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Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Always Christmas
By Ritchie Landis Doner Quijano
It’s just beginning to look like Christmas, but to the mother and daughter tandem of art dealers Cely and Chuchay Valero of Manila Art Frames and Gallery (MAFG), it’s “Always Christmas”, thus the title of their Yuletide exhibit.
During this season of advent, the duo decided to showcase Christmas-time related ornaments and adornments in lieu of high-end art. Christmas decorating as a tradition in every Christian home is never complete without the nativity tableau. Representational scenes of Christ’s birth, which we commonly call “belen”, are displayed all over the gallery. MAFG has plenty of them for you to choose from in different sizes coming from places like Angono, Rizal and Pampanga.
These folk pieces were sculpted by local craftsmen and then polychrome-finished by Fina Navarro, an artist specializing in painting religious statuaries. Her works can also be seen in many churches around Luzon.
Standing side by side the nativity figurines are wooden Marian icons made also by our local artisans, while some were imported from countries like Romania, Greece and Russia. A large Marian statue in the main gallery stands like a ship’s figurehead that seems to be waiting for Christmas’ arrival.
This is a big change for MAFG, which is more accustomed to selling artworks. Perhaps it is only during this season that Marian statuaries dominate the rooms instead of Malang’s Women. And oh yeah! There were lots of carved angels frolicking, too and other holiday ornaments like colorful candleholders.
It is always a joy to see these things because they always evoke so much happiness. And it is only during this time of year that we get to participate in decorating. By using our homespun creativity, we are able to transform some corner of our homes into wonderful tableaux that speak of the season.
I asked Chuchay if she had any Christmas paintings. There was only one, and it almost got away. She showed me an artwork by Jun Capati, a very detailed work in pen and ink about Christmas-time traditions.
It is true that our country observes the longest Christmas season, which is such a wonderful thing because we‘ll have more time to celebrate it. But then again, to Chuchay and Cely, it’s “Always Christmas”.
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