Distinguished academics and professional visual artists from renowned universities in the Philippines have grouped together and volunteered to make a difference through VSO Bahaginan. The volunteer artists are Benjie Cabangis, Zean Cabangis, Ferdie Cacnio, Rosscapili, Dansoy Coquilla, Noell EL Farol, William Gaudinez, Riel Hilario, Marco Ruben Malto II, Jonathan Olazo, Renato Agustin Ong, Mervy Pueblo, Pablo Baen Santos, Andoi Solon, Dexter Sy and Nestor Olarte Vinluan.
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BENJIE CABANGIS
Benjie Cabangis is currently professor of painting at the UP College of Fine Arts. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Painting in 1978 .He served as chairman of the Department of studio Arts from 1987-1998. In 2000, he was conferred the UP Gawad Chancellor as the University’s Most Outstanding Visual Artist and twice awarded the Fernando Amorsolo Professorial Chair in 1992 and 1996 respectively. He has been a recipient of many awards and grants among which is the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Award in 1978.
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ZEAN CABANGIS
Zean Cabangis, a young artist from the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Major in Painting. He was awarded the Most Outstanding Thesis in 2006. He has joined numerous exhibitions and has been receiving awards since 2004 from various competitions such as the Gawad Chancellor Award for Academic Achievement by Shell Student’s Art Competition, a Finalist in the Faber Castell Painting Competition in 2008 and a Semi-finalist in the (MADE) Metrobank Art and Design Excellence in 2009.
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FERDINAND R. CACNIO
Ferdinand R. Cacnio is a visual artist - sculptor, painter and graphic designer. In 2005, he bagged the 2nd place award in the AAP (Association of the Philippines) Art Competition Sculpture Category with “Take My Hand.” In 2006, he was a finalist at the 8th OITA Asian Sculpture Exhibition Open Competition, Fukuoka, Japan. In 2008, he was the Gintong Parangal Awardee for Culture and Arts of the City of Malabon. In 2009, he was a finalist in the Deutsche Knowledge Services Art Invitational Competition. In 2010, he was awarded the Parangal Patnubay ng Sining At Kalinangan by the City of Manila. Majestically standing in the Fort Bonifacio Global City is his monumental sculpture “Pasasalamat.” His art works are all meant to stand for and carry on the value of discipline, hard work, excellence and gratitude. Ferdinand finished his studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman with degrees in B.S. Psychology and B.S. Civil Engineering. The latter has adequately equipped him with the technical skills for construction, while his aesthetic sensibility was finely nurtured since childhood with the mentoring of his artist-father Angel Cacnio and friends from the Philippine art world.
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ROSSCAPILI
Born in Manila, Philippines in 1959, Rosscapili is a painter, digital printmaker and art educator. He studied Fine Arts (major in Advertising) at PWU in 1981, and served Philippine Airlines as its Art Director for 16 years. He has successfully mounted over 30 one-man art exhibitions in Manila, Paris, and the United States. He has participated in more than 35 group exhibitions, including the Asian International Art Exhibitions in Fukuoka, Japan; Taipei; Taiwan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. He has also accumulated at least 55 awards and distinctions, including the Jurors’ Choice in the 1994 Philip Morris Asean Art Awards; Pamana ng Lahi Award in San Francisco, USA (2001), and the latest of which are the 2008 PATA Gold Award for Travel Photo Journalism in Hyderabad, India; 2008 ANVIL Award; Ani ng Dangal Presidential Award 2009; and 2009 Quill Award. He was a member of the Executive Council of the National Committee on Visual Arts of the NCCA from 2007-2010 also a Lecturer at Dela Salle College of Saint Benilde and works as a Creative Director at OneWorkshop,Inc. He is currently the Chairman of the Philippine Committee Asian Artists, Inc. He is represented by GalerieONEworkshop in Manila and Artesan Gallery + Studio in Singapore and Hongkong.
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DANSOY COQUILLA
Daniel “Dansoy” Coquilla majored in painting at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts, where he also received the UP Gawad Chanselor para sa Sining Biswal in 1998. He garnered two Juror’s Choice (Top 5) awards in the 1997 Philip Morris Philippine and ASEAN Art Awards, and has also been Grand Prize and Juror’s Choice winner in AAP Competitions, as well as a finalist in the Metrobank and Shell National Painting Competitions. He was likewise a Philippine Finalist to the Windsor & Newton World-Wide Millenium Painting Competition. In 2006, he was made a Thirteen Artists Awardee by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines.
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NOELL EL FAROL
Noell EL Farol, a graduate of the Philippine Women’s University College of Music and Fine Arts with the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts, is a multi-awarded artist since 1986 and has been participating in local and international art exhibition since 1979. He also studied at Shizuoka University Graduate School of Education and has earned diploma in Archaeology at University of the Philippines. His citations include Best Entry by Metrobank Foundation and in the printmaking category by the Art Association of the Philippines’ Annual Art Competition both in 1986, the 1994 NCCA and Rotary Club International awardee in Visual Arts, the 1993 First Prize winner in Creative Imaging First Annual Photography, and 1987 Top Five Awardee in Philippine Association of Printmakers competition. In 2004 he was awarded by Metrobank Foundation for Continuous Excellence in Service in Visual Arts and in 2009 the Metrobank Foundation Prize Achievement Award in Sculpture. El Farol’s outdoor stone sculptures can be found around Asia (Vietnam,Korea, Dubai, and Russia). He is currently residing in Japan and Korea and is representing the Haslla Art World Museum in co-organizing international symposium in art.
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WILLIAM GAUDINEZ
William Gaudinez graduated from University of Santo Tomas. Known for his handcrafted retablos sculpted in hardwood, he resurrected the inlaying tradition of carabo bone, mother of pearl, carabao horn, stone, coconut and capiz shells including Philippine hardwood and metal. He represented Philippines in Paris, France in 1996 and held 3-man show the following year in Espace Beaujon in upscale Rue de Fabourg within the vicinity of Champs Elysee. In 2007 he represented the country in art residency program of Uijae Art Studio in Unlim-Dong, Gwang-ju Metropolitan City, South Korea.
Gaudinez launched his solo art exhibition in New York in 2000 and will be having a solo art exhibition this year in Slot Art Gallery in Sydney, Australia. He was the recipient of the 2011 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award for Sculpture in celebration of the 440th year of the City of Manila.
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RIEL JARAMILLO HILARIO
Riel Jaramillo Hilario received his training as a wood sculptor from a santo-maker uncle in San Vicente Ilocos Sur in 1993-94. He studied visual arts at the Philippine High School for the Arts and took up painting and art history from the University of the Philippines. In the late 90’s he also underwent non-formal training in curatorial work by the late independent curator Roberto “Bobi” Valenzuela, a skill set he was able to develop further as an exhibitions curator for the Boston Gallery (Quezon City) and Pinto Art Gallery (Antipolo City) from 2002 to 2007. His biographical essays on Philippine contemporary artists were recently included in the book Without Walls (2011) by Winrum Publishing. In 2009, he focused on full-time art practice with solo shows featuring his rebulto series. Since then his work has appeared in shows held here and abroad namely, in Singapore, HongKong, Delhi, London and Basel. He was a grant recipient of the Sungdu-an 3 National Travelling Exhibition in 2003, and was among the shortlisted artists in the 2010 Ateneo Art Awards. He is also recently named as one of the ten winners of the 2011 Manila Art Awards of the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards.
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MARCO RUBEN MALTO II
Marco Ruben T. Malto II is an Assistant Professor at the UP Diliman College of Fine Arts, Department of Studio Arts. He served as the Department Chair in 2006 for a year, before taking a leave in 2007 to join his wife in Namibia, a former VSO programme staff and volunteer. His stay in Namibia allowed him to volunteer with a local organization and hold art workshops for orphans and vulnerable children due to HIV & AIDs. As a UP Pahinungod, Malto was a full-time volunteer at the Nayon ng Kabataan in Pasay, for a year, where he conducted regular art activities for the children. Mixing his art with his other passion--philately, Malto designed several sets of stamps which include those that commemorated Namibia’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site, launched in 2008 and to honor the late President Cory Aquino, which were chosen by the Philippine Postal Corporation, launched in 2009.
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JONATHAN OLAZO
Jonathan Olazo, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts in 1992, is one of the recipients of the 13 Artists Awards given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He was also presented the Grand Prize Award by the Philippine Association of Printmakers (PAP) in 1987. His recent exhibitions include a mixture of artistic styles, which includes an installation work titled ‘Cubao Cave Paintings’ at the Jorge V. Vargas Museum, UP Diliman in 2004, an installation piece on conservation at the Lopez Museum in 2008, a suite of figurative paintings in the ‘Tattoo and Catastrophe’ exhibition, Drawing Room in 2008, and recently, an exhibition of mostly abstract paintings at Paseo Gallery titled ‘Dionysian Johnesian’ in 2011. Jonathan is now a loving husband to Lyn and a doting father to Zachary.
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RENATO ONG
Renato Ong has been the Executive Director of Sanktuaryo since 1993, an umbrella organization for a loose group of artists working with non-conventional materials doing non-conventional art forms. Furniture and other functional art pieces, along with fashion and lifestyle accessories had been frequent subjects of exhibiton. Under the auspices of Sanktuaryo, apprenticeship programs have been sponsored for students and art practitioners to promote further knowledge and exploration on the use of various mediums not usually associated with art making.
He has a degree in Bachelor of Arts Major in Painting from the Philippine Women’s University, Taft Avenue, and had foregone his thesis for a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in favor of his art. Ong has also served as Assistant Professor and Chairman of Curriculum Development at PWU’s College of Fine Arts from 1980 to 1987.
Ong has exhibited his works at various art venues since 1978, including the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Vargas Museum, and the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila. A multi-dimensional artist, he has produced works for trade fairs and expositions, aside from stage design and props for the CCP, Peta, and other stage productions. His most recent exhibitions work on folk urban consciousness using urban indigenous materials, a mixed media of plastics, fiberglass and metals. True to his dedication to the exploration of materials, Ong is now working with discarded wood as a medium for his new artistic pursuits.
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MERVY PUEBLO
Mervy Pueblo has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts majoring in Visual Communication from St. Scholastica College. Her work as a visual artist was launched in her first exhibition “Queerest of the Queer” at a young age of 19. Since then she has participated in various exhibitions and has undertaken diverse outdoor sculpture projects locally and abroad. Her awards include the Special Citacion Award by the Metrobank Arts and Design Excellence [MADE] National Sculpture Competition (2006), Pasig City’s Recognition of Talented Youth in Arts and Culture in November (2006) and MADE Sculpture Competition Awardee from 2007 to 2010.
Mervy Pueblo represented Philippines in Taebaek International Snow Sculpture Symposium in 2007, Hai Phong-Vietnam International Sculpture Symposium in 2007, International Sculpture Symposium in Penza, Russia in 2008 and International Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition in Miyazaki Airport, Japan in 2009. Pueblo is a recipient Fulbright Scholarship and is also awarded the Trustee Scholarship and Graduate Assistantship Award from 2010-2013 by MCAD. She is currently attending MFA program in Minneapolis College of Art and Design, USA.
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PABLO BAEN SANTOS
Born in 1943, a Fine Arts graduate of the University of the Philippines, Pablo Baen Santos is one of the recipients of the 13 Artists Awards given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1990. His works has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions locally and abroad. His works are in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Central Bank of the Philippine, Philippine National Museum and at Singapore Art Museum where he was invited to participate in Singapore Biennale in 2006.
Pablo Bean Santos is among the first generation social realists, who, through arts has tirelessly expose the state of the nation’s social ills, political abuses and inequities. His first solo exhibit in 1975 coincides with his founding of KAISAHAN, the first organized group of young nationalist Filipino painters that went into the thick of the ‘protest art’ movement during the early 1970s of Marcos regime. The ‘protest art’ or ‘commited art’ encouraged the artists to realize that they were as much as part of history-in-the making as politicians, and what they painted was a means of affecting social change.
Although he has mellowed over the years, his recent exhibits: ‘SMS’ (2009) Crucible Gallery,SM Megamall and ‘Kapital: Tribute to Labor ‘(2010) Jorge B.Vargas Museum, in U.P., a hint of provocation will always be part of his theme. Pablo Baen Santos is considered as one of the ‘provocateurs’, frontrunner of Philippine social realism.
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ANDOI SOLON
Randy ‘Andoi’ Solon is a visual artist who has received numerous awards from various art competitions in the country. In 2006-2007, Solon was the Grand Prize winner of the PLDT-PDC Telephone Directory Cover 20th Visual Art National Competition for the oil on canvas work. He was also a Finalist of the Shell National Student Painting Competition from 2005 to 2007. He was also a semi-finalist in the oil/acrylic category of the Metrobank Foundation National Competition from 2004 to 2006. Andoi Solon is a graduate of the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, major in Painting, from the College of Fine Arts. He has also received a Certificate in Advertising from the Philippines Women’s University.
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DEXTER SY
Dexter Sy holds two degree: one in Computer Programming and one in Fine Arts (major in advertising) in Far Eastern University. Sy was awarded the Jurors Choice for Excellence at the 2010 Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards. He was also among the top ten shortlisted finalist for the National Capital Region at the 2005, 2007 and 2009. He is also recently named as one of the ten winners of the 2011 Manila Art Awards of the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards. He also took home the Grand Prize at several local art contest. International exhibitions of his work have been held at the Asian Artfair in Korea. Last year he participated in the Asian Art Fairnale at the Haslla Art World Museum in Korea and the show Anima Orientale at the Utterly Art Exhibition Space in Singapore. He was an artist-in-residence Haslla International Open Air Museum in Korea and attended the Haslla International Open-Air Symposium.
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NESTOR OLARTE VINLUAN
Nestor Olarte Vinluan is a scholar, teacher and one of the foremost abstractionists in present-day Philippines is a multi-faceted artist. He creates paintings, sculptures and installations that have enriched both private and public collections here and abroad. For his work as an artist and his valuable contributions to art education in the country, he was awarded the Professional Achievement Award in the Arts in 1993 (Fine Arts- Painting, University of the Philippines Alumni Association). He was conferred the UP Chancellor Award as the Outstanding Faculty Administrator during the first UP Diliman Week as Dean of the College of Fine Arts—a position he has held from 1989 to 1998. He was an artist-in-residence at Sculpture Square, Singapore in 2004 and at the Stadt-Atelier at the Künstlerhaus in Salzburg, Austria. In 2008 he was awarded Most Outstanding Fulbright Alumni in Arts and Humanities by the Philippine Fulbright Scholars Association.
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