By all accounts, the notion of pop-up retail should already be a familiar one. The term, popularized by Trendwatching.com in 2004, refers to transitory establishments say, a shop or a restaurant that flash unannounced, draw in the crowds and recontextualize the spaces they borrow before vanishing or morphing into something else. But how about a pop-up art exhibition?
Over several months, visual artists Gerry Tan and Melissa la O’ began to hatch a plan, nurtured by bottles of red wine and fueled by mutual frustration. “The idea came from e-mail conversations with Melissa about the limited opportunities for artists to get proper representation in galleries unless one’s works have proven to be salable in the art market,†shares Gerry.
The two then discussed it with Manuel Ocampo, Gerry’s studio neighbor in Marikina. Manuel happens to have a soft spot for talented, progressive misfits. As “the most internationally active contemporary artist from the Philippines,†according to Tyler Rollins Fine Art in New York, he has used his clout to organize and stage collaborative ventures in places as diverse as Berlin and Bangkok. “I did not plan on being a curator, but no one in Manila is doing these kinds of shows and these artists are seldom supported by institutions in Manila, so I felt I needed or I convinced myself to do something about it,†he told the Huffington Post.
Curator and catalyst
Opening tomorrow, “Points of Vanishing @ A Curious Limbo†aims to continue this crusade. Inspired by outsider artists and how “people don’t know what to make of their work,†Manuel now a de facto catalyst feels that limbo is “a good place to be in because you’re undefined.â€
Over a lengthy list of talking points and even more wine, I meet some of the individuals who want to expand art’s range and defy traditional categories and market values. Some of them Pow Martinez, Jeona Zoleta and Lena Cobangbang were personally handpicked by Manuel for the “Manila Vice†series of shows, on display in Sète, France, until September.
“The artists I’ve come to know and who came here before at various times to exhibit were Manuel’s friends from Europe,†continues Gerry. “We had this big show in Manila Contemporary that consisted of huge wall paintings by Claus Carstensen, David Griggs, Curro Gonzalez and others. Melissa, for her part, has a set of artist friends from Singapore and Manila, so it was just a matter of linking together.â€
Where the action is
With such a multi- and interdisciplinary approach mobilizing not only artists but also people from fields such as architecture, interior design and photography “A Curious Limbo†called for a similarly atypical venue: a residential building on Valero Street, in Makati’s central business district. There will be a liberal dusting of art at the lobby and Aposento, the bar on the ground floor, moving up to the penthouse where prying eyes can expect treats in every room.
As this is a pooling of resources as much as it is a meeting of minds, there will be site-specific work, performances and perhaps even a cooking demonstration on opening night. Design fans can look forward to prototype chairs by Brazil’s beloved Campana Brothers, courtesy of Rita Nazareno, creative director of Filipino heritage accessories company S.C.Vizcarra. This is the right spirit. Nothing, it seems, will be too precious to be played with, around or on. It’s likely that you will be encouraged to Instagram here to spread the word, as much as your iPhone can handle. As the New York-based critic Michael Sanchez wrote in Artforum, “Art is no longer discovered in biennials and fairs and magazines, but on the phone.â€
“A Curious Limbo†demonstrates what can be done in a short time to show off-the-radar art and create a community around it. Nimble and dynamic, it resembles P.T. Barnum’s traveling circus more than it does a standard gallery endeavor. “We want to go where the action is, or try to create it,†says Manuel. Indeed, this midpoint, this in-between state, sounds like a terribly interesting place to be.
* * *
Featuring works by Claus Carstensen, Valeria Cavestany, Lena Cobangbang, Tracie Anglo-Dizon, Arvin Flores, Curro Gonzalez, Melissa la O’, Robert Langenegger, Romeo Lee, Pow Martinez, Jayson Oliveria, Guillermo Paneque, Gerardo Tan, MM Yu and Jeona Zoleta, “Points of Vanishing @ A Curious Limbo†opens on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m., Lobby, penthouse Unit 26B and Aposento, 162 Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. It runs until Aug. 11.
www.acuriouslimbo.com
* * *