Circa by Impy Pilapil (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

 

Circa by Impy Pilapil

Circa by Impy Pilapil, a temporary exhibition at the Special Exhibition Hall
Dedicated to Women’s Art at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, features 16 three-dimensional, mixed media works by multi award-winning, Philippine-born and internationally educated  sculptor Imelda "Impy" Manalaysay Pilapil (b. 1949). 

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

Tundra Bloom (2014, wood and stainless steel)
is an open leaf that reveals a flowering form
captured in stainless steel against a blue background

 

Acatama Blush (2014, wood and stainless steel)

Opened last April 11, 2019 (the day of Earth Hour, the artist is an active member of Earthwatch, an international advocacy group to save trees), it was only supposed to run until September 29, 2019 but was still ongoing during my visit.  

Vow (2017, Philippine marble)

Waft (2017, Philippine marble)

Impy attended the University of the Philippines, majoring in Fine Arts in the late 1960s.  After only one year,  she received a scholarship to study at Accademia Italiana in Rome, Italy and, by choice, majored in costume and theater design.  After five years, she also took up printmaking at the Pratt Graphics Center in New York. 

 

Ardor (2017, Philippine marble)

Grit (2017, Philippine marble)

It features some of her sculptures made, between 1994 and 2017, from an assortment of materials (armor wood, stainless steel, stone and Romblon marble). 

"Wave," standing tall as tsunamis, captures the surf as it 
swells, crests and undulates in a never ending rhythm

Her retrospective in brief, the works showcases the artist’s multi-media mastery, creative artistic approaches, and compelling thematic messages.

 

Brio (2017, Philippine marble, steel and glass)

Illimitable (2017, stone and steel)

Included in the exhibit are her works from her Earth Cycles (2019) collection, which features whole and unfragmented “rocks” collected over the years. The stone works are all part of Impy’s collection of curious pieces that are connected with her “Earth Empowered” series. 

Benevolent Force (2004) is a large
monolithic sculpture made with
white Philippine marble

Revelation (1995, black Philippine marble)

She also selected works from her Saturn Cycle (2009 series), this time building on her affinity with water (especially the sea). Through these sculptures, her thoughts, dreams and memories of the sea are materialized.

 

Gestures of Life III (2007, armor wood and painted steel)

Gestures of Life IV (2007, armor wood and painted steel)

This exhibition fills the gap in the National Fine Arts Collection in which she is represented by two pairs of artworks - “Dreamers Zone II” and “Dreamers Zone III.”  These serigraph monoprints, made in 1982, represent her artistic growth from graphic artist to sculptor. 

Saturn Spring (2007, Philippine marble)

Silence (1994, black and white Philippine marble)

They are and presently displayed in one of NMFA Philippine Modernists gallery. “Fiesta I” and “Fiesta II,” light sculptures made of steel and glass (inspired by pastillas wrappers and Swarovski crystals), on the other hand, were installed in the ground floor gallery since 2011. These are both interesting but inadequate depictions of her life’s work.

 

Tenacity (2017, Philippine marble)

Will (2017, Philippine marble)

Circa by Impy Pilapil: Gallery XVII, 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM - 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry

Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry, a temporary exhibit at Gallery XX at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, highlights the humble but iconic capis (Placuna placenta) shell, one of our nation’s most distinctive local building materials, and its significance in Philippine art and architecture. 

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

 

Galllery entrance

Specifically admired for its natural ability to delicately diffuse light into any room, during the Spanish Colonial Era, Filipinos of favored the iridescent and translucent capis shell, over glass, for windows, shining like lanterns from the old cobble stoned streets of the past. 

Today, this material, recognized all over the world, is in constant reinvention under the hands of local artisans and artists. Two hundred years later, the demand for capis shells continues to rise.

 

Launched in time for Independence Day celebrations, it features parts of capis window panels on loan from the Philippine Normal University and Santa Ana Church, as well as architectural documentations of historical structures in Manila namely The Normal Hall of the Philippine Normal University (Ermita), Santa Ana Church (Santa Ana), Gota deLeche Building and Legarda Elementary School (Sampaloc), Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House and Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary School (Paco), and Bahay Nakpil-Baustista (Quiapo), among others. 

Check out “Gota de Leche Building: A Heritage Conservation Success Story” and “BahayNakpil-Baustista”

 

Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary School 

Rather than using the shell solely for window panes, artists around the world are constantly innovating new and creative ways to utilize this timeless beauty. One of these is Filipino artist Gregory Halili (b.1975).  

For him, the translucent shell serves as a canvas to delicately illustrate stories so moving that they are best to be seen up close rather than to be heard.  At the southern part of the hall are his miniature artworks on capis shells done in watercolor and oil. Measuring 1x1 inch to 12 x12 inches, they depict the mood of the sea and the artists’ perspective on climate change. His “Deep End,” a new painting about coral bleaching, is a fragile oil painting on capis shell, measuring 3 x 2.5 inches. “Dreamer,” a small piece measuring 3.5 x 2.5 inches, is about humanity.

 

Legarda Elementary School 

Santa Ana Church

Capis is witnessing a consistent evolution, whether it be through interiors or artwork, via the discovery of new methods of incorporating the tranquil vibe of this traditional piece into day to day lives.

 

Capis replica

Gallery XX - Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells andWindows to Indigenous Artistry: 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM - 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.