The Madcap World of Montelibano

CEBU, Philippines - Jun Jun Montelibano describes himself as playful. Certainly, his youthful looks belie his age (He’s 34), and make it seem as if he’s ready to play at any time.  But ‘playful’ might be too tame to describe his works – try “mind-altering” or “vertiginous.”  Given the nonsensical whimsy that’s found in his pretty but far from peaceful paintings (in fact, they might even be considered as verging on weird), and considering the madcap mix of characters, images and perspectives that are found within, ‘playful’ just doesn’t cut it.

It is a few months after his sold-out show at the Orange Gallery (September, 2009), and Junjun has taken a breather by busying himself with a summer art workshop run by the legendary Peque Gallaga.  Film director and artiste extraordinaire Peque has been a major influence in Junjun’s career, ever since Junjun shyly showed him a piece early in his budding career.  Peque’s immediate advice was encouraging, telling the college student, who was then helping out in theater production work, to “just keep on doing it.”

Junjun doesn’t have any formal training.  After giving up the idea of taking Fine Arts, given the pressure exerted by his family, and taking up Mass Communications in La Salle Bacolod, Junjun ended up resorting to creating visual works just to please himself.  Perhaps, there was his brother, Manny, to thank for this urge to indulge (Manny is an installation artist), but certainly, there were no seeming genetic influences forthcoming from his father (a business man) or his mother (a housewife).  

In college, Junjun pandered to his creative side by doing theater production work.  This was how he got into contact with Peque Gallaga, who advised him to add some more expressiveness and texture to his works, and gave him tips on composition.   At the back of his mind, Junjun “really really really really wanted” to do art (Yes, he really said “really” four times), and despite having no grounding in the basics, he persevered.

Emboldened by Gallaga’s advice, Junjun launched his first solo show in 2007, entitled “Low Carbon Diet,” a take-off on the carbon emissions so detested by environmentalists. This was followed by collaborative projects with his installation-artist brother, and joint shows with his girlfriend, Cindy Ballesteros, also a visual artist.

In 2009, Junjun opened his second solo show, “Auditory Imagery,” an exhibit themed around sound, and the instruments that make them.  Junjun’s pieces here are multi-sensory and multi-leveled, with a surrealistic pop feel about them.  It is as if Alice in Wonderland got transposed into a musical band, while magical talking creatures fill up the rest of the orchestra.  The characters have wide, limpid eyes, that are a bit alarming, yet still endearing, and any minute you expect them to pipe up and join either the conversation or the concert.

Junjun doesn’t think there’s any similarity between Alice and his works, although another Bacolod artist, Raymond Legaspi, shares my impression about the parallelism. Carmel Hibaler, the gallerina who runs the Orange Gallery, muses that his paintings are like a story in a play, and indeed, there is a story to be spun from his canvasses.

 Junjun admits he’s inspired by vintage art, animals, and little girls, which is why his latest piece is titled “Candy Store.” Again, we see the multi-layered story-telling evident in this piece, with various focal points that can actually stand on their own.  There is a lollipop wielding clerk in the foreground, an intriguing black-gowned doll-goddess painting hanging on a wall, a mini-door guarded by twin-Klan mice, and naturally, a little girl selecting from the various sweets of the shop while a raven watches over her and the goods.  And still, there are many more details left in this amazing confection, ready to catch the eye.  Alice couldn’t have chosen a better alternative to Wonderland than this store.

There’s probably also the seeming influence of his patron, Charlie Co.  Junjun admits he’s inspired by Charlie (whose works are now being auctioned by Christie’s and Sotheby’s), as well as Dennis Ascalon.  His brother Manny also inspires him, and the feeling seems to be mutual, as Junjun’s work, “Corn Baby,” an eerie but adorable infant with a wine bottle on one hand and a trumpet in the other, was snapped up from the Auditory Imagery show by his brother.   In addition, Junjun draws on the experience he gained from production work, as he has been steeped in television and film work.  (He did a stint in the art department of GMA-7, working for Mar y Mar, and was the production designer for Jay Abellos’ 2009 film, “Ligaw Liham”).