Being an Ortigas working girl and a regular MRT commuter, passing by SM Megamall is usually part of my itinerary on the way home. Normally it’s to wait out the rush hour because who wants to spend over an hour trying his/her luck getting on a train? Certainly not me. Anyway, whenever I stroll around this mall, especially when I’m heading up to the 5th floor where the different beauty salons are or looking for some place to have dinner at, I always see the different rows of art galleries located at the 4th floor. One fine afternoon, when I felt like being artsy-fartsy, I decided to check them out.
I started with the Art Center where one can view works of active Filipino visual artists. The paintings I saw on display evoked of playfulness, youth and some morbidness for me.
My favorites from Art Center in particular were the following:
Painting on the left is called The Street while on the right is Pretty Eyes
The artist’s name is Paola Germar. She likes to veer towards the morbid yet countered with their bejeweled festal decadence which is clearly translated into her paintings where ghoulis figures perform an infinite danse macabre. These paintings which were displayed in the Art Center particularly are representations of the Japanese folkloric figure, the Yokai – deemed as dangerous yet mysterious phantom enchantress that are harbingers of bad luck and calamity. It’s an analogy to societal conventions of seeing independent women as seemingly deviant to the stereotype of being rather meek and domestic.
A couple more of her works:
The works of Isobel Francisco, a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University also captured my attention. Oil and graphite are this artist’s weapons of choice and she’s also well versed in ink and digital tools.
Matador by Isobel Francisco
Bull by Isobel Francisco
Her works can be recognized for her preference with vivid shades of red, blue and purple and through her subject’s piercing expressions: often strong, stubborn, and struggling. For this particular exhibit, her themes were on bondage and the primal viscerality of such play.
Meanwhile the above paintings are the works of Gab Lopez. The defining trait in her work whether its pen and ink on paper or acrylic on wood panels, are her bold lines. Her subjects are often feminine and alluring, in waves and curls as you would notice on the photos I took. I probably would buy them if I was the type who bought art since I’m all about flirty and feminine designs.
At Impressions Art Gallery, what I liked there were paintings that showed the Filipino life such as the following paintings which show two different types of Palarong Pinoy.
A couple of other artworks that I liked were these garden paintings.
The artworks you’ll find at the 4th floor of SM Megamall are not just colorful paintings of human figures or landscapes for that matter and they’re not all in canvas. Some were abstract paintings that made use of mixed media:
Some were mask artworks:
And some did not involve the art of painting at all, but sculpting:
The sculptures above are found in Contreras Sculptures which I learned was owned by a couple who are both sculptors.
I read an article online from Philippine Star about Art Walk in SM Megamall and learned that it has been around for 23 years already! The art-in-a-mall concept began in 1992. Before it was established, the idea that making art accessible to the general public was something not everyone would have easily believed was possible. You see art activity in the Philippines only started to become active during the Americans stay here but even then the art scene was largely conservative. From what I researched, the former First Lady Imelda Marcos also played a big role in the flourishing art scene in the country when she started her own program that focused on the wider acceptance of the artist and his role in the nation’s cultural and social development.
The art-walk-in-a-mall concept in SM Megamall was born after the successful exhibit of Juvenal Sanso’s Bulaklak. His works were sold to art collectors and even chance-passerby customers. That’s when Mr. Sy, an avid art collector himself, decided it was possible to bring the art closer to the people. After another successive successive show of another artist brought in a receptive audience, the establishment of a gallery row was started.
In the beginning, there was only a set of eight or nine galleries that could be found at the Level 4. Some of the first ones were the branches of Galleria Duemila 2000, Finale Art File, West Gallery, Heritage Art Center, Liongoren Art Gallery, Gallery Genesis, and the main offices of Pacheco Art Gallery, and Contreras Sculptures Gallery. Through the years, other galleries followed foot in SM Megamall such as the Galerie Y, Crucible Gallery, Gallery of Prints, Nemiranda Arthouse and Gallery 139. Some of the galleries there also hold their own special programs or visions like holding workshops, demonstrations or lectures and promoting student-artists.
I think the concept of having art galleries inside a mall is very commendable because now people from all walks of life can view and appreciate various sample works of Filipino visual artists. It’s no longer exclusive to the cultured ones. And because the Philippines’ has a continuously growing mall culture, more and more art galleries are opening in various malls in the country.
SM Megamall, big as it is, is a haven for foodies because of the many restaurant establishments found in it and a food crawl activity would definitely be a top of mind for the foodies out there! But here’s a different and intellectually stimulating activity to do there as well: an art crawl! Who knows? You might just find yourself buying one of those artworks yourself! It’s a worthy investment after all!
SM Art Walk
4th flr. SM Megamall, Bldg. A
