Francis Nacion and Carlo Ongchangco’s ‘Tales, Folk and Fairy’ at Galerie Joaquin

MANILA, Philippines - Literature, folk beliefs and fairytales are staging points of a unique new show at the Podium Mall. Francis Nacion and Carlo Ongchangco combine their respective narrative art practices and use stories to form the basis of new works that push the boundaries of the visual depictions of stories. Both artists are also eager to showcase the latest direction of their aesthetic style, imbuing these new works with a fresh sense of development and evolution.

Titled “Tales, Folk and Fairy,” the two-man exhibition will open on July 16 at the 2nd floor Atrium of the Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The event is hosted by Galerie Joaquin Podium in cooperation with Galerie Stephanie.

Carlo Ongchangco’s continued evolution as an artist has him taking the most cherished childhood classics, like the “The Little Matchgirl” and “The Emperor’s New Wardrobe,” and depicting them in his narrative art. Having graduated with a degree in interior design from the University of Santo Tomas, he has dabbled in a variety of media in his career as a visual artist. He is currently the creative director of Red Fish, an art apparel label he established early this year that creates its own graphic shirts. From 2007 to 2010, Ongchangco was also co-owner and creative director of White Box Studio Gallery.

On the other end of the spectrum, Francis Nacion uses his own personal experience as a springboard for a larger examination of Philippine folklore and folk traditions. His investigation into our interactions with the spirit world was brought about by his brother’s third eye. Coming off the darkness of his earlier works, the Nacion’s brighter canvases are nevertheless still visually arresting and beautifully haunting.

Nacion plays on the ability of spirits to take the forms of humans and animals. So we have a painting like “Metamorphose,” which shows a bird transforming into a woman — or “Solar Eclipse,” where a spirit entity in the form of a man transforms into a dog. Done in an abstracted form of cubism, they are wonderful renditions of folklore in the Philippines.

Galerie Joaquin Podium is at the Lower Ground Level of The Podium Mall. For information, call 634-7954, or e-mail podium.galeriejoaquin@gmail.com while Galerie Stephanie is at Unit 1B Parc Plaza Building, 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5), Libis, Quezon City. For information, call 709-1488.