Memento

MANILA, Philippines - Gregory Halili’s new works will be shown at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York City through Memento, his first exhibit since 2006. Memento reveals a shift in his work, coinciding with a change in his city and country of residence.

Rather than fill the gallery with intimate scale watercolors of butterflies or landscapes, Halili has devoted himself to paintings on mother-of-pearl for the past several years, focusing on two subjects — eyes and skulls, which are images that explore the life cycle.

Halili was born in the Philippines. When he was a teenager, he moved to the US with his family. He lived in New York City after receiving his B.F.A. from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Gregory and his family decided to return to the Philippines about a year ago.

Five years ago at a Philippine outdoor market, Halili spotted mother-of-pearl shells and wanted to utilize these beautiful, rare and raw materials in his work. His first paintings in oil on mother-of-pearl are eyes. Mostly, they depict his wife’s eyes, tracing the circadian rhythm of sleep to waking.

In addition to the shells, Halili also uses Philippine wood as the base of his skull paintings.

His artworks have been shown at the Arnot Art Museum in New York, Fisher Museum at the University of Southern California Los Angeles, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Florida, Ayala Museum, Jorge B. Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, among others.

I first saw his work (the Skull) at the Philippine Art Fair in the booth of Silverlens and was enthralled by it. I saw another work (Eyes) in a gallery in Singapore.

I have never met Gregory but I have always loved his work and admired his talent. His work is included in the collections of BenCab Museum in Baguio City and The Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio. 

Halili has won awards from numerous institutions including the Art Institute of New Jersey, Millennia of Philippine Art, 1998 Outstanding Young Filipino-American Artist, Trenton Times in New Jersey and the United Nations Postal Administration.

(Memento opens on Oct. 30 and continues through Dec. 13. For more information, call the Nancy Hoffman Gallery at 212-966-6676 or e-mail [email protected]. Gregory Halili is represented in the Philippines by Silverlens Gall ries. Visit www.silverlensgalleries.com.)

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