning will be on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila from 08 November 2026 to 30 May 2027. Tickets are available online at metmuseum.ph and on-site.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of BPI Private Wealth and San Miguel Corporation as Gold Sponsors; DENZA as Official Premium Mobility Partner; TBWA\SMP as Creative Partner; EPSON as Technology Partner; AWC Philippines as Wine Sponsor; and Destileria Limtuaco & Co. Inc. and ARC Gin as Cocktail Sponsors.

Additional support is provided by Focus Global, McDonald’s Philippines, Tatler Philippines, Pioneer Insurance, and Uniqlo.