Renaissance means “rebirth“. In the last couple of weeks, you could say that I have been metaphorically dead, both physically and artistically. I had to take 5 days off in order to rest after contracting a bacterial infection (and I am definitely not looking forward to the many hours I’ll have to makeup for). As a result, I haven’t had the time to appreciate anything about life, my current surgery rotation, and all the chaos in the world.

But I have been feeling a lot better after some rest, antibiotics, and support from the rest of the team. In fact, I was feeling well enough the other day to walk around Estancia Mall, which is where I realized –it’s almost art season in the Philippines! Time to rise from the (metaphorical) grave.

Ortigas Art Festival 2020 (learn more here) will be showcasing local and international art works from February 8 to March 8. But before that, there’s a space in the 2nd floor east wing that’s dedicated to several beautiful sculptures and a handful of paintings. The collection serves as a prelude to the coming art festival.

I actually visited the mall in time to see a workshop on exhibit painting or something similar, but I didn’t stay long enough as I did actually need to go home and rest.

There’s something really fun about the juxtaposition of fluid abstract pieces and the harsh lines of the industrial exhibition space. To me, it also speaks of how you can showcase art anywhere, whether it’s in a repurposed parking lot or an empty mall wing awaiting further renovation.

None of the paintings really stood out for me. I loved the sculptures and installations though.

This piece is by sculptor Allison Wong David. I think I’m a fan. It was hard taking a photo that would give this piece justice. The still photo also can’t reflect the amount of potential and kinetic energy contained by the nature-inspired sculpture. Up close, the almost amoebic shape of the clouds also reminded me of hands reaching downwards.

I’m looking forward to seeing Ortigas Art Festival 2020. I briefly mentioned its previous iteration in an old art blog post; if I remember correctly, last year’s Ortigas Art Festival felt a bit naive and underwhelming. It was still very new. I look forward to seeing how they’ll breathe more life into the event.

And naturally, I’m also looking forward to Art Fair Philippines this coming February 21-23, which I’ve been visiting since time immemorial. There will be a lot of activities and exhibits (not that I’ll have the time to enjoy anything). But I haven’t missed a year since 2015 (you can view my blog tag here), so I’m really hoping that my duty schedule works out.

I hope everyone gets the time and energy to experience a kind of renaissance this February. With everything that’s happening in the world (like the novel coronavirus and the battle for media network ABS-CBN’s renewal), it can be difficult to feel safe and comfortable enough to enjoy the world’s pleasures. Then again, that persistence against adversity may be what makes these experiences of life and art even more worth it.

See you around!