(Not so) Bizarre art triangle
Triangulation. It’s a term useful in psychological warfare, surveying, or gathering research. This February, it’s key to Art Fair Philippines 2025, which held its media launch at The Executive Centre of Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 in Makati.
In her introduction, Art Fair PH co-founder Trickie Lopa explained why.
“Yes, totoo ang tsismis—the rumors are true, we are moving. After 11 years in The Link, Art Fair 2025 will be in the Ayala Triangle.”
Those used to parking in The Link and ascending through three levels of art will now have room to spread out, get in their steps, and bask in the new layout for the ArtFairPH/Projects space (devised by design team Nazareno/Lichauco) which was previewed by Lopa and fair co-founders Lisa Periquet and Dindin Araneta at Ayala Tower 2 Executive Centre.
“Crossing from one side of Ayala Triangle entering Ayala Avenue, the fair leads to the other side of the park with another entrance at Makati Avenue, and that’s going to be all arts,” explains Lopa.
Imagine: corporate land taken over by a cornucopian spillage of exhibits, installations, and sound experiments. Triangulation, indeed.
Why the shift to Ayala Triangle?
Periquet says it may seem strange to move, but “at first, who thought 11 years ago we could even transform a car park into Art Fair? People take it as matter of fact that it’s held at The Link, but actually it took a lot to conceptualize that.”
Lopa says they started thinking about the shift last April. “It was an opportunity that came up, the timing was also right for Ayala. Also, the spaces in this building might not be available next year, the amphitheater.”
“Also it’s a good way for Ayala to ease into a new venue,” says Araneta. “It’s such a big stage for them, the idea of setting up such huge events; Art Fair is something they can ease into.”
It’s sounds more like you’ll be taking over the place, I joke.
“They won’t know what hit them,” laughs Lopa.
The ArtFairPH/Projects space, presented by BPI, is the main nerve center, where visitors flow from one end to the other. This year’s main artists include:
Manny Garibay. The seasoned artist presents Dambana: A Critical Reflection on Belief, Power, and Memory in which “the sacred becomes a prism through which we examine the most defining structures of human life—its rituals, its symbols, and the narratives that sustain it.” Mythical, historical, and modern figures from Homer to Rizal to Elon Musk mingle on canvases where Garibay contemplates the Filipino collective memory, how it’s written in continuity and rupture. Garibay considers our worshipping at altars of technology, socio-political power and religion, and how these all “condition human behavior under the guise of progress.”
Manuel Ocampo. Drawn to Latin-American colonial photos, as well as indio and folk art “attempts at classical baraoque style,” Ocampo constructs a world that smirks at the heirarchy in Ideological Mash-Up/Remix. Mixed with his personal archive, images from the colonized underpin his pieces: “The way it is painted seems to be subversive to me: subverting the European ideal,” he explains, suggesting his opinions on the forced syncretism of cultural identities.
Goldie Poblador. The New York-based, UP/RISD-trained artist employs her glass-blown visions in The Rise of Medusa crafting vessels of curated scents and sounds (designed by Erwin Romulo and Ben Richter) in a representation of the “monstrous feminine” in art history. Inspired by marine fauna forced to adapt to oil spills in Verde Island, as well as Greek myths and local counterparts such as Magwayen, the Visayan goddess of the seas and the afterlife, Poblador’s delicate-looking, sinuous creations—using the technique of lampworking to melt borosilicate glass—are set to mingle with Art Fair visitors, “emancipating the boundless power innate to the dark, deviant side of femininity.”
Ryan Rubio. Camarines Norte artist Rubio “collaborates” with natural sea stones in The pain passes...the beauty remains, building up large and small rocks he’s collected into sculptures which he tirelessly shaves to let the properties of each stone “dictate its gradual unfolding.” It’s an extension of his previous impasto canvases built up from clay and adobe textures.
Jezzel Wee. Shortly after graduating from UP with a fine arts degree, artist Jezzel Wee took a three-year apprenticeship in Tsugaru Kanayama-yaki, a pottery company in Aomori prefecture in northern Japan. For Pagbulong, she applies techniques learned under master potter Ryoji Matsumiya to create “wish bowls” that show a deep respect for natural materials and craft that have co-existed with humans for over 16,000 years. Visitors may lift and gently shake the ceramic bowls and whisper their wishes; the exhibit space becomes “a temple of empathy.”
SpY Studio. The deliberately anonymous Spanish art collective SpY Studio (headed by a former Madrid graffiti writer) returns to this year’s Art Fair space. After last year’s collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines as a Special Project Partner, SpY Studio, according to Lopa, “requested a large tree” onsite and bought up “all the barrier tape they could find” on Lazada and Shopee for the upcoming installation, Barrier Tape 2. Expect lots of surreal tree trimming at Art Fair 2025.
The digital space
Digital art has been increasingly attractive to Art Fair patrons (last year drew 25,000 visitors to The Link). At this year’s ArtFairPH/Digital section, presented by Globe, you’ll find:
Artist and technologist Chia Amisola, presenting KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN (That’s what you get for using the computer!), a collaborative exhibition showcasing Filipino internet art and the third-world online experience.
Motion graphics artist and engineer Isaiah Cacnio brings his compelling visual storytelling to this section of the fair with metallic digital screens and panels, exploring themes of light, movement, and spatial dynamics, transforming ordinary spaces into immersive environments.
Outdoors, Screenings at the Amphitheater will feature more animated and digital work set up at the tiered space adjacent to the lawn of Ayala Triangle Gardens.
Augmenting the new space, additional international exhibitors from Austria, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Spain will join leading local art galleries this year.
In addition to the ArtFairPH/Projects space, Nazareno/Lichauco also designed the café for this year’s fair.
Explore film and ideas
Screenings of Kono Basho by award-winning director J Pacena will be the main feature of this year’s film program, with a talk-back scheduled with the film’s cast. The work, included in the Cinemalaya 2024 lineup, tells the story of a young Filipino-Japanese woman who travels to Japan for her estranged father’s funeral and her experience connecting with his Japanese family, especially with her half-sister.
Also scheduled is a special screening of The F.A.T. Boys!! Episode 1: Each One Teach One. The series, shot by American director Drew Milo, follows two friends, Mr. StarCity (who visited last year’s Art Fair) and Splashman LV in their travels. The premiere episode, shot during their trip through the Philippines last year, features Toby Tamayo, the environmentalist based in La Union. He welcomes the duo into his home and takes them through land he has reforested throughout the last decade with flora and fauna indigenous to the Philippines.
Both ArtFairPH/Talks and ArtFairPH/Film will take place at The Executive Centre, on the 6th and 8th floors of Ayala Triangle Tower 2. Entrance to the Talks and Film sections comes with the cost of the fair’s ticket.
Learning at Art Fair PH
Presented together with Ateneo Art Gallery and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, ArtFariPH/Talks provides insight on a diverse range of topics, including insights into the featured artists’ practices, contemporary art programming, the landscape of digital art collecting in the Philippines, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.
For art buyers, one highlight this year is a panel discussion on collection management from a collector’s point of view, in partnership with Larry’s List, the world’s leading art market knowledge company that provides data, research, and access to contemporary art collectors.
Another shift: While over the past few years Art Fair has placed artists in residency spaces, Araneta says this year they will launch the ArtFairPH/Residencies Curator’s Grant Program in collaboration with the Ateneo Art Gallery, the fair’s Education Partner. With a goal to widen local access to contemporary art, the aim of this three-week grant is to introduce selected international curators to the Philippine art scene.
Walk the talk at Art Fair 2025
To experience Art Fair PH 2025, you’ve got to walk it like you talk it, and that means exploring the city’s art spaces for its 10 Days of Art initiative. With a series of events held around the Makati Central Business District, local participation of galleries, museums and other establishments, it’s the best way to get up-close to the best of Philippine contemporary art beyond the fair’s venue.
Some of the public art exhibitions include outdoor sculptures by Briccio Santos in Legazpi Park, an immersive and experiential installation by Kim Borja in Glorietta, and JEFRË’s immersive Talking Heads at Circuit Makati.
Neal Oshima and Fotomoto will also transform the Legazpi Underpass and Greenbelt 3 Sunken Park into art exhibit venues, while TYLR Collective presents works at Paseo Villar Underpass.
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Fair tickets can be purchased in advance at www.artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the reception area of Art Fair Philippines from Feb. 21 to 23. Visit www.10daysofart.com for the full schedule, list of venues, and updates.
For more information, visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram and Facebook.
Art Fair Philippines 2025 is co-presented by AyalaLand, BPI, and Globe. The fair is also sponsored by Don Papa Rum, AyalaLand Premier, and special project partners The Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Make It Makati. Exhibition Partners include LG Electronics and Rhizome, while Fairmont Raffles Makati and SEDA serve as official hotel partners. The Philippine STAR is a media partner.