ROSALES — The art works of at least nine renowned artists and two other groups from Region 1 were featured in the ‘My City, My SM, My Art’ exhibit at the SM City Rosales here from Sept. 8 to 14.

The “My City, My SM, My Art” was a project of SM’s Publicity supported by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Shell Philippines, Centerstage Productions and the Philippine Star.

SM’s officials walk through the art exhibit featuring works of artists from Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Norte at SM City Rosales last September 8. (Punchphoto by Cesar Ramirez)

This project showcased the countless visual art talents from the Ilocos Region that included notable and internationally- acclaimed artists.

Among the Pangasinan artists whose artworks were showcased in the exhibit were:

1. Jose “Joe” Datuin from Dagupan City who specializes in stainless steel sculpture created from simple forms like rings and spheres. His ‘Dancing Rings’ won the First Prize in the sculpture category of the Olympic Sports and Art Design contest in 2008.  He has received prestigious awards, i.e., Moscow Olympic Poster Design in 1980 and UNESCO International Calendar Design Competition in France in 1982.  His abstract works in metal are displayed in the National Museum of the Philippines, the GSIS Museo ng Sining, and in different embassies and consulates throughout the world.
2. Nestor Vinluan, a multi-faceted artist and foremost abstractionist in modern day Philippines from Pozorrubio who takes viewers to a whirlwind of strokes and figures with his circular shapes and curvilinear paintings and installations. He has received numerous awards, i.e., the Grand Prize in Painting the Art Association of the Philippines Annual Competition in 1971; the CCP’s 13 Artists Award in 1974.  Fulbright –Hays honored him as the most outstanding Fulbright alumnus in Arts and Humanities in 2008.
3. John Paul Albert Narciso Dalisa, an award- winning sculptor who was born in Butuan City now resides in Dagupan City, was originally an all-wood artist but has diversified using other mediums as clay, plaster, concrete, stone, adobe, paper, resin, and sometimes combinations of these. His works have won major prizes in prestigious competitions – the Sculpture Grand Prize in the 68th Annual Art Association of the Philippines Competition in 2015 for In ‘Our Image’, and the Grand Prize in the GSIS Art Competition in 2016 for his ‘Ecce Homo’.
4. Biskeg Pangasinan Artists, a group of Pangasinan- based artists committed to promote and uplift artistry in the province. It also aims to strengthen the art scene in the local community thru organizing and joining art exhibit here and abroad. Its members have diverse interests with different styles and medium used on their paintings, digital art and even photography.

From La Union, featured artists were:

1. Alger Guevarra creates realistic portraits using rubber slippers. His “tsinelas” painting on world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao was awarded third place in Ripley’s Believe it or Not art contest.
2. Valen Valerio makes paintings with writings, numbers, letters and codes. She makes sculptures using vintage electric meters. Her works today are more abstract, and up close contain writings, numbers, letters, codes and bold colors of paint that looks like a map destination.
3. Ric Ico, a cubist artist and an architect by profession who explores different art techniques from pointillism, abstraction, and cubism. He emphasizes the two dimensionality of a canvass.
4. Rodel Rillera, a civic leader, a nature lover, and a compassionate artist. As former president of the Artists Guild of La Union he has initiated efforts to bring the beauty of arts to the communities in La Union.
5. AGLAUN or Artists Guild of La Union was founded in the year 1995. It has since housed local artists and showcasing their talents and rich culture, and conducted art workshops.

From Ilocos Norte, featured were:

1. Ricarte Puruganan (1912-1998,) one of the so-called Thirteen Moderns, a group of trailblazing Filipino artists who broke away from academic and conservative styles of paintings in the 1930s. He helped design and build government edifices, parks, and plazas in various towns and municipalities in the Ilocos region.  His works are part of the National Museum Hall of Filipino Masters collection
2. Victor Puruganan, Ricarte’s son, is an artist whose color schemes are unconventional; his range is versatile – from ethnic and traditional folk art to futuristic supremacist and abstract impressionist art.
3. Juan Luna, was a major player in the Philippine Revolution in the 19th century, with his magnificent art works sparking nationalism and pride among Filipinos. He gained recognition and respect as an artist, impressing Europeans and Filipinos with outstanding works such as Spolarium, which won gold in 1884, and Battle at Lepanto in 1887. Today, his works can be found in the Lopez Museum and the National Museum. (Eva Visperas)

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