A pocket universe of art and rock
Ubiquitous skull rings, glass-lit wall installations, sketches, sculptures and illustrations comprised the exhibit at Pocket Universe, the art space at the second floor of rock bar Saguijo which recently featured 13LuckyMonkey artists and their signature works. Sarah Gaugler, Noli Coronado and Dante Dizon lead the team of artists who carved, drew and molded their own visions, which are all available for you to take home and appreciate up close until mid May. Artists, art lovers, fans and a fair share of hipsters came out to celebrate the intimate opening. I chatted up ultra mild-mannered gallery owner Camille Lanuza about her gallery’s conception, plans for the future and the studio’s whimsical name.
YSTYLE: How did Pocket Universe come together?
Camille Lanuza: The Pocket Universe Art Collective is comprised of an art gallery, a shop that carries local brands whose merchandise is aligned with art and design, and the Snow Tattoo parlor, bringing to life tattoo artist Sarah Gaugler’s signature style.
Through the shop and gallery, we aim to support new and young artists. Being new and young is more of the idea, style or concept — and has nothing to with age. What 13LuckyMonkey does is art, and stunning at that.
Sarah Gaugler is also the resident artist for the gallery, apart from heading Snow Tattoo.
In the shop, the merchandise is unique, made by artists and designers themselves. The shop is transitioning to Pindiegear.com, the product arm of Pindiemusic.com, a website and group that features and supports the independent music scene.
How did you select the artists for the show?
Initially, we would invite the artists, and we still do, but we receive applications all the time. We’ve had a lot of graffiti artists exhibit at our space. On the streets they make the metropolis walls beautiful, in our gallery they showcase their skill in visual art.
Our collection is comprised of a lot of urban and new media art. We’ve collaborated with The Crucible Gallery, through joint shows featuring Igan D’ Bayan, Nemo Aguila and Sarah Gaugler.
How do exhibits like these help the artists and the industry?
We don’t just provide a space for the artists. For artists with little experience, we guide them in industry practices, encouraging them to be as professional as possible.
When they do exhibit with the more established galleries and their show is successful, it means we did our job well and achieved our goal.
What we’re trying to do is take the underground overground, and empower the next generation of influential artists.
How did you come up with your gallery name (which is pretty cool), and how did you end up in Saguijo?
I’ve always had a “pocket universe†in my mind, a place I would visualize going to where everything was perfect, beautiful and peaceful. When I sat down to think of what to name the collective, I thought this would be perfect.
One night, I woke up in the middle of sleep and, as if possessed, decided to set up the art gallery I had been wanting to start all my life. It was a childhood dream. I felt more could be done with the space than just a gallery, so we added a shop and tattoo shop and it became a collective.
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The Pocket Universe Art Collective Gallery, Shop and Snow Tattoo are located at 2nd floor, Saguijo Café + Bar, 7612, Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati City.
