2024 saw an abundance of art exhibits in the Philippines that not only pushed the boundaries of form and medium but also the ways we engage with our culture and identity. Artists across the country are more interested in creating timeless artworks that spark conversations about the most important topics shaping culture today — issues such as the ramifications of a violent war on drugs, the ongoing struggle of the country’s queer communities, and the lasting effects of American colonialism, among others.
This year saw numerous exhibitions that were unafraid to challenge the status quo, offering fresh perspectives on issues that continue to capture the public’s imagination. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most compelling art exhibitions of the year.
‘God Save the Queers, Bless the Badings’
Elephant and Inferno London at Gravity Art Space
What is “queer faith”? This was the question that Elephant, an LGBTQ+ events organization, nightclub Inferno London sought to answer in their collaborative art exhibit, which ran from June 26 to July 6. The show explored how the queer community continues to practice faith and spirituality despite “facing questioning, condemnation, or persecution,” according to the exhibit’s vision statement. The exhibition was also a response to the political prosecution of drag artist Pura Luka Vega, who received significant backlash for performing as Jesus Christ to the tune of a remixed version of the Lord’s Prayer. Showcasing evocative pieces from 28 artists, God Save the Queers celebrated how queer individuals have learned to express their spirituality through art, stressing that queerness and faith are unquestionably intertwined.
‘Pacita Abad: Philippine Painter’
Metropolitan Museum of Manila
Pacita Abad: Philippine Painter showcases the early works of late Filipino artist Pacita Abad, who is celebrated for her vibrant use of color, playful patterns, and experimentation with a multi-textured quilting technique called trapunto. Born in Batanes, Abad’s artistic journey began in 1976 when she transitioned from law school to pursue her passion for art, ultimately becoming one of the country’s most distinctive and influential creative voices. The exhibit explores Abad’s formative years, highlighting the quick progress the artist made from struggling with her technical skills to producing huge, wall-scale art pieces. The exhibit opened on November 28 and will continue to be open for public viewing until March 30, 2025.
‘Home Holds Still’
Hannah Reyes Morales at Tarzeer Pictures
In her first solo exhibition Home Holds Still, Pulitzer Prize finalist Filipino photographer Hannah Reyes Morales presents selections from a decade’s worth of photographing stories. From capturing the violence of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, to visually examining the hope of children around the world, Morales aims to explore how we continue to see the world despite the grief that comes with living. First opened on November 16, the exhibit will continue until January 30, 2025.
‘To See A Landscape As It Is’
Soler, Monica, Luis Antonio, Carina, and Isabel Santos at Silverlens Gallery
For the first time since 2014, all the members of the famed Santos family of artists — Soler and Monica, with their three children Luis Antonio, Carina, and Isabel — have come together to present their artwork in a group exhibition titled, To See A Landscape As It Is. Using paint, ink, and multimedia art, the Santos artists explore how each one of them views the world in their own distinct way. Although each family member has developed a distinct artistic style, the exhibit explores how the five artists have developed pieces that engage with one another, “creating a singular language that eludes complete comprehension,” according to the exhibition’s artist statement. The show ran from November 21 to December 21.
‘Eat All You Can’
Linds Lee at The Drawing Room
Taking the familiar phrase “eat all you can,” often meant to invite patrons of Philippine restaurants to indulge without restraint, visual artist Linds Lee presents a body of work that explores the intersection of nostalgia, sweetness, indulgence, and consumption. Foregoing traditional painting materials, Lee uses cake decorating tools like icing bags to apply textured acrylic paint onto her canvases, creating works that bear an uncanny resemblance to giant cakes. Although the sculptural cake paintings seem festive and cheerful at first glance, Lee asks viewers to consider the darker undertones of overindulgence — particularly its consequential health problems. Running from August 24 to September 21, Eat All You Can had viewers navigating the balance between celebration and excess, raising questions about our relationship with consumption.
‘Beyond Paper: The Touch of Tes Pasola’
Yuchengco Museum
Beyond Paper was a celebration of the life and work of Tes Pasola, a multi-disciplinary artist who pioneered the country’s sustainable design industry by taking materials such as agricultural waste and paper and turning them into designs for some of the country’s largest interior furniture exporting companies.
The exhibit explored Pasola’s experimental approach to product design, particularly her use of materials such as paper, local seashells, and metal to create functional and artistic pieces of interior design. “From designer to product developer, Pasola’s intuitive and playful artistry brought stories to life through innovative forms and materials,” says the museum’s official website. “Her role as a curator and stylist for international trade exhibitions showcased her cutting-edge design ideas to the world.” The exhibit began on August 8 and ended on October 31.
‘Heidi Bucher: and pull yesterday into today’
The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD)
As part of the launch of the art exhibition Benilde Open Design + Art, MCAD curated a selection of pieces from the oeuvre of renowned Swiss artist Heidi Bucher. A groundbreaking artist of the international neo-avante-garde, Bucher initially trained as a dressmaker and textile designer. This experience served as the foundation for her creative practice, exploring poignant iterations of fashion, architecture, spatial installations, drawings, sculptures, and performance art. The exhibit showcases how Bucher, during her lifetime, created art that spoke across disciplines and constantly challenged how we defined art. The exhibit ran from May 23 to August 18.
‘Inherent Vice’
Stephanie Syjuco at Silverlens Gallery
Serving as Filipino-born American conceptual artist Stephanie Syjuco’s solo debut in Manila, Inherent Vice showcases archival photographs that represented the Philippines during the American occupation. Spending the past five years collating photographs from American museums and institutional archives, Syjuco was interested in examining how “the seemingly neutral documentary photograph” could also be “a powerful tool in the colonial enterprise,” according to her artist statement. The exhibit opened on August 29 and ran until October 5.
‘February 23, 1949’
Kristoffer Ardeña at Art Informal
February 23, 1949 — a reference to the artist’s mother’s birthdate — was Dumaguete-born artist Kristoffer Ardeña’s solo show that showcased his evocative “ghost paintings.” Taking up entire walls and spilling onto the floor, Ardeña’s canvases are quilted, technicolor collages of tarpaulins, indigenous textiles, and the same materials used by Filipinos around the country to create makeshift awnings, signings, and roofs. The ghost paintings bleed with colorful texts, most of which spell out the vulgarities that are often aimed at the queer community. Ardeña incorporates obscenities from Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and English, examining how his spotlighting of these curse words robs them of their power. Running from February 15 to March 15, the exhibition was a masterful exploration of language, oppression, and freedom.
‘Signs of the Crossover’
Charles Salazar at Gravity Art Space
For his solo exhibit Sings of the Crossover, artist Charles Salazar examined the relationship between basketball and faith in the Philippines. Using videos, collages, and installation pieces, Salazar explored how basketball has become a necessary component of everyday life for many Filipinos. The artist asked viewers to consider basketball not only as a sport but as a “ritual of defiance.” “Basketball lives in almost every corner of the country, from urban shanty towns to fishing villages to jails,” says Salazar in his artist statement. “And yet, Filipinos are perceived as a kind of underdog in the sport on the global stage, with many claiming our short height as a disadvantage.” Salazar delves deep into the role of basketball in Filipino culture, painting it as an extreme act of faith.
Vilma Night
Archivo 1984
Open from August 16 to 17, the Vilma Night exhibit served as an immersive installation featuring posters, moving images, music, and memorabilia surrounding the “Star for All Seasons” Vilma Santos. The exhibition was curated by long-time editor Jerome Gomez and curator-artist Erwin Romulo. “Archivo takes seriously all the pop culture we’ve relegated to kitsch or disposable,” says Romulo in the exhibit’s curatorial statement. “Vilma has been part of the Philippine pop culture landscape for decades. Whether you’re a Vilmanian or not, Vilma has been in your life.”
