Kulay ng Pitong Lawa Painting and Sculpture Exhibit in San Pablo City, Laguna

Upon receiving an invitation from the boyfriend of my cousin to see one of his paintings in exhibit in Ultimart in San Pablo City, Laguna, we went there to see his artwork.

* (left) “Still in Life 1” by Maryam Ballaran [acrylic on paper];

(right) “Blue” by Nica Francia [acrylic on paper]

* some of the artworks in exhibit

It turns outs that his work was part of a Painting and Sculpture Exhibit of Kulay ng Pitong Lawa Art Group based here in San Pablo City. Composed of San Pableño visual artists, the group showcased the artworks of:
Lito Ballaran;
Ed Gamo Jr.;
Maurice Panganiban;
Niño Malatag;
Zaj Galindo;
Jose Carlo Mendoza;
Wilmer Faylon;
JC Panganiban; and
Nicole Manzanero.

* the other artwork in exhibit

Two guest artists in the said exhibit were Nica Francia and Maryam Ballaran. The exhibit was actually part of a larger activity organized by Barangay ni Jose (BJAI) entitled “Pitong Lawa Pitong Sining”, a large part of which was composed film showings in the movie theatre at Ultimart.

* a painting entitled “Intonation”

* “Grief” by Maurice Panganiban

The group of artworks did not have any unified theme but their worth was seen right there as some of them were already sold. One undeniable realization from this exhibit is the fact that San Pableños are now building an art scene in the city. It may not be that ‘mainstream’ yet but one can see that appreciation of visual arts will soon be entrenched in the city. [Hopefully the same thing can be said of literature or literary groups. Lit crit group in San Pablo? Not unlikely.]

* some of the sculptures of Ed Gamo

* “Holy Face of Jesus Christ” by Ed Gamo

* “Birheng Dolorosa” by Ed Gamo

* “San Sebastian” by Ed Gamo

* the other sculptures of Ed Gamo

One distinct part of the art exhibit was the sculptures of Ed Gamo. Most of the sculptures in exhibit are in fact sold already. It can be inferred that some San Pablo residents are already art enthusiasts. Ed Gamo’s works were placed on the sides of the stairs leading up to the movie theatres. One turn-off only was the seeming hastened way in which they placed the labels for the artworks. They could have placed more appealing tags and not those oversized fonts. But I general, it was good to see sculpture works getting exhibited in public areas in San Pablo.