Bejeweled realm of art

JONATHAN DANGUE
JONATHAN DANGUE

Like the delicate dance of the universe, energy flows between us, each element and being interconnected, maintaining a delicate balance. As the health crisis begins to fade, our focus shifts towards restoring, healing and encouraging that balance to thrive.

In the world of art, local artists are taking up the mantle, crafting works that are infused with the spark of pure inspiration and the transformative power of art — all in the name of the beauty of interconnectedness.

Qube Gallery’s realm of “Bejeweled” is art and energy merged in a dazzling display of creativity. Here, the inspiration for the artworks is drawn from the ancient wisdom of energy meridians, also known as chakras. Each chakra is represented by a unique combination of colors, semi-precious stones and jewels.

Jonathan Dangue

Dangue is not just an artist, but an architect born in Manila whose passion for design and composition informs his unique creative style. With a keen eye for detail, Dangue bends and shapes his creations into breathtaking works of art. His deep understanding of space, form and composition concepts allows him to seamlessly integrate art and design in a way that is visually stunning.

“My art is personal to me, just like this one it’s like connecting an antenna and attaching stones that can absorb and give me energy. You also have to believe in your creation so that it will come true,” said Dangue.

His “Throat Chakra -- Wisdom and Truth” piece features the use of brass and lapis lazuli, while “Root Chakra -- Grounding” showcases brass and hematite stone. His “Crown Chakra -- Purity of Spirit” artwork, on the other hand, highlights the beauty of brass and amethyst. He joined the Heritage Conservation Society and immersed himself in heritage preservation and reuse of reclaimed materials that led him to use brass materials.

Avie Felix

Avie Felix is a true Renaissance woman — a multi-disciplinary artist, a program director and co-founder of the Young Artists’ Studio (YAS), a year-round art school catering to students of all ages since 2009. In the Bejeweled art exhibition, Felix mounts her first-time display of art in geometric abstraction.

“As you can see, during the pandemic every day was uncertain. The guiding point for me is to not have a balance but still make it coherent. There has to be a point where it intersects, I let go but not so much,” said Felix.

For Felix, abstract art is not just a form of creative expression, but a way to tap into the universal energy that flows through us all and has found a good release on that. Through the use of acrylic, watercolor and gouache on cotton rag, she has managed to evoke the full force of her artistic expression. Felix has curated 30 after which she opened a small art gallery vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery. Avie has also participated in the Japan Foundation and Vargas Museum’s Curatorial Workshop.

Helena Alegre

Multi-disciplinary artist Helena Alegre is known for her sculptural jewelry. Her sculptures are described as feminine or minimal, yet also reveals a touch of boldness.

She erases the line between art and design and combines them into her sculptures. Apart from being a visual artist, Helena is a former member of the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company.

Her interest in performance art (dance) also shows in the way she manipulates her designs and each stroke she paints in her canvas. Helena has exhibited her works in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry in Daet, Camarines Norte and in prestigious art galleries in Manila.

Melissa Yeung Yap

Melissa Yap’s art will make you stare and take a second look. Partly, it is because of the unique textures present in her work.

Native fabrics from the indigenous people of the country are woven into her paintings seamlessly. Philippine weaves from the T’Boli T’nalak and Dagmay Mandaya are fabric pieces incorporated into her 2023 work, Citrus Spring.

“I really love that right now in the Philippines, we’re more proud of who we are, and there’s that appreciation of what we have, precolonial. And that’s when I started working as an anthropological researcher, there was a bit of a struggle, but now it’s easier and more comfortable to put it out there,” said Yap.

Her unique incorporation of different elements create the almost magical feel of the visuals in her paintings. Her anthropology roots allowed her to explore the beauty of our cultures, and even be a direct observer of the processes behind it.

“I documented how they did it from the abaca tree, all the way to the woven fabric. Through my art it’s very fulfilling that I’m able to do that,” said Yap.

“My goal is for art to be a source of empowerment, a way where people can really support each other, it’s really a community, not just among artists. But in my art it’s among artisans, artists, crafts people.”

Francis Nacion

His works were first seen by the public in 2009 in a solo exhibition. The finest lines in his work are etched by hand; a million little cuts that create a visual spectacle; most of which depict a woman — an ode to his mother, Nacion says.

“I was close with my mother. I’ve witnessed her hard work; her courage. She was a seamstress before while she was alive,” said Nacion.

His mother’s love truly made an indelible mark on him because even in his art, aside from the women subjects, he takes textile and blends it into his work.

Nacion covers the textile with a transparent acrylic, making it blend smoothly into the strokes and the carvings on the image. In a way, Nacion feels like his art, every cut and fabric on the canvas is his connection to his late mother. For him, his art can be a form of healing, too.

A single work can take him up to months to finish, but when the final work finally sees the light of day, it is a beauty to behold.

Ricky Francisco

For more than 20 years, Ricky Francisco curated all kinds of paintings and art exhibitions in museums — but never his own.

“I never made a work to be shown to the public because I know there are really good artists out there,” Francisco said.

His exposure to different kinds of art in his curating career might have given him hesitations about his own works, but amid the pandemic, Francisco realized one thing: His art, regardless of its quality relative to everyone else’s out there, deserved to be seen. Simply because he truly loved doing art, and it was his hope that someone else would find the same peace he felt while doing art.

One of his exhibited works, aptly titled “The Vanishing,” is a curious piece. A glance will make you feel something, and a closer look will make you think. For that specific piece, Francisco said he did not want to preempt his audience because vanishing for him could both be negative and positive at the same time.

The blues and softened yellow tones of Francisco’s work were inspired by his affinity to light; how light touches the dark and how sometimes the dark accentuates the light. Spray painting, with careful presses and precise angling, yielded the softer tones of color that Francisco was going for.

“It felt nerve wracking like I was opening myself up for criticism, what they could say about my work,” Francisco said. Today, he said, he realized that to be able to exhibit and share your art with other people is a privilege.

For Francisco’s first exhibit in Cebu City, he feels nothing short of grateful for being able to show his work at Qube gallery.

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