A tale of two Exhibits

Artists Dino Gabito and Pancho Francisco had their solo shows at Metro Gallery in San Juan City. These two artists are not only my friends, but I can proudly say that I have followed their art careers from the very beginning.

I met them both in Metro Gallery when it was still in their old location, also in San Juan City. I got my first work of Dino’s during his first exhibit, and I got a work by Pancho even before his first exhibit.

Dino is known for his monochromatic shroud paintings, usually folded cloth or sometimes a portrait of the artist himself underneath the cloth. He stopped doing these shrouds for a while and did mention before that he will stop his “shroud” series when it reaches 100 pieces, which is very soon.

In his latest solo exhibit “Mixed,” he presents image transfers combining photos from magazines with sketches from his mind. In the style of lithography, he presents these mixed-media mono prints (one-of-a-kind prints) that are further embellished with details from watercolor, pencil, or acrylic drawn by the artist’s hand.  He also featured a few acrylic works on paper, but the highlight was his very first limited-edition (only 30 pieces) sculpture entitled “Promise.”

Pancho presented his intricate works that could be put on a table or hung on a wall. His show “Encased” featured hand-cut images from books that filled digital prints of 18th- and 19th-century anatomy drawings by French physician Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery, French painter Nicolas Henri Jacob (who was also a professor of drawing at a veterinary school), and Polish author and anatomist Ludovic Maurycy Hirschfeld. These anatomical studies are “solely utilized to comprehend the inner workings of a person’s physical form evolve into portrait-like collages — heads encompassing not flesh or bone but a dense forest,” said art writer Jemi Chua. These intricate collages are all encased in clear resin.

Sadly, there was no opening reception for these two wonderful shows because of the pandemic.  Everything, though, was sold out for both shows through photos alone. It could mean that the Philippine art market is still thriving even during these trying times, or that collectors really seek out the beautiful works of these two very talented artists.

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The Metro Gallery is located at 214B Ortega Street, Barangay Addition Hills, San Juan City. Email [email protected] or message 0917-811-5399 for inquiries.

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