Juaniyo Arcellana launches ‘Impostor Moderne’ at Erehwon

MANILA, Philippines - Erehwon will present a series of publications under its program for literature with the launch of STAR columnist Juaniyo Arcellana’s Impostor Moderne, a collection of the veteran journalist’s essays, on Aug. 30, 6 p.m.

As part of the launch, an exhibition of National Artist for Literature Franz Arcellana’s memorabilia, including artworks given to him by his friends and students as tribute, will also be on view. Musical performances will be held on the third floor and food and wine will be served throughout the day.

Another exhibition titled “Dirty, Poorly Dressed, and Filled with Love” features works by 24 artists dominated by a series of expressionistic paintings fuelled by rage and a sense of cornered romanticism. At key selections the works radiate a kind of visionary fury. Relating to a confluence of art and literature, the exhibit aims to portray artists and their subjects as inhabitants of a violent world but one that could still be poetic, even tender. It celebrates the artistic life and art’s possibility to uplift souls as a kind of salvation.

The exhibition title is taken from a verse in Roberto Bolano’s Dirty, Poorly Dressed. The motivation of its curators is in showing the universality of human experience.

In their quest to create new ways to express, exhibition curator Geronimo Cristobal Jr. says, “The artists have benefited greatly from the efforts of those artists who, in the past decades, liberated art from the museum walls and placed it in the midst of society and public spaces in the form of happenings and performances.” He adds, “Young artists are now benefitting from the support of institutions such as Erehwon.”

According to its founder Rafael Benitez, Erehwon is committed to enriching the arts within his host communities. Through Erehwon he has embarked on number of enterprises and advocacies, which include the proliferation of Public Art and the formation of an Art Policy Council that will push the art agenda in policy-making bodies in the Philippines, its preliminary effort being the compilation of existing laws and jurisprudence on the arts. Erehwon has also absorbed Benitez’s publishing arm, which is now focused on producing titles of contemporary art and literature.

 â€œDirty, Poorly Dressed and Filled with Love” and “Franz Arcellana: A Memorabilia Exhibition” is on view from Aug. 30 to Oct. 10 at the lobby and gallery 1 and 2.

For information, call 384-3507 and 0917-3888714, or e-mail info@erehwonartworld.com. Erehwon Center for the Arts is at 1 Don Francisco St., Villa Beatriz, Old Balara, Quezon City. Gallery hours, Mondays to Saturdays, are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday (by appointment).