MANILA, Philippines - Carlo Ongchangco explores the concept of “cuteness†in “Revenge of the Cute,†which opens on June 18, 6 p.m., at Galerie Stephanie.
The exhibition takes the concepts and characters of Ongchangco’s narrative practice and reimagines them in a plethora of different styles and media — including painting, sculpture, and video installations. And for this exhibit, Ongchangco has partnered with Mossimo to create one-of-kind clocks with acrylic paintings of his characters.
Ongchangco uses aspects of magic realism to convey narratives in “one-shot†paintings, with some of the works being circular to reflect the audience’s status as an observer in the artist’s world. Populated by a hodgepodge of fairy tale characters and pop culture figures, the paintings are rendered in the artist’s characteristic “anime†style.
Aside from paintings, Ongchangco explores other media and fuses them with his own canvas works. “My Journey of Love and Music,†for example, combines painting and sculpture to depict the story of a dancer on an adventure to find herself. Ongchangco also teams up with animator and former Team Manila designer John Roi Abcede in animating his characters and projecting them on a space on one of his paintings, effectively bringing his painting to life.
Galerie Stephanie is at Unit 1B Parc Plaza Bldg., 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis, Quezon City. For information, call: 709-1488, email galeriestephanie@yahoo.com, or visit www.galeriestephanie.com.