Patrice Salas leads pioneering art gallery’s regenesis

The word “genesis” is defined as “the origin or coming into being of something.”

In the case of the prestigious Gallery Genesis, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021, that moment has come with the ascent of its new president, the 28-year-old Patrice Salas.

One can say she was born into art. Patrice was born in 1995 surrounded by the treasure trove gathered by her mother Araceli “Chichi” Salas in their Quezon City home.

“Yes, everywhere! Not just the paintings, but the sculptures as well,” Patrice says with a smile. It all felt so natural to her. “I feel like art has always been part of the family, and I didn’t notice it at all.”

Chichi had been running Gallery Genesis since 1981. Patrice spent many days waiting for her mom while doing her grade-school homework at the gallery’s SM Megamall branch.

After earning her degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from the University of Asia & the Pacific in 2018, she worked as a DJ at Monster Radio RX93.1 and then spent three years as a fashion merchandiser for Stores Specialists Inc.

Patrice didn’t really develop a fondness for art until college. “I think it started when I took up some fine arts subjects. That’s when I realized there was a lot of work, a lot of craftsmanship involved.”

In 2020, she finally began working at Gallery Genesis. Later that year, she also joined her family’s real estate firm, Elsal Ventures OPC, founded by her father, Ernesto “Ernie” Salas. She started as an executive assistant for finance and, today, she is vice president for marketing.

Transformative

Yet her transition into handling the gallery did not happen until the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down all the galleries and art shows due to the lockdowns.

It became time for Gallery Genesis to move online—and for Patrice to take charge. She was named president of Gallery Genesis in 2021—she was 26.

“It really became a reality during the pandemic because we began doing online exhibits, and as we were normalizing, I just told my dad, I wanted to put up an online gallery and he was very supportive, as was my mom.”

Patrice put together a team to migrate Gallery Genesis fully online. “It was my first time to do regular meetings on Zoom. Once we figured out we could do it well, that’s when we started doing art talks, art exhibits, interviews with the artists, and put our catalogs online.”

For her, the lockdowns proved transformative. “The pandemic was very interesting for the art scene, because we found out you could do art talks, art shows online, so that kind of shifted how we can go to other clients, those who are not in the Philippines, for example. Now, we can do it digitally, through social media or online.”

In fact, Gallery Genesis is still selling art online. It is revamping its website, which would be relaunched in May.

However, “Art is really something that you have to see in person, so that’s when we began looking for an actual real-world space,” Patrice explains. “We did a lot of searching before we found this space.”

The “space” she’s talking about is the new Gallery Genesis, located on the second floor of the North Wing of Estancia Mall in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. It was inaugurated in August.

Her own touch

Patrice plans to keep Gallery Genesis’ secret sauce: “We take pride in being one of the few art galleries that have been around for 40 years. And because of this, we know we can stand out in terms of the selection we have and the ability we hold to meet the highest standards of our audience.”

But she will bring in her own touch. “We’re looking at more contemporary pieces. Before, we had more traditional, hyper-realistic art. It still follows the same philosophy, of producing quality art for the client, but now we’re more open-minded with what we offer. It’s definitely changed. It’s the same gallery but with a new perspective.”

In that sense, it is a balance of the old and new. “My personal goal is not to lose sight of why my mom put up the gallery. Although the business aspect of it is important, I want to continue providing a platform for unknown artists to showcase their artworks.”

Her mom, who has now been named chair emeritus, is still very much involved with the gallery. “She comes here a lot,” Patrice says with a laugh. “She doesn’t tell us. She does not hide her thoughts about where the paintings should be.”

As a second-generation president of Gallery Genesis, Patrice has a legacy to uphold. One of them is the most significant event on the gallery’s yearly calendar: the Kulay sa Tubig watercolor contest, recognized as the most prestigious watercolor competition in the country. “It has definitely become part of our identity as a gallery,” says Patrice.

This year, the 36th Kulay Sa Tubig will be held with a few tweaks. The venue has been moved from its traditional home at SM Megamall to The Podium. “The biggest change is that entries now come in from different parts of the Philippines,” Patrice explains. “Before it was by invitation and recommendations, but because it went so well, we will have people submitting from all over the country.”

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Legacy

Another legacy Patrice inherits are the artists Gallery Genesis has developed, the most prominent of whom is Rodelio “Toti” Cerda. Now, she takes on the challenge of finding new talent for the gallery to develop as well.

Beyond that, Patrice wants to widen the scope of what Gallery Genesis features and sells. “Long-term, we can focus more on sculptures, antiques, jars, and other mediums, because right now, we’re primarily focused on paintings.”

She’d also like to expand the gallery’s sources. “Our collection is sourced from here, but in the near future, hopefully we can venture into international artists and Filipino artists abroad.”

Along with that comes the task of appealing to an entire new audience, a new generation of art lovers—and buyers. Patrice has noticed that the art crowd has gotten younger. “Definitely! Before, the demographic of collectors was older. But now you see a lot of millennials looking for their first piece or the perfect piece to display in their space, their condo unit, their house. The purchasing power is changing. Even Gen Z actually, they look at it as an investment, as far as I’ve noticed.”

Patrice is a good example, as she herself didn’t start collecting until she started working at the gallery. She admits to a fondness for abstract art, mixed-media and acrylic pieces. As a millennial art lover herself, she is the audience.

Though she is perhaps the youngest president of an art gallery, she isn’t fazed by the challenge. “I do feel the pressure,” she admits. “But mostly I prefer to enjoy learning the changes that come with reopening a gallery of 40 years. There’s a lot of old galleries we know and have relationships with, but we also have a lot of new ones we want to get to know.”

There is also an additional silver lining to all this: “The first is just spending a lot of time with my mom. She’s turning 80 this year. She loves the gallery. The second one would be meeting new markets. It’s always exciting.”

Don’t let her youth distract you from the focus Patrice is bringing to her position: “I’ve been very intentional with all the things that I do. We really have to curate the pieces, meet the artist and do it with love, because if you don’t, you just get lost in the business part.”

She is, in other words, the perfect personification of the Gallery Genesis idea.

In 2031, Gallery Genesis will turn 50, an incredible milestone in the world of Philippine art. Patrice will only be 36 then, but she already has big plans: “We’ll have a big celebration with a lot of artists involved.”

For Patrice Salas, the ultimate goal for Gallery Genesis is “to be even bigger, to go beyond the expectations we have right now.”