Exhibitions

Current

Niño x Negros
Abantao | Campos | Cervantes | Co | Delleva | Espuerta | Hecita | Javier | Legaspi | Montelibano | Tijing Jan 18, 2021 Many a miracle has been attributed to the Sto. Nino de Cebu, the infant boy swathed in elaborate, jewel-encrusted garments. Over the past 500 years, as a newly-mapped territory took tentative steps towards nationhood and civilization, an icon gifted to the local nobility stood watch.

That innocent countenance bore witness to the fruits of the labors, the display of talents, and the flowering of genius, even, demonstrated by the denizens it sheltered. At the same time, it also radiated its own restorative powers to the faithful, dispensing miracles to those in need.

Those miracles, ranging from the curing of poison, rescue from fires, survival from peril, and a host of other wondrous tales, gave hope to the faithful, and succour to the deprived. In these COVID-ravaged times, the need for a miracle has never been as keenly felt as today.

Art, in turn, is by its very nature perpetually miraculous. From the depths of an artist’s imagination come a vision realized. Beauty is made physically manifest. On blank canvass, a statement, an expression, or even opposition, is suddenly writ. Fleeting emotions are made permanently tangible. From nothing comes not just something, but a fixture in the firmament.

This show is a gathering of tributes from artists hailing from Negros island, all of them marshaling their unique talents to honor and pay homage to the icon of Cebu. And, as we see in these equivalents of frankincense and myrrh, we are treated to glorious celebrations of a child that gives the gifts of happiness and hope to its faithful.

We look to the aspect of the joyous and the glorious. This is the gleeful child, a tot of laughter and sweet innocence, a remembrance of all that is tender and still very much true.

It is a pandemic out there, but we have not lost all hope. And we have art to remind us of just that. Read more

Past

Pop Polar
JP Duray x Anoni Mouse 5 - 31 Dec 2020 These are the days which will be written into history books. We will look back, ponder on the imponderables, and retrace the events as they came flooding in and overwhelming us, pushing humanity aside and tearing normality apart.

What then, the pandemic’s impact on art? More specifically, how did this horrific nightmare and its innumerable consequences affect Filipino artists?

JP Duray can be viewed through this lens. A study in contradictions, JP is apparently reserved, even aloof. But unlike introverts, he breaks out into song, dishes tunes from his portable piano, and jerks into dance moves at the slightest provocation. Good looking, one would have thought that klieg lights and glamour poses would hold more attraction for him than the more laborious and painstaking world of creating molds, sculpting resin, and applying war paint.

But this gregarious lad is now known for the most fantastic, beautifully bizarre pop sculptures. JP’s quirky sensibilities translate into figurines fashioned from his inexhaustible imagination.

Babies with insatiable hunger pangs get represented as diaper-clad tots, but gifted with gaping jaws that are embedded within extended bellies.

A representation of what seems to be Senator Leila de Lima gets sculpted into a Wonder Woman/Darna costume, with a wrist-cuffed hand pointed to the heavens.

White-coated surgeons are rendered with various body parts held in the palms of their hands - a representation that became especially popular with real doctors at the height of the pandemic, as though medical professionals needed artistic validation in JP’s figurines.

That was Face A. That was pre-covid. But JP has other facets to him, and this pandemic has enabled him to tap into those other dimensions, and reveal other creative directions he wishes to pursue.

In this show, JP intends to debut another of his facets. Christened with the moniker “Anoni Mouse,” this other artist within JP’s complex personae prefers works on canvas, peppered with orifices, lips and other sorts of appendages. Anoni amalgamates body openings into a striking assemblage of pouts, frowns, and grimaces. Read more

Playdate
Martkills 5 - 31 Dec 2020 Like a lifetime member of Peter Pan’s boy-band of truants and feckless youths cavorting in Neverland, Gemart Ortega, with his young son in tow, is an irrepressible kid, with a grin that’s easy to surface, accompanied by a shyness that befits a bashful boy.

That is perhaps why Gemart’s works (or Martkills, as he is known in the art world) are so easily translatable to a landscape that children would adore: kid pop with candy and confetti. There is a winsome appeal to Gemart’s characters, even if they be super heroes, as he bestows his characters with chubby, tubby bods, and cheeks that just beg to be pinched. Their eyes are tiny, almost certainly heavy with sleep.

Sprinkle some furry pups, picnic baskets, and even tiny tot costumes, very liberally onto his canvasses and complementing his characters, and Martkills is able to transport the viewers to lullaby-land.

Not to say Martkills doesn’t have his dark side. For other shows, Martkills has whipped out bug-eyed imps with fangs and sculptures that hug the terror genre very closely. Spaceships with aliens are frequent motifs, as well as gargoyles, beasts and all sorts of endearingly fierce creatures that should be displayed at horror museums.

For this show, however, Martkills veers away from macabre, and even the current horrors of covid, and as a way of allowing escape, perhaps even for his own son, he opens up a world of balloons, stuffed animals and plastique toys. The playground is open, the Dino and clown costumes are ready for tot-fittings. It is a world of innocence, of soap bubbles and laughter, of wonder and amazement. The kids run free, and nightmares are forgotten.

This is Martkill’s Crib, and we are welcome to rock in it. For isn’t it that he whose hands rock the cradle, rules the world? And this world, this soothing amusement park, this kindergarten for art lovers, Martkills surely rules. Read more

Play!
Distort Monsters 18 Nov - 12 Dec 2020 Heavily influenced by elements of skateboarding, and punk rock. Distort Monsters is a street artist primarily known for his colorful characters with bold outlines and multilinear textures. His works are often narrative, and introspective in nature, with his monsters being a visual representation of his conscience. Bringing these monsters to... Read more

Terra Forma
Jun Escario 18 Nov - 2 Dec 2020 Curated by Queenmelo Esguerra Exquisite Forms Against a Landscape of Textures Exhibition Notes by Carlomar Arcangel Daoana Fashion designers and visual artists share the language of shape, color, and texture. Materials—whether they are fabric or pigment—are examined for their possibilities, how they convey certain ideas or modes of feeling. The... Read more

Ugat
Group Show 11 Nov - 12 Dec 2020 Entitled “Ugat”, the show is a reference to this counter culture and examine how these cultural influences remain despite where artworks are placed: in the streets where they started, in the galleries where they are formally exhibited, or, eventually, in the walls where they are collected. Organized by Distort Monsters,... Read more

Connect the Dots
Golda King 15 Oct - 14 Nov 2020 Read more

Lonesome in a Happy World
Red (Oni) Genotiva 23 Sep - 7 Oct 2020 In this series of work for Qube Gallery, Red (Oni) Genotiva has created the same imaginary landscape filled with rich pastel colors and almost holographic treatment. The playground setting is rich with story telling, inhabited by Jurassic and space age characters. Read more

Specimen of the Immaculate
Jan Sunday 17 Sep - 6 Oct 2020 The exhibition revolves around the feminine as a divine archetype placing the focus on female figures from various civilizations in prehistory. This brings to the forefront the necessity to question our current male-dominated system that is a juvenile society in contrast to tens and thousands of years of egalitarian and spirit-centered living. Read more

Waiting to Exhale
COMPRA | MASA | ONG | PONGASE 27 Aug - 6 Oct 2020 Four Cebuano artists (Compra, Masa, Ong and Pongase) have collectively turned into their art during these times. While seemingly holding their breath until better days return, they have named their exhibition, aptly, “Waiting to Exhale”. Read more

Ban.yu.hay
Antonio Pastoriza | Kevin Roque | Meatfist 20 Aug - 16 Sep 2020 The Filipino word “Banyuhay” translates into the idea of metamorphosis: a process that looks into the cycle of transformation. In this exhibition, three emerging artists are drawn to understand how the evolution of self transpires. Here, an evaluation of the forces that shape these changes is defined through different modes... Read more

Camping Trip II
Mark Santos | Reen Barrera | TRNZ 1 - 18 Aug 2020 Originally, we had explored the simple, playful idea of Ohlala, Sasquatch and Loon just visiting each other. It would be a riff of each other’s iconic inspirations, a lark of an adventure, a rollicking echo chamber of ideas from three extremely talented artists. It was going to be a joyous reunion, where the simple pleasures of friendship, good food, and new friends would collide, and then leave us and the audience chuckling and gurgling with delight.

Enter the pandemic. Read more

Finding the Calm in the Chaos
Dennis "Sio" Montera 5 Feb - 31 Mar 2020 In the collection, Montera works with all the painterly techniques he has acquired from here and from the conditions he worked with while he was abroad. Read more

Past the Seven Year Itch
An exclusive online anniversary show 1 - 29 Feb 2020 Qube Gallery presents its exclusive online anniversary show, playfully titled “Past the Seven Year Itch”. Despite this playfulness, this show recalls the past exhibitions of a no-longer fledgling art gallery. Referenced in popular culture, the “seven year itch” refers to the period of unrest that comes after trials, false starts,... Read more

Vecindad
Jose Mari Picornell 16 Jan - 29 Feb 2020 Qube Gallery is pleased to present new works by impressionist artist Jose Mari Picornell. This is Picornell’s fourth one-man show since the dawn of his career in the 1960s Read more

Salon Series # 1
Eisa Jocson | Larry Ypil | Steph Misa 7 Jan 2020 The SALON SERIES (#1) kicks off at QUBE GALLERY on 7th of January 2020 at six o'clock in the evening. SALON SERIES in its first edition features 'Corponomy' a performance by contemporary choreographer and dancer EISA JOCSON and a special reading by poet and essayist LAWRENCE LACAMBRA YPIL. SALON SERIES... Read more

Celestial Ocean
Osamu Emperado 12 - 31 Dec 2019 Osamu Tristan Emperado, commonly known as Uzi, is an illustrator, studio artist, and an international graphic designer. Aside from his wide body of work in digital design , he is well-known for his uninhibited surrealist depictions on canvas. Read more

Countercurrent
GI Pongase 31 Oct - 16 Nov 2019 Young and upcoming artist GI Pongase expands the range of his expressionist visual language with a series titled Countercurrent, on view at Qube Gallery from October 31, 2019. In addition to texture and surface engagements, Pongase incorporates gestural lines, figurative drawings and other graphic elements to complement the rough, vulnerable and potent visual field that he explores with much empathy and restraint. addition to texture and surface engagements, Pongase incorporates gestural lines, figurative drawings and other graphic elements to complement the rough, vulnerable and potent visual field that he explores with much empathy and restraint. Read more

Myriad
Lean Reboja 26 Sep - 26 Oct 2019 Lean Reboja explores the complexities of the human psyche with Myriad. He explores the multiplicities and the vast spectrum of our inner worlds through his pop surrealist works, painting a fictitious world inhabited by beasts and bizarre characters. Read more

Mundane Rituals
KDLT 23 Aug - 23 Sep 2019 Mundane Rituals is about daily routines. KDLT believes that ordinary and routine as it may seem, rituals still remain integral in the daily grind of one’s existence. Read more

Siren, XOngs (Performance Art)
Russ Ligtas | Raymund L. Fernandez 22 Jun 2019 Sirens, XOngs is a collection of performance pieces by Russ Ligtas and Raymund L. Fernandez, both founders of the Cebuano performance art group 'XO?”. In the space of one hour, the duo instigates a conversation in automatist performance about and around the ocean. Whether by conjuring an alien sea creature,... Read more

Ocean Sea
Olivia D'Aboville | Russ Ligtas | Joanna Arong 20 Jun - 15 Aug 2019 Ocean Sea is an ode to the deep dark seas and the power of nature. Bringing together three artists deeply connected to the ocean, the exhibition depicts a surreal universe playfully questioning the intricate relationship between humankind and the seas. Read more

Drowned in a Series of Awful Cliché
Bong Delfin 13 Jun - 16 Jul 2019 Bong Delfin, originally from Mindanao and now an established contemporary artist in Madrid, Spain, is known as the father of hydro-deepism. His artistic practice involves much process & intuition. Read more

Phases
Khriss Bajade 31 May 2019 - 30 Jun 2020 'Phases' will showcase 18 assemblage and figurative abstraction artworks by Cebuano artist Khriss Bajade. Bajade's second solo exhibition is his humble attempt to tell his story and to manifest a challenge to consciously put discernment into practice in life and in art as he progresses towards another phase. Read more

INstant
Camille Thibert 7 - 30 May 2019 INstant is a collection of portraits using a unique drilling technique on reclaimed wood. These portraits were made during Thibert’s stay here in the Philippines. Read more

Camping Trip
Mark Santos | Reen Barrera | TRNZ 25 Apr - 25 May 2019 A trio of young artists embark on a hike with their imaginary friends, their destination somewhere remote, yet full of possibilities. After a night spent swapping stories around a campfire, they bond, and end up swearing to a life dedicated to worship of the goddess of the arts. Read more

Rustic Beauty
Maria Francisca Juarez 21 Mar - 20 Apr 2019 A fresh take on what might be regarded as traditional subjects, Maria Francisca Juarez indulges all viewers to a visceral experience with her first solo show, Rustic Beauty. Trained under the tutelage of the Aroma Art Atelier headed by Orley Ypon, Francisca presents herself to be a promising voice in the contemporary art scene. Read more

Online

Wild Woman Series
Carmen Araneta 26 Oct - 30 Nov 2020 Read more

Summary of Life
Ilija Gubic 10 Sep - 30 Nov 2020 The world of Ilija Gubic is not a small one, nor is it a simple one. He sees his subjects from an almost tunnel vision, blinding out the noises of culture to arrive at the final common defining elements that tie his world with the rest. “Summary of Life” -... Read more

Orderly Chaos
Mark Anton Masa 22 May - 31 Jul 2020 Qube Gallery presents “Orderly Chaos,” a body of abstract works by Mark Anton Masa Mark Masa has been known for his works in fashion, advertising, and events. But now, he’s creating a name for himself as a visual artist with his vivid abstractions Read more

Strokes
Boy Carvajal Kiamko 24 Apr - 31 Jul 2020 Boy Kiamko is a renowned artist based in Cebu City, Philippines. He has staged and participated in countless group shows since 1969. However, this is Kiamko's first and exclusive online exhibition featuring abstract artworks presented by Qube Gallery Read more

Les Année 80 - 90
Pierre Marie Brisson 6 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 To contemplate a Pierre Marie Brisson engraving or drawing it to decrypt a palimpsest of a moment in time, of a sketching, of a child’s reaction.

Pierre Marie Brisson hadn’t worked on engravings for several years, it is therefore a rare piece of work which he reveals to today: an intensity of work and creation open to the museums and its visitors (Sophie Cazé) Read more