Gallery News: Japanese art at the Met Museum

The Japan Foundation, Manila — in cooperation with the Metropolitan Museum of Manila — “Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art” which opens tomorrow at the Tall Galleries of the Met.

The show features 35 various art works by 14 young artists from Japan. The art pieces specifically highlight the Micropop, a new expression in the contemporary arts introduced by the Japanese art critic Midori Matsui.

To complement the exhibit, a lecture by Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the Mori Art Museum, will be held on March 8, and a series of art workshops titled “Stop Motion Video Animation” will be held on March 31 until the first week of April.

For details, call The Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) at 811-6155 to 58, e-mail@jfmo.org.ph, or visit www.jfmo.org.ph and www.facebook.com/jfmanila.

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Parungao, Agustin and Lao at GSIS Museo ng Sining

Juno Parungao, Kristian Jeff Agustin and Jean Pierre “Dyani” Lao are featured in “As yet Unwritten,” which opens on Feb. 20, 6 p.m., at the GSIS Museo ng Sining.

Parungao creates portraits based on people’s birthdays and celestial mythologies colored by her philosophical ruminations. Agustin uses video and performance with spoken word to give voice to celestial bodies or introspective personas. And Lao’s intricately rendered tattoos of mythical beings and celestial bodies — the results of his solid research on Filipino indigenous practices — are rendered in limited-edition prints and captured in photographs. Guest curator is Laya Boquiren.

Hosted by the GSIS Museo ng Sining, the exhibit is part of the celebration of Philippine National Arts Month. For information, visit facebook.com/asyetunwrittenexhibit.

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Fr. John Cordero at the ArtPrints Alley

In his 2nd solo exhibition titled “Slivers of Light,” Fr. John Cordero uses his camera as a means of expressing hope — as when a fraction of light appears in the darkness, creating shadows that complement light and allow insights to emerge from darkness.  “I like to see emotion and the light that envelopes it,” he says, “anything that speaks to me with emotion.”

The show is currently on view until Feb. 21 at the ArtPrints Alley, Suite 324 LRI Design Plaza, Nicanor Garcia St. Bel Air II, Makati City. For details, call Ellen Capili at 836-8799 or e-mail inquiries@oneworkshop.ph.

Proceeds of the exhibit will go to the construction of the MMHC Missionary Center in Marikina City.