The agony and ecstasy of Tomas Concepcion

By Dexter R. Matilla
Inquirer
First Posted 01:23am (Mla time) 03/26/2007

MANILA, Philippines – On a frenzied January afternoon in 1969, Jan Palach was walking around Wenceslas Square in Prague with a single-minded task. Upon reaching the ramp of the National Museum, at around 4 p.m., he poured gasoline all over his body and set himself on fire.

Somewhere, Tomas Concepcion learned of the brave 20-year-old philosophy student’s dreadful call for action to his fellow Czechs whose country had been invaded a year earlier by the Soviets.

It made such an impact on Concepcion that he held a protest exhibit at Galleria Baesa Nuoi in Rome dedicated to Palach.

“That was my first encounter with art and protest… and social and political problems,” said Concepcion. “And it never left me. I don’t know why, but this is like an obsession. I’m against the violence of man against man. God did not make the world that way.”

Roughly three years later, Concepcion became part of the Movement for Free Philippines, in which he was chair for Southern Europe.

“It was a very visible movement in Europe,” Concepcion said. “Nobody organized marches and protests like I did.”

At the same time, Concepcion started the Filipino Democratic Workers’ Union as the number of Filipinos working in Italy had risen. He financed the movement as well as his political activities by doing art shows in the US, one of which was graced by Jackie Onassis.

As a 17-year-old, Concepcion, whose mother was of Muslim royalty, went to the US where he studied at San Francisco State College, majoring in Painting and Theater Design.

He moved to New England and worked as a set designer for Warwick Theaters. From there, he set off for Canada, studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

He traveled to Europe to visit museums, spending some time in Paris where he tried to look for a studio but was unsuccessful. He would eventually find his place in Rome.

His first studio was at Palacio Savelli, where the Inquisition used to hold office, and a walking distance from Piazza Navona of the Four Rivers fountains by Gianlorenzo Bernini.

It was at the Eternal City where, as a portrait painter, he got commissions to paint Prince Steno Borghese, Duchess Nicoletta de Serracapriola, soprano Leontyne Price, conductor Thomas Shippers, banker Baron Leon Lambert, and film actors Silvano Mangano and Marcello Mastroianni.

He has completed paintings and sculptures famous the world over. Concepcion enjoys the distinction of being the only Filipino to have done the sculptures of two Popes: Paul VI, which is found at the Vatican University; and John Paul II, commissioned by the Vatican as a gift to Guam.

Concepcion is also proud of the Ninoy Aquino statue he made for the People’s Park at Edsa.

“I had it sent to Manila in time for the first anniversary of Ninoy,” Concepcion said. “I love Ninoy—but who doesn’t?”

Mean representative

Concepcion’s firm resolve to uphold human rights led him to politics, in which he was a very resolute and straight-talking member of the House of Representatives in the 9th Congress. He was a representative of overseas Filipino workers.

“I was a mean representative,” recalled Concepcion.

With his days in politics behind him, Concepcion remains outspoken in discussing his views about the current Philippine situation. The same can be said about the pieces for his “Homage to Michaelangelo” exhibit that opens at Galleria Duemila on March 31.

The large-scale paintings, lithographs and sculptures are sure to evoke emotion, in the tradition of the protean body of work of the great Renaissance artist.

“Art is not about putting people to sleep,” Concepcion said. “It should make them think, make them feel, excite them, disgust them, move them. Art should be provocative.”

Concepcion feels very honored to be sponsored by the Italian Embassy, a first for a non-Italian. Concepcion explains that he intends to reintroduce the Renaissance to Filipino art lovers.

“Michaelangelo was so modern,” he said. “Before Michaelangelo, all the figures were stiff. With his passion for humanity, glorifying God’s creation, he twisted the bodies, made the sculptures look alive. So I have fallen in love with Michaelangelo. He’s a fascinating and tormented artist.”

His lithographs, “Love Signs,” are something to look forward to as they interpret the zodiac signs in a sexual manner.

While the 70something Concepcion continues to make up for lost time with his art, he is also working on his biography, which, according to him, will start with his first sexual experience and end with his stint in politics.

“I’m enjoying writing,” Concepcion said. “It will be two books. The other one will focus on my life in Rome because that part is so rich.”

E-mail the author at dxmatilla@yahoo.com

New day for Philippine art

By Dexter R. Matilla
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:51:00 09/15/2008

MANILA, Philippines - In a time when the demand for Asian art has significantly increased, 22 distinguished art galleries have come together and create what should be the newest movement to push Philippine art right to the forefront.

Bago, or Bonafide Art Galleries Organization, is composed of 1/of Gallery; ArtAsia; Art Circle; Art Exchange; Art Verite; Blanc Art Gallery; Choice Expressions; Crucible Gallery; E Galerie; Galerie Astra; Galerie Francesca; Galerie Joaquin; Galerie Stephanie; Galerie Y; Gallery BiG; Gallery Nine; Gallery Genesis; Kulay-Diwa; My Little Art Place; Renaissance Art Gallery; Ricco Renzo Galleries and Village Art Gallery.

Avant Garde Greetings CEO and Galerie E owner Jonathan Sy says that Bago’s goal is to promote Philippine visual arts as a unified and coherent body and “somewhere down the road, professionalize the players in what is sometimes regarded as an ungoverned industry.”

Sy is concerned about the rising incidence of fake artworks (some of them “certified authentic”) and the devaluation of art due to some artists willing to sell their works way below the market price.

Sy was quick to add, however, that Bago isn’t looking to radically change the way the business of art is today. He says the organization’s immediate goal is to give new artists a chance to showcase their works.

Putting up shows, he says, requires money, and unless an artist is an established one, galleries would be wary of spending for an exhibit.

Bago’s first project is the 1st Philippine Annual “State of Art” Group Exhibition on
Sept. 18-28 at the Art Center of SM Megamall Bldg. A in Mandaluyong City.
Some 50 artworks from emerging artists who have never exhibited solo before, priced at P20,000 up, will be on display.

Bago will also organize art competitions and publish a gallery guide book.
“We found a need to act as a group,” says Sy. “What we’re doing right now is take it one step at a time by promoting new artists firsts. But we want to make sure that all the projects of Bago are successful by raising awareness of the organization’s presence.”

E-mail the author at dxmatilla@yahoo.com

Joey Velasco’s ‘Manunubos’ canvases: so real, they bleed

By Dexter R. Matilla
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 12:34:00 09/24/2008

THERE’S AN ONGOING JOKE between painter Joey Velasco and his colleagues: His works have become so real that if the canvas were to be cut by a blade, it would bleed.

Velasco considers the joke a compliment. He admits he has a bleeding heart for the downtrodden. Social injustice inspires him to produce pieces that give hope and uplift the spirit.

It all began when, at 38, he went under the knife to have a large mass removed from his kidney. Despite the operation’s success, the artist still went into a depression which, he says, “can be likened to being trapped in a dark, lonely, deep well.”

“I totally withdrew from the world, from my work and social life,” he relates. “I avoided any contact with my friends and even my family, locking myself in one room as a total recluse. I knew what loneliness meant. I prayed for God to throw me a rope and I claimed I was ready to grab one, even if laced with broken glass just for me to see the light once again.”

His source of light came in the form of a paintbrush. He immediately utilized his newfound weapon against the darkness by painting Hapag (Meal Table), in 2005, depicting Jesus Christ breaking bread with 12 poor children from the slums of Manila, much like the Last Supper.

This he did by going around the Metro — looking in cemeteries, under bridges and depressed areas in Payatas — until he found his 12 little “apostles.” He says he did the painting to remind his four children to count their blessings, especially when they eat.

New exhibit

This “socio-spiritual realist” artist continues to apply the light-and-shadow technique to his works. Chiaroscuro has become his signature.

“I view my obras as ‘real,’ not because of the technique but because of the reality happening in our society,” he says.

“There is a subtle play of the darkest dark and the brightest bright. I guide myself with questions like ‘Where is the light coming from?’ ‘Is it a warm light or a cool light?’ It is in identifying the light source that the figures are illuminated and the artist achieves ‘realism.’”

This is how Velasco describes Paleta de Sangre, (Palette of Blood) one of 13 new works just unveiled at the Ayala Mall Lower Level, Glorietta 3, Makati City.

Manunubos (Savior) is the name of the exhibit and the works—as well as the stories behind them—should once again draw admiration from both art patrons and just about anybody whose heart finds respite in the love of the Almighty.

For “Maria, Ina ng Banal na Puso ni Hesus, (Mary, Mother of Jesus’ Sacred Heart) Velasco used a female caddie in one of the golf courses in Manila as model for Mary.

“The congregation that commissioned the painting chose her because of her Filipina features and tanned skin,” Velasco reveals. “She carries the heavy bag of the golfer and walks long miles every day through all the 18 holes. Rain or shine she has to stand by her player, a slave in the fairway.

“She symbolizes Mary’s obedience. ‘May it be done to me according to your word.’ It is also Mary’s invitation for me to thread not only the mountainous path of Nazareth or the undulating fairways, but also the journey of constant ‘yeses’ as I submit to the Father’s will.”

Receiving the Host

An experience during Sunday Mass was the inspiration for Hele (Lullaby). Velasco saw three young men with Down’s syndrome stand up from different pews and fall in line to receive the Eucharist. More than the visual interest, Velasco closed his eyes and at that moment wanted to enter their world.

“With the distinct line across their palm, they receive the Host,” Velasco says. “They have small hands and short fingers but their touch can move the immovable and thaw the coldest of hearts. I noticed they had different shades of almond eyes that could cross and had clogged tear ducts. Those beautiful eyes only seek the goodness in people. They are not cynical or judgmental. When they love, it is unconditional. When I entered their little world, I was definitely in communion, because I saw Jesus dwelling in them.”

When he finished Hapag, Velasco was once again hospitalized for six months. But this time, he had the experience with the children and the memory of the unique journey in art to strengthen him. So instead of succumbing to depression, he wrote a book with an IV needle inserted into his veins. From there, he went on to produce three film documentaries.

“Painting, writing, filmmaking, things I never did or planned to do in my life,” Velasco says. “Everything happened in the past years or so… when I was at my weakest point.”

Velasco admits he still asks himself what inspires him, what gives him direction despite doubts, and what gives him strength. Like a mantra, he asks these questions before the break of dawn, as he prepares for another day of work in his studio.

E-mail the author at dxmatilla@yahoo.com