The exhibition, “Jose Joya: Scholar, Artist and Mentor” specifically focuses on the life of the National Artist at the University of the Philippines, where Joya completed his undergraduate studies as the first Magna cum Laude of the UP College of Fine Arts in 1953.  After his post graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy in the US, he returned to UP to teach.  He became the dean of the college from 1970 to 1978.  His academic career spanned 39 years (1957 – 1995) during which time he was a great influence to students and faculty.

The “Jose Joya: Scholar, Artist and Mentor” exhibition to be curated by Prof. Ruben David Defeo , a full professor of the UP College of Fine Arts, and director of the Office of Initiatives for Culture and the Arts (OICA), will feature works from the National Museum, private collections and the UP system-wide art collection of Jose Joya works.  He will be assisted by Ms.May Lyn Cruz, former programs director of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and currently a lecturer at the UP College of Fine Arts.  A complementary exhibit of Jose Joya scholars and students from UP Cebu will also be held at the Small Gallery at the Bulwagan ng Dangal.

Meanwhile, a satellite exhibit will also open by the third week of February at Corredor Gallery at the UP College of Fine Arts featuring the works of Jose Joya students who themselves followed in the footsteps of Dean Joya as teacher and mentor at the UP College of Fine Arts.

The twelfth month of the year reminds us just how time flies with another year coming to a quick close.

It is also the most festive time of the year when we all celebrate the joys of Christmas, and look forward to a new year.

“ Noche Buena”

Our ceramic studio is abuzz with a pre-Christmas activity called “Noche Buena”, in keeping with the Christmas season. Spanish ceramic artist Xavier Manosa, a 28-year old artist from Barcelona, and who is also known as Apparatu (www.apparatu.com) will be conducting a four-day workshop producing a ceramic  banquet of foods. This activity has been conceived as a cross pollination between culinary and ceramic arts. The banquet will translate into a real culinary experience (“ crowdfunding” ) that will raise funds for new artist projects.  The project is made possible by the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, and the Office of Culture and Design.

Lantern Parade. For many of our students, and alumni, December means the participation of the UP College of Fine Arts as the most awaited contingent in the UP Lantern Parade.  The days that lead up to the parade can be the most memorable for our students who work very hard and ingenuously on their floats, costumes, hand held objects and performance numbers.

CFA, as the UP Lantern Parade’s Lantern Parade Hall of Famer,  has gone on full gear to visually translate concepts on Our Filipino Culture: Then and Now. Hope to see you all at the UP Lantern Parade on Friday, December 16, 2011.
May you and your families enjoy the blessings and joys of Christmas, and a happy healthy and bright 2012 to each and everyone.

For inquiries please call 981-8732 or 981-8500 loc 3977

Ceramics Workshop on narrative-based terracotta sculptures using raw clay mixed with paper, sawdust and coffee grounds.

The workshop will be facilitated by Roberto Acosta who taught Fine Arts for many years at the University of the Philippines Baguio. He graduated from UP Diliman with a Bachelor in Fine Arts, Bachelor in Landscape Architecture and Master in Fine Arts. In 2001-2002, he was awarded a scholarship by the Mexican Government to fund his artistic stay at the Taller de Ceramica, Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Mexico. Since then, he has consistently worked with clay, specifically terracotta, building narrative sculptures depicting sceneries from his mountain travels and his love for life and nature. In 2010, he was a visiting artist at Baltimore Clayworks, a non-profit ceramic art center in the United States with a national reputation for artistic excellence, artists’ support, and community involvement.

Open to teens & adults.

P5,000 (clay included)

For more details, please call 981-8732 or 981-8500 loc 3977.

Congratulations to Mr. Jose Martin “Jaz” Gabriel , a senior student of the Studio Arts Department for having been awarded the 2nd CFA scholarship to the EcoleNationaleSuperieur des Beaux Arts (ENSBA) in Paris, France. Jaz will be leaving this September to spend a full term ( October to January) at ENSBA as an exchange scholar. The scholarship is made possible through the Embassy of France in the Philippines.

CFA art exhibition and study trip to Vietnam

The UP College of Fine Arts recently organized a students’ art exhibition and study trip to Vietnam on the invitation of the Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Jerril Santos , United Pharma VN and the Philippine Business Group in Vietnam.

The CFA delegation opened the exhibition “Art by the Square Foot” in Hanoi at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (VUFA), and in Ho Chi Minh at the Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition was conceptualized and curated by Prof. Ruben Defeo (CFADepartment of Theory and OICA Director) , and assisted by CFA Studio Arts faculty Rey Concepcion. As part of the study program, the students and faculty interacted with their Vietnamese counterparts through studio collaborations and an academic forum at VUFA. The project was initiated and coordinated by Mr. Renato Villavicencio for the Philippine Embassy in Vietnam and CFA on the occasion of celebrating thirty five years of Philippine Vietnam relations.

Ms. AmbieAbano completes her PARP Artist Residency in France

We are happy to welcome back, Ms. AmbieAbano, one of our faculty from the Studio Arts Department who has completed an exciting three-month artist residency program in France. Ms. Abano was awarded the residency program by the Alliance FrancaiseManille for 2010, besting more than 200 applicants. She was enrolled at the La Taille-Douce and held an open studio at the Cite Internationale de Arts in Paris.

Ms. Lenore Lim , Adjunct Professor of CFA

We also welcome Ms. Lenore Lim as adjunct professor at CFA. Ms. Lim is a multi-awarded printmaker and visual artist who has exhibited extensively in Austria, Canada, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, the Philippines and the United States. Ms Lim, who received the presitigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, will be conducting classes and workshops in new printmaking techniques and technologies to the faculty and students of CFA. As part of her workshops, she invites US-based master printmakers to work in tandem with her for lectures and workshops.

We thank our sponsors, donors, partners and benefactors for making all these possible, and for sharing their blessings with CFA.

For inquiries please call 981-8732 or 981-8500 loc 3977

Fee: Php. 5,000.00 (exclusive of materials).
For further inquiries please call 981-8732 or 981-8500 loc 3977

This project is made possible in cooperation with the Italian Embassy and the Office of Initiatives for Culture and the Arts (OICA).

The workshop will be attended by UP faculty, students ( different colleges) and conservators from various museums in MetroManila.

Exhibition . 18 July – 5 August, 2011
Venue : The Lobby, University Theater
Curator: Dr. Maria Teresa Castellano

The UP College of Fine Arts will present an exhibition entitled “Saper Fare, ilRestauro,” a collection of thirty panels showing the restoration of significant Italian paintings and structures.

This traveling exhibition which has just come from Vietnam, pays particular attention to examples of excellent restoration, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Cenacolo, Raphael’s Madonna del Cadellino and St. Francis’ Basilica in Assisi. The significant restoration projects shown in this exhibition span the range of Italian paintings, sculpture and architecture. They provide the historical, legislative, theoretical and technical contexts in the field of restoration and conservation. It also underscores the unique expertise that Italy has cultivated in restoring and preserving countless masterpieces to keep their cultural history and heritage for future generations.

At the opening ceremony of this exhibition in UP to be held on Monday, 18 July 2011 at the UP Theater Lobby, Dr. Maria Teresa Castellano, an Italian restoration expert, and the curator of the exhibition will speak about the exhibition and her own experience restoring the works of Federico Barocci (1535-1612).

Art Restoration Workshop. 18 July – 20 July 2011
Venue : Bulwagan ng Dangal, Main Library
Lecturer & Facilitator: Dr. Maria Teresa Castellano

The exhibition will complemented by an Art Restoration Workshop that will be facilitated by Italian restorer Dr. Maria Teresa Castellano, to be held from July 18-20,2011 at the BulwaganngDangal, Main Library.

She will be speaking about the different concepts, theories, processes and intervention techniques of restoration. For the workshop, she will be interacting with the faculty of the UP College of Fine Arts, UP College of Arts & Letters, UP College of Architecture, and UP College of Science on the restoration which interfaces so many disciplines of study.

She will lead discussions and demonstrate how to conduct artistic diagnosis and intervention techniques on a badly damaged portrait done by Fernando Amorsolo of Sen Manuel Roxas, from the art collection of UP. She will also view the Jose Rizal mural at the College of Fine Arts to initiate discussions/ terms of reference for a forthcoming restoration conference focusing on said 1903 painting of Jose Rizal signed by Gomez.

We open our new schoolyear with very high hopes for our students and so much enthusiasm for everyone to interact in the different learning environments where art and design can be fully expressed and experienced.  We have a number of student scholarships available for those with outstanding academic credentials including the CFA/ENSBA scholarship which provides for an academic experience from September 2011-January 2012 at the EcoleNationaleSuperieure des Beaux Artes( ENSBA) in Paris.

We are proud to inform parents and students that we have a new multimedia classroom to further stregnthen courses in digital and computer art and design.

The Corredor Gallery, our academic exhibition space has also been renovated with new walls and lighting system.  The flooring of the foyer has been upgraded, and this area be further improved as an  extended exhibition space of the Corredor Gallery.

I take pleasure in introducing to all students and faculty this year’s incoming members of the CFA College Executive Board:

• College Secretary : Rey Concepcion
• MFA Graduate Coordinator :  Leo Abaya
• Studio Arts Department Chair : JamelObnamia
• Theory Department Chair : Armando Burgos
• Visual Communications Dept Chair : Leonardo Rosete

I take this opportunity as well to announce the awardees of the CFA Professorial Chairs for 2010-2011. We congratulate these members of our faculty who have distinguished themselves with solo exhibitions and creative works last year.

• Tito de Santos Chair :  Ruben de Jesus
• Alcuaz Chairs : Benjamin Cabangis
• AmorsoloChair :  Neil Doloricon
• Diamond Chair :  Leonardo Rosete

We can all look forward to a very exciting year ahead with a program of lectures from industry leaders,  interaction with Visiting Professors and significant art exhibitions at the Corredor Gallery.  On July 2,  we will have as guest lecturer, Mr. Alan Whittaker who is a ceramic artist and the head of the Department of the Fine and Applied Arts  of the Liverpool Hope University in the UK.He will be giving a lecture and workshop at the Ceramic Studio, where he will interact with CFA faculty and students from CFA and Ateneo.  This will be a joint activity of Ateneo Art Gallery, the UP College of Fine Arts and the British Council.

On July 6^th, an exhibition by Roberto Chabet entitled “Sitting Standing Lying Walking” will open at the Corredor Gallery. This show is the sixth in a series of exhibitions to open in and around Manila and Southeast Asia throughout the year. Chabet is know for his experimental works, ranging from paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures, and installations made out of mostly ordinary and found material formalisms. Chabet taught at the UP College of Fine Arts for over thirty years. The exhibition will run until August 5, 2011.

A Conservation workshop to be conducted by Dr. Teresa Castellano from Italy will be conducted on July 18-22,2011 at the Bulwaganng Dangal at the Main Library. The activity is a joint collaboration by OICA (Office for Initiatives for Culture and the Arts,  the Italian Embassy, and the UP College of Fine Arts.

We wish everyone a good and productive academic year.