Another piece by the artist sets up a more ambitious project in La Union.
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Art in the Park Online returns for a 15th anniversary special edition on July 25 to August 1, 2021 at ArtInThePark.ph. The eight-day virtual fair will feature over 10,000 artworks from 62 galleries, four special exhibits, and a variety of special online activities.
Since 2006, approximately P20 million raised from the art fair has been allocated by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines for its projects to expand awareness for the National Museum and its network.
The funds raised enable Museum Foundation of the Philippines to run a grants program for varied cultural endeavors, including publications support and international benchmarking tours by executives of the National Museum. Sales from this year’s edition will continue to benefit the Museum Foundation of the Philippines
Aliens and magic
Art in the Park Online 2021: Special Edition will present Gridlock, a special exhibit of new paintings on canvas by noted Social Realist, Antipas Delotavo. These pieces take on the appearance of collages and contain rich visual detail, drawn out of the artist’s commitment to the study of nameless citizens that contribute to the nation.
Also featured is Leeroy New, a creative tour de force who works in fashion, film, theater, production design, performance, and the visual arts. He has three projects lined up for Art in the Park 2021.
New will give a glimpse of Mebuyan Vessel Polyp, set to be installed at Jaime Velasquez Park for the duration of the online fair. The installation is a sneak peek of a much more ambitious piece arising in La Union later this year, which will be New’s participation for Burning Man, the annual event’s online edition.
Art in the Park 2021 will also unveil its first foray into augmented reality via Aliens of Manila, one of New’s celebrated headpieces originally fabricated from colorful plastic containers, making its debut as an Instagram filter.
In addition, Iris is New’s online exhibit of mirror pieces available at Art in the Park’s website. He describes this as “a series of magic mirror sculptures conjured while in lockdown. Mirrors as portals, as windows to the soul and other worlds. Eyes with mascara melting the way reality dissolves.“
Layered meaning
Tune in to Globe Platinum Hour at 8 P.M. daily to go behind the scenes of New’s artistic practice. Also taking the spotlight for Globe Platinum Hour is young visual artist Anna Bautista with Time Capsules.
Bautista’s works tackle the concept of time, culture and philosophy, how these elements are all interlinked and constantly respond to each other. Spurred by the spirit of gratitude, Bautista conceptualized Time Capsules, carried out in both canvas and textile, creating images symbolic of this unsettling period, both as a tribute to those in the frontlines, and a record that can be looked back upon.
Rounding out this edition’s special exhibits is Adrift, Eugenia Alcaide’s entirely new vision of threadwork in an ocean of surreal, electric color.
Alcaide broke into the art scene almost a decade ago through Art in the Park via portraits using thread. Adrift will be a showcase of Alcaide’s pioneering techniques in layered threadwork, as she weaves intricate compositions of “doubt, despair, and desolation,” in an exploration of how people can be connected and adrift at the same time.
For more information, please visit ArtInThePark.ph, and follow @artintheparkph on Instagram.
Banner Photo: Leeroy New’s “Iris”
