Justin ‘Tiny’ Nuyda’s masterpieces translated into 10-course degustation dinner for ‘Origin Story’ exhibit

Throughout his five-decade-long career, the highly regarded abstractionist created masterpieces that resonate with our visual senses—at times calm and serene, at times confusing, but always full of depth. Even after losing his battle to cancer in 2022, he’s been able to keep onlookers fully immersed in his art. 

To celebrate his life and legacy, a mix of his stunning works from 1969 to 2018 is being showcased at Filipino restaurant Hapag until the end of September—his birth month. (Nuyda would have been 80 this year.) Curated by artist and writer Stephanie Frondoso, Justin Nuyda: Origin Story provides a glimpse of Nuyda both as an artist and as an individual.

Aside from Nuyda’s pieces, there are also portrait sketches made by the likes of Alfredo Roces, Mars Galang, Ben Cabrera, Romulo Olazo, Solomon Saprid, Romulo Galicano, and Ang Kiukok on top of a collaboration piece by the 12 artists of the legendary Saturday Group, which played an important role in the local art scene at the time it was founded by Nuyda in 1968 alongside Roces and other art luminaries in Ermita, Manila.

Multisensory experience

The display was launched with a special 10-course degustation dinner inspired by Nuyda's works, making for a multisensory experience of having a meal and appreciating art. Such integration was only a fitting tribute to Nuyda, who was also a passionate home cook that saw dishes not just as a way to express his creativity but also to strengthen his relationships with others. “Art doesn’t exist in isolation,” his daughter Ayni, the founder and project director of Search Mindscape Foundation, said. “It is nourished by the connections we make and the environments we inhabit, whether social, natural, or creative.”

"My father was renowned for his cooking, particularly his Bicolano dishes, and at one point even graced the cover of Food Magazine. He was part owner of the Hobbit House when it started up until after martial law,” Ayni told PhilSTAR L!fe. It was a disco bar that later turned into a hub for many artists—from singer Rod Stewart to John Paul Jones of rock band Led Zeppelin. "Freddie Aguilar started his career there, even Ed Sheeran has been to the Hobbit House in more recent times,” she shared.

The menu at the special affair invited guests to witness the essence of Nuyda’s passions through the myriad of narratives behind them. It "celebrated the relationships and places that shaped him, providing a rich tapestry of his experiences," as Ayni put it.

In an interview with L!fe, John Kevin Navoa, who created the dishes alongside his fellow chef and Hapag partner Thirdy Dolatre, expressed his excitement as it was the first time they related a menu to a person, their art, and their life. “It was such an amazing way to do things. Very different approach,” he shared.

Aside from keeping the Bicolano cuisine in mind, he decided to go beyond Ayni’s stories about Nuyda. “I went to look through a book from my friend, food researcher and award-winning cookbook author Bryan Koh, called Milkier Pigs and Violet Gold. I checked his research and work on Bicol region food,” he recalled. “After reading and trying, I also talked to Bicolano staff at the restaurant which they were all glad to chime in. One even sent his dad’s recipe for me to try and see how I can interpret it into a tasting menu format.”

The night started with Tinuktok, a sour fish soup with fish ball and fresh tomato salsa, topped with fried kamote tops. It was followed by lumpia with chive lumpia cylinder, pork and kutchay mousse, and sweet chili gel as well as silog with burong sinangag, Alaminos longganisa, egg mousse, and atsara—all on top of a gamet rice cracker.

According to Navoa, he and Dolatre "adjusted maybe 60-70% of the menu and some dishes were mainly based on appearance and colors.” He mused, "I would say the challenging part was making sure that I understood how Bicolanos eat and how I could relate our food with the paintings on the walls, make them look pretty but also make sure they were still really tasty.” 

One of them was kinilaw, which was inspired by the colors of one of Nuyda’s paintings hanging on the wall of Hapag's dining area. It was made with blue marlin in mango vinegar and spring onion oil as well as fresh fruits in season, amped up with blue pea oil and amaranth oil. It was best enjoyed when it was given a good mix.

Navoa and Dolatre also gave inasal a delicious twist, making it with lobster instead of the usual chicken. Adding more flavors to it were pineapple salsa, pinakurat, sukang Iloko, aioli, and smoked butter.

One of the highlights of the dinner was the putok bread—made with pili nut butter and lacto-fermented jackfruit—as it showcased Nuyda’s love for butterflies. “We particularly made this dish look like a butterfly landing on plants,” Navoa told L!fe.

The revered artist shone with his passion for both art and science. Also a lepidopterist who specialized in Philippine butterflies, Nuyda began hunting and collecting butterflies when he was seven. Years later, he decided to paint to fund his first love as he needed money for reading materials, hiking, camping equipment, and transportation to where the captivating insects were. 

Nuyda was the owner of the most extensive collection of PH butterflies in the country, the fourth-largest in the entire world next to Senckenbergh Museum (Germany), British Museum of Natural History, and Japanese lepidopterist Etsuzo Tsukada. He also contributed to scientific research by lending, donating, and even describing over a hundred species and subspecies of them. Unlike his paintings, however, Ayni shared with L!fe that Nuyda never considered selling them, even with countless offers that were difficult to say no to. The most he did was welcome exchanges.

Did you know there's even a species of butterfly that was named after him? It was discovered in Mount Kitanglad, Bukidnon in 1975.

The beauty of butterflies, after all, served as a major inspiration behind his own pieces, too. In these stunning creatures was a treasure trove of ideas for color combinations he once thought wouldn't work—from composing shades to transitioning from one to another, to increasing and decreasing their intensities, and beyond.

After the putok bread, guests were treated to pinangat, which had mixed shrimp, tinapa, coconut meat stewed in coconut milk, and taro leaves. Kinaskas served as a palate cleanser, made refreshing with hibiscus kombucha, strawberry ice, scoby, mulberry, and rose vinegar syrup.

The main course was served the salo-salo way. It started with binakol with coconut and chicken broth and malunggay leaves, followed by adobo sa asin, ginataang halaan and pechay, rice, and mustasa salad.

Capping off the 10-course meal were Baduya with cashew miso ice cream and caramelized banana milk as well as Petit Fours that easily became a crowd favorite with pili nut brittle, kababayan, mango sikwate dark chocolate bonbon, and tropical fruits in season.

Nuyda spent the last few years of his life making art. Ayni revealed he even made sketches every day in his hospital bed, just doing what he loved the most. "One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned from my father is the importance of unwavering belief in one’s passion," she told L!fe. "Consistency is vital, and while I continue to work on that myself, I recognize the significance of self-worth, irrespective of external opinions."

Until his last breath, Nuyda was in constant search for mindscapes, for meaning. That's the legacy he left behind—and the Justin Nuyda: Origin Story exhibit and dinner are a testament not only to that but also to how it lives on to this day.

Justin Nuyda: Origin Story is running until Sept. 30 at Hapag, located on the 7th floor of The Balmori Suites, Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati. You can book a reservation at the restaurant here.