Filipino artists take spotlight at 'Sining Lokal' hotel exhibit

MANILA, Philippines — Three painters and one sculptor from the Pintakha (Pinta at Likha) Arts Society are featured in the two-month-long exhibition at the Tryp Hotel in SM Mall of Asia complex.

Nathaniel San Pedro, who sits as Pintakha's president, presented several local avian species in his acrylic on canvas works. He is known for his paintings on birds, like his obra "Ibong Adarna," which is displayed prominently in the exhibit area.

Another of his works, "Wanderer (Barn Swallow), an acrylic on canvas painting adorns the main dining hall. San Pedro has been painting full-time since 2019 and has been in 30 shows (both group and solo) here and abroad.

Simply dubbed "Sining Lokal - Closet Chronicles: A Kaleidoscope of Personal.Narratives," the exhibition features the works of Nathaniel San Pedro, Jan Michael "Mick" Barretto, John Infante and Jeram "Japs" Apostol. All four budding artists are members of the Pintakha Arts Society, which has 10 artist members, to date. The society was formed in 2017 to promote local artists and their individual expressions.

Infante, the lone sculptor in the group, did not foresee himself having a career in visual arts after graduating with his Architecture degree from the Far Eastern University. He started his artistic journey at the tender age of eight, winning an art contest, after creating a 12-foot Christmas tree, made from recycled trash.

For three weeks, he collected take out boxes of chicken meals from a popular convenience store and treated each one so it can withstand rain. From there, he started dabbling in aluminum wires where he molded interesting sculpted pieces like a gilded shoe ("Jordan 1"), a scene from a movie ("The Way of Water" - aluminum with coat) and a couple in a wedding proposal ("The Golden Moment").

On the other hand, visual artist Jan Michael "Mick" Barretto delights the senses with his abstraction pieces splotched against a dark background.

He started creating abstract works since 2020, employing the mixed media of impasto paint and gold leaf. As he was not good with faces, he opted to go for faceless "stick humans" and adorned them in beautiful displays of color. His "Prima Ballerina" series of