Dengcoy Miel and Jose Tence Ruiz at Artesan Gallery Singapore

MANILA, Philippines - Two Asians, two Filipinos whose names sound neither particularly Asian nor Filipino, Dengcoy Miel and Tence Ruiz, hold an exhibit about “traversing”: traversing the Pacific Ocean with their imaginations, traversing their identities which are patently migratory, traversing from imperial present to colonial past, traversing between homeland and adopted city state, traversing to be again together in a congress of reexamined icons.

“Pacific Diptych” opens tomorrow at Artesan Gallery+ Studio, 793 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore.

Miel and Tence Ruiz paint bridges between themselves, this pacific diptych where they cross freely into mingled imaginings wrapped around itinerant heroes and transnational blunders. Their latest paintings reference the present while mirroring the colonial, the invasive and the mysterious. They dwell on global Filipinos such as Jose Rizal and David Medalla, unfurling their roots and retracing their trajectories. Their show proposes itineraries that have been both well trod yet underexplored.

“Icarus in the Age of Spandex” and “David the Goliath” by Jose Tence Ruiz

“Pacific Diptych” opens a figurative wormhole between two friends, Miel and Tence Ruiz, parted by geography but bundled together by deep memory and will be part of the larger voyage that comprises the Filipino Art Trek in Singapore this November.