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). 

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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.