"Hang-aw"

“Hang-aw” Art Exhibit Held at AdU Art Gallery


Composed of painters and sculptors, the Kasikasi Art Association of Tacloban, Leyte is currently exhibiting its artworks at the Adamson University Art Gallery located along San Marcelino St., Manila. Dubbed “Hang-aw: East Visayan Artistic Expressions and Impressions,” the show opened last June 22 and will run until July 16, 2010. Mrs. Lourdes Supetran, owner of ACS Manufacturing Corp. and Atty. Sol Arboladura, representative of Mayor Alfredo Lim, opened the exhibit together with AdU President Fr. Gregg L. Bañaga, Jr., C.M.
The participating artists are Ernie Ybañez, Billy Pomida, Crispin Asensi, Rico Palacio, Archie Zabala, Archie Prisno, Jun Olimberio, Dante Enage, Jasmine Diaz and Raul Agner. Their artworks range from hyper-realist (Olimberio and Pomida) to stylized figurative (Agner, Prisno, Enage, Zabala, Asensi) and from semi-abstract (Ybañez, Diaz) to pure abstract (Palacio).
“Hang-aw,” which means to peer from a window, was conceptualized as a show that would give the Manila audience a chance to view artworks from the province, art being mainly Manila-centered. On the artists’ part, the visit to Manila would be an opportunity to meet an urban audience and explore the Manila art scene. The exhibit is also a fund-raising event in support of the University President’s “Bridge Program” scholarship assistance.
No theme was set for this exhibit. Instead, each artist was free to choose his own subject or idea to paint or sculpt. Some artworks depict local scenes and people. Others are commentaries and statements about important issues in life and society. Still others dwell on personal experiences and memories that the artists feel emotionally attached to.
This is the Kasikasi Art Association’s first foray into the big city but it intends to make the Manila exhibit an annual event. Kasikasi was started in the year 2000 and continues to be a prime mover in the local (Leyte) art scene. RDA

Exhibition Notes
Raul Agner

Peering from a window is a metaphor for getting an observantly larger view outside of one’s limited frame of reference. This is what “Hang-aw: East Visayan Artistic Expressions and Impressions” is all about.
“Hang-aw,” the Waray equivalent of the Tagalog “dungaw” is an attempt to afford the big city audience a chance to experience and appreciate art from outside the Manila art scene. Paintings and sculptures by members of the Kasikasi Art Association of Tacloban, Leyte are featured in this show. Diverse, style-, technique- and thematic choices-wise, the artworks are either deep personal statements or simply an aesthetically stylized mode of treating what is rather mundane or usual.
On the other hand, the visiting artists get to feel the beat of the big city, witness its art scene and interact with an urban audience. All these help them expand their visual vocabulary and absorb healthy influences which can enrich their artmaking once they’re back in their creative comfort zones – their studios. “Hang-aw,” in a sense, is pretty much a two-way passage.
For sure the works in this show support the fact that while art in this country is mainly Manila-centered, there are artists in the regions who continue to toil, creating artworks that are just as skillfully executed and sensibly imagined as their city counterparts. If exhibits such as this can be held more often in more venues presenting as many other province-based artists as possible, art enthusiasts and the general public alike will have an expanded view and a more accurate picture of what Philippine art looks like in its entirety.