What ghost month? This August, visual art in Manila comes alive
August is many things: ghost month, Lionsgate season, and the month just before the “-ber” months explode into a premature holiday frenzy. It sits in a liminal space. But for the art world in Manila, the days and nights are filled with activity.
Coming up this Saturday, the UP Vargas Museum will open its doors for Family Day. It’s open for children aged six to ten, and will include a morning of zine-making, gardening, and hands-on art sessions led by Patti Ramos.
For the titas, happening from Aug. 7 to 10 at The Peninsula Manila, MaArte Fair is returning with its signature mix of heritage crafts and contemporary design. The fair is a one-stop-shop for collectors or anyone who appreciates beautifully made local pieces.
For practicing artists or art students, The Grey Space in San Juan is holding a live nude figure drawing session. The late afternoon session on Aug. 16 will also offer a safe space to connect with the creative community.
All month long, WHYNoT is collaborating with the special Fotomoto Atelier program. From portfolio reviews to a CULT photo exhibit on Aug. 9, the space continues to act as an incubator for artists. WHYNoT also launches “On the Verge,” where anyone can present their works-in-progress to an informal panel: the audience.
Beyond the fairs and workshops, there is also a slate of visual art exhibitions. So if you’re looking for art that asks you to linger a little, these visual art exhibits in Manila are a good place to start.
“Open House” at Modeka
Since opening in late 2019, Modeka has been holding its annual “Open House” and this year’s run features over 60 established and emerging artists.
The works featured range in medium—spread across the main floor and loft. The gallery’s glassbox also highlights a collaborative project titled “Animal Bite Center,” which is co-curated by Harn and Arvin Viola.
“Open House” aims to reinvent the gallery space with each iteration. And this year’s opening night was filled with the electric energy typical of Modeka as a gallery, packed with art, music, and the palpable sense that the space is open—welcome to everyone.
“Open House” runs from Aug. 2 to 30 at Modeka, Warehouse 20A, La Fuerza 1 2241, Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City
Jonidel Mendoza, “Shadows Between the Lines” at Galleria Duemila
In “Shadows Between the Lines,” Venezuelan visual artist Jonidel Mendoza presents a contemplative solo exhibition composed of seven paintings and three sculptural installations.
Subtle yet striking, the works explore faceless human forms rendered through translucent layers, evoking a stillness that invites pause with deliberate interplays of light and shadow.
Exhibition writer Angel Velasco Shaw describes how the “ephemeral and contemplative qualities of his works appeal to our visceral senses, conjuring a desire to touch, feel, and visually meander through shifting layers of meaning.”
Throughout the show are textural references—from fine embroidery to braille, Morse code, and a matrix of staples—all of which, according to Shaw, serve as “portals into the un/conscious awakenings of the human spirit,” meant to be observed from every angle.
“Shadows Between the Lines” runs from June 21 to Sept. 6 at Galleria Duemila, 210 Loring Street, Pasay City, Metro Manila
Ryan Jara, “Bersikulo” at Finale Art File
In “Bersikulo” (the Tagalog term for “verse”), Ryan Jara continues his reimaginings of the human form—this time drawing deep connections to Biblical scripture, where viewers will recognize the many Biblical references that reveal the artist’s sincere spirituality.
In his notes, Jara recalls childhood memories of attending church. He recalls how at first, he was there for the free snacks post-rosary. But eventually, he absorbed the lessons. “Natuto akong malaman kung ano ang tama at mali,” Jara says, “At ngayon ay ikinukuwento ko naman sa aking mga anak.”
Among the highlights of the show is an 18-foot triptych, narrating the story of Gideon. Other works depict scenes such as the joyous wedding at Cana, David and Goliath, Roman soldiers drowning in the Red Sea, and a raw, fleshy figuration of The Lord’s Prayer.
In one particularly affecting piece, a sorrowful Mother Mary cradles the body of Jesus, his magnified wounds in his hands and feet plainly visible. Meanwhile, in “Gabay sa Aking Buhay,” angels appear as guides; for Jara, these are deeply personal: “Ang pamilya ko ang aking mga anghel, dahil sila ang palaging tumutulong at gumagabay sa akin,” he says.
“Bersikulo” runs from Aug. 8 to 30 at Finale Art File, La Fuerza Compound, Warehouse 17, 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City
Chati Coronel, “Notes for Exaltation” at Silverlens Manila
Chati Coronel explores the idea that we are all born with inherent knowledge, thus writing in her artist statement, “We are born knowing.”
Known for her technique of Figurative Spatialism, Coronel builds her layered compositions with expressive, abstract gestures, later enclosed within color fields shaped like human silhouettes. Her work draws on a broad mix of influences, from thinker Rudolf Steiner to fables, poetry, and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
This new series of the artist features six large-scale paintings that delve into themes of intuition and inner strength, inspired by Tarot archetypes and ancient Gnostic texts. The show reflects Coronel’s continued exploration of what she calls “Human Power”—a deep-rooted intelligence often pushed aside by modern systems of productivity and control. Through these works, she invites viewers to look inward and rediscover that forgotten inner self.
“Notes for Exaltation” runs from July 19 to Aug. 16 at Silverlens Manila, 2263 Chino Roces Ave, Makati City
Demi Padua, “Layers and Shadows” at the National Museum of Fine Arts
“Layers and Shadows” opens at the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts. In the former grand hall of masters, his work will surround Juan Luna’s major art historical piece, the “Spoliarium.”
Presented by the National Museum of the Philippines and the Asian Cultural Council Foundation, and co-presented by DF Art Agency, this exhibition spotlights Padua, well-known for his distinct layering of hyperrealist figures with abstract forms, particularly in fragmented portraiture.
“Layers and Shadows” runs from August 12 at the Spoliarium Hall, National Museum of Fine Arts, Padre Burgos Ave, Ermita, Manila
Gene Paul Martin, “Godhead” at Mo_Space
Gene Paul Martin’s works are always otherworldly, evoking alternate dimensions through his use of color, shape, and figure. And in the notes for his exhibition “Godhead,” the writer describes how his paintings are, “dense islands of color, but he only paints with one brush.”
The notes go on to describe the exhibit’s content as “portraits of the edge of familiarity, zoomed in to show us how archetypes would mingle.”
While there will be only two paintings on exhibit, their monumental scales promise a generous amount of time spent staring into their multi-hued spectrum of space.
“Godhead” runs from Aug. 9 to Sep. 7 at the 3rd floor, Mo_Space, Mos Design, B2 9th Avenue, Taguig City
Pepe Delfin, “A Bird, A Cage, A God of Flowers” at Mono 8
Co-presented with Lunas Collective, Delfin’s show explores the urgency of responding to trauma through geometric abstraction. Drawing from the title of Mary Oliver’s “The Kookaburras,” the exhibit plays with conflicting allegories of confinement and freedom.
As Chesca Santiago writes in the exhibition notes, Delfin “utilizes visual storytelling within the principles of trauma-informed care. Elucidating the challenges that survivors confront when speaking about grave emotional distress, the artist frames her intentions as… the ability to anatomize lived experience by breaking down line, color, and shape,” transforming “mathematical optics into signifiers of somatic and psychological wounds, presenting alternative ways of articulating the complexity of such ordeals.”
“A Bird, A Cage, A God of Flowers” runs from July 26 to Sept. 27 at Mono8 Gallery, BLK 113, 53 Connecticut St., San Juan City
