Susi: Key To Chinese Art Today

Two countries. Two national treasures. Two revered artists.

Like long-lost friends, Abueva and Jin, despite the language barrier, interacted enthusiastically as kindred spirits in the arts.

Philippine National Artist Napoleon Abueva and Jin Shangyi, the revered Chairman of the China Artists’ Association and the China Writers’ and Artists’ Association, were two of the honored guests at the opening of the momentous three-museum art exhibition entitled SUSI – Key to Chinese Art Today at the National Museum of the Filipino People.

While declaring SUSI a major presentation of traditional and contemporary Chinese paintings, Jin, also a member of the influential Standing Committee of National Political Convention Association of China (PRC), acknowledged that this is but the tip of the iceberg.

Agnes Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Osage Art Foundation, the prime mover of the SUSI exhibition, also admitted that however wide-ranging the show seemed to embody Chinese works, "This is just the beginning. We are still in the exploration stage."

Six months to coordinate three museums, 67 artists and 133 artworks.

Art historian and writer Jonathan Thomson says this show is a reflection of the sheer energy and enthusiasm of Lin for the promotion of Chinese and Philippine art. Thomson notes that preparation time of six months is totally unheard of for an exhibition of such scale in Manila or anywhere else.

Three of the country’s leading museums–the National Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Yuchengco Museum–form the honored and privileged triumvirate, holding the SUSI to opening the first door to exploration.

Abueva, at 76 a living legend himself, is awed by the exhibited Chinese contemporary and traditional paintings. Immediately, upon learning that 22 Chinese artists are in town attending the exhibition openings, Abueva invited everyone to his house cum workshop.

Abueva’s workshop in Tierra Verde, Quezon City is an artwork in progress–he inaugurated early this year his "swinging" house, complete with sail and three-storey structure. Like most of Abueva’s sculptures, the "swinging" house is a study in aesthetics, poetry as well as engineering.

Indeed, it is this kind of collaboration and art exchange that Osage founder Lin is banking on.

A successful businesswoman, Lin has been in the Philippines for the last 20 years and has called Manila her second home. Since 2004, Lin has put up several galleries in Hong Kong and Singapore under the Osage Gallery umbrella. More are planned in China and the Philippines.

Lin wants to create platforms and fora for the exchange of arts. "Art should be used to open more doors to the world," she believes.

One of Lin’s galleries–Osage Contemporary Art Space in Hong Kong–in August showcased ten young Filipino painters. Lin marvels at the force and aesthetic range of Filipino artists.

"Filipino artists should be given the opportunity to show their works and to understand global art trends," she says.

As China celebrates Chinese National Day today, SUSI is meant to give everyone an opportunity to re-examine the centuries of Philippines—China relations, albeit from a relatively unexplored angle of visual arts exchange.

The show is jointly supported by the Chinese Embassy in Manila and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. NCCA chairman Ambeth Ocampo reiterated that SUSI serves as the key for two countries to understand each other better. Cultural exchange is indeed a continuing process, with artists and art patrons nurturing its progression.

For SUSI, Lin sought out preeminent Chinese artists and curators to collaborate with some of the finest museum directors in the Philippines. Gu Hong, the SUSI project director and curator for Traditional Chinese Paintings at the Yuchengco Museum, is honored in China as the "Chinese Present Outstanding Meritorious Artist" in 2005.

Jeannie Javelosa, curator of the Yuchengco Museum notes that "A Brush with China: An Exhibition of Traditional Chinese Paintings" is the first Yuchengco Museum international collaborative venture. Javelosa adds, "This will allow the Filipino public a deeper understanding of the Chinese culture, one whose relationship with our country dates back to pre-colonial times, and one we want to strengthen as China re-enters strongly in the world stage today." The gallery is owned by former Philippine Ambassaor to China and Japan, Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco.

The Beijing and Shanghai-based Gu Zhenqing, curator of the contemporary Chinese art exhibition, collaborated with Metropolitan Museum director Ino Manalo, maximizing the huge expanse of the museum to present "Future and Fantasy: An Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art."

At National Museum of the Filipino People on P. Burgos Street, Manila, the amiable Wan Jiyuan curated "Exploration and Discovery: An Exhibition of Modern Chinese Oil Paintings." Wan is also vice-president of the China International Exhibition Agency under the government’s Ministry of Culture.

Cora Alvina, director of the National Museum, was the host of the elaborate opening ceremonies that included a rare panda dance–featuring Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan–at the garden ceremonies. Pandas, being symbols of peace, were appropriate "guests" at the well-attended morning rites.

Over at the Yuchengco Museum for the evening opening, guests were treated to dinner with the Pinikpikan band providing neo-ethnic music. In a further attemot at artistic collaboration, Chinese artist Xu Jiachang played the drums and jammed with Pinikpikan.

SUSI is an exhibition of Chinese paintings that spans contemporary as well as traditional subjects, styles and media. One can view mostly landscapes and caligraphies for the ink paintings, while the human form and character dominate the oil paintings. The dynamic command of brush strokes is equaled by the adept use of hues and mediums to create ambiance and thematic cohesiveness for each artwork.

As such, one can almost feel the wetness of the water in "Call of Sea" by Guo Quan or sense the coldness of the snow in "Witness in Hunjang" or the serenity of the scene in "Quiet River Village.’

If SUSI’s grand three-museum exhibition and marathon openings last September 20 are simply "explorations," the Philippine art community can surely look forward to even more significant art adventures to come, that will offer deeper and more meaningful explorations into the rich art and kindred souls of two neighboring countries.

All exhibitions run until October 31, 2006. Opening hours: National Museum of the Filipino People (tel 527-0278)–Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm; Metropolitan Museum of Manila (tel 523-0613)–Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm; Yuchengco Museum (tel 889-1234)–Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday, 9 am to 12 noon.