Metrobank Art & Design Excellence
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2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE For more than 3 decades now, MADE has been more than just a venue to encourage excellence in craft and ingenuity. Besides shining a light on emerging talents, MADE is also about celebrating human experiences. It is where Filipino sensibilities and spirit are deeply regarded and rediscovered. This year, Filipino painters and sculptors were invited to root their creative works to the very seedbed of artistic genius—the human imagination. Without the human imagination and the will to create, there is nothing to be MADE. MESSAGE OF THE GROUP CHAIRMAN I extend my warm congratulations to this year’s awardees May this victory further inspire you to continue aspiring of the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE)! for artistic excellence, always bearing in mind the greater goal of shaping our national identity through artworks At the heart of the Metrobank Group of Companies that reflect untarnished truth, provoke critical thought, is an enduring vision for the Philippines—where art and inspire positive action among our people. is not only deemed as a privilege of the rich and the few, but a cultural understanding and a collective pleasure It is our privilege to welcome you to Metrobank’s growing of every Filipino. And so, for 33 years, we have committedly family of art exemplars. toiled to promote Philippine arts and culture by investing in the innate creative potential of the Filipino youth. Throughout its evolution, MADE has continued to be the embodiment of this commitment. This annual art and design recognition program has stood unwaveringly despite the change of times, empowering budding painters and sculptors to imagine new worlds through their art. The awardees now join the distinguished roster of almost 400 Filipino artists who have dared to imagine things DR. GEORGE S.K. TY anew, exemplifying not only mastery of skill, but also the Chairman and Founder unshakeable passion for artistic expression and creativity. Metrobank Group and Metrobank Foundation, Inc. 2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE 1 Congratulations to the 2017 awardees of the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE)! This year’s theme—Imagine—affirms Metrobank Foundation’s advocacy to empower artists across the Philippines to create new worlds and alternative realities rooted in the very seedbed of creative genius: the human imagination. But more than that, Imagine is a call to action. It poses a challenge to every Filipino far and wide to use the power of their artistic judgement to bring color into our nation. We thank the Philippine art community, particularly the artists for their continued patronage to the program. We are humbled by your great passion to aspire for and join in our common goal of national transformation. We also extend our appreciation to our institutional partners and the esteemed members of our Final Board of Judges for their valuable inputs to this three-decade undertaking of inspiring our young generation to be prouder and more confident of our national identity through their works of art. Mabuhay ang larangan ng sining na sariling atin! ANICETO M. SOBREPEÑA President Federal Land is honored to be a part of this noble endeavor to recognize great Filipino talents in the realm of sculpture and arts. This year marks the start of a stronger partnership between Metrobank Foundation and Federal Land, with its dynamic exchange of ideas in program planning and the careful selection of winners for the 2017 MADE Sculpture Recognition Program. Our support will always be there for Metrobank Foundation’s noble activities for the common good of our society – a shared endeavour with Federal Land. Congratulations to Metrobank Foundation on its 2017 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence! May you continue to nurture young talents and develop the art culture of the country. ALFRED V. TY Chairman 2 METROBANK FOUNDATION, INC. Paul Marvin E. John C. Quizon Cabanalan 2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDEES Jett Moreen Abdulmari Stanley L. Joy T. “Toym” D. Osian Austria Imao, Jr. 2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE 3 Advocacy MADE: Fostering Talent and Creativity through Philanthropy By Ma. Victoria “Boots” T. Herrera Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integral to the operations of a private entity like Metrobank, administered through the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI). Beyond customer loyalty and increased business, CSR is primarily an advocacy, a way of giving back to the community. The arts and culture sector is among the beneficiaries of programs administered by the MBFI. As part of Metrobank’s corporate social responsibility, MBFI’s Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) Painting Recognition Program has encouraged a whole generation of visual artists to excel and follow their artistic pursuits. Since the inception of an annual painting competition in 1984, past awardees of the MADE Painting Recognition Program include today’s leading contemporary artists, many of whom have brought pride to the country in the international art scene. Moreover, these artists have inculcated the value of paying forward through their own socio-civic advocacies, many of which address current issues that affect the marginalized. They provide similar opportunities to a younger generation of artists and give a voice to the voiceless. The private sector’s role in art patronage is crucial in enhancing networks among the various players in the art world. Beyond validation, the program also extends various forms of support, enabling young artists to pursue a career in the arts. Scholarships and subsidies not only provide economic sustenance. These opportunities also instill in them a sense of ethics, professionalism, and social responsibility, qualities essential to the creation of a nurturing environment for creativity and the arts. 4 METROBANK FOUNDATION, INC. MESSAGE My heartfelt congratulations go to this year’s MADE painter-awardees! FROMTHE Seating as a judge, let alone the chairperson of the jury for the painting recognition program was such a wonderful CHAIRPERSON challenge. Wonderful, in the sense that I was able to work behind the scenes for the prestige of the country’s pioneering corporate-run arts program; though in the same respect, challenging—because this year’s entries were all breathlessly exemplary in their own right and deserved a chance at the spotlight. This year’s competition has witnessed hundreds of submitted artworks, of all styles and sizes, done by artists both established and up-and-coming, tackling such a wide-ranging set of themes prevalent in our society today. Truly, these artists have dared to imagine better worlds—worlds that, I believe, have the tremendous power to become a reality if they are translated to critical debate among the greater public. I stand by this year’s selections with the comfort of knowing that the Metrobank Foundation, in its commitment to uplift the dynamicity of our local art landscape, will not stop at merely recognizing these artworks—but will cascade them to the community through its on-going efforts in putting up more exhibitions and holding more lectures for the public. I am excited and certain that through our collective efforts, our country will see an even stronger identity in art in the next coming years. LYDIA VELASCO-CRUZ Chairperson, Final Board of Judges 2017 MADE Painting Recognition Program 2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE 5 “Genesis” Oil on Canvas 48” x 36” 6 METROBANK FOUNDATION, INC. GRAND AWARD Oil / Acrylic on Canvas Category PAUL JOHN C. CABANALAN “Genesis” In Biblical terms, “genesis” refers to a beginning, an emergence. In his work of the same title, Paul John Cabanalan combines forms indicating development and generation, hopeful of a life well lived. Genesis is a visual autobiography, conceived in layers, four to be exact. The artist builds up the composition by working on canvas like a palimpsest—reconfiguring as he overlaps layers of memories. Trained in architecture, he recalls and re-imagines the past meticulously building up the story of his young life. In his preparatory drawings, Cabanalan sets out the different aspects in his life and melds them all into one complex configuration. He begins with a recollection of his imaginary world as a child, a world he hoped to conquer. The second layer is more grounded to reality, literally a map of Barangay Porog, his hometown, rendered from an aerial view much like how pre-colonial maps are composed. Icons or glyphs mark spots in the small territory, at least those significant to him—his home, the church, the community hall, and the day care center. The third layer is filled with people who influenced his life but who have passed on—family, friends, town folks, including a stray dog. For the fourth layer, Cabanalan references the beliefs taught to him as a child by elders; those stories that molded instilled discipline through fear. These involve creatures familiar to most Filipinos—the aswang, the kapre, and the favorable omen that is Santirmo or St. Elmo’s fire. The result is a rich composite of his memory and imagination. Cabanalan’s painting possesses a certain rawness not often preferred or even expected for a competition entry. Yet there is a sophistication to his careful thought process, laying bare his life undisguised yet highly codified. It leads one to wonder, given the opportunity, how would he tell our nation’s story? 2017 METROBANK ART & DESIGN EXCELLENCE 7 “For Those Who Lived and (are) Forgotten” Acrylic on Paper 18” x 24” 8 METROBANK FOUNDATION, INC. GRAND AWARD Watermedia on Paper Category MARVIN E. QUIZON “For Those Who Lived and (are) Forgotten” The image of a lifeless bird is hauntingly familiar given recent events in the country. Marvin Quizon pays tribute to victims of senseless killings and of terrorism that we see much too often in the news. But he presents this with much optimism. Painstakingly rendered in water-based medium, Quizon achieves an almost photographic quality, capturing every feather and its gradient changes in color.