FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLIPPIN’ OUT: MAYNILA to WILLIAMSBURGH
Curated by Koan-Jeff Baysa

Opens on Saturday, September 10th and runs through Sunday, October 2nd, 2005

Opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 17th from 7 to 9 pm

Gallery hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 12 pm to 6 pm, and weekdays by appointment.

The Philippines occupies a peculiar place in history. Colonised for 300 years by the Spaniards and occupied by the United States for 50 years, its aesthetic has been strongly shaped by Catholicism and Hollywood. Prominent contemporary Filipino artists Manuel Ocampo and Paul Pfeiffer have returned to the Philippines inspired to produce new work; what we wish to share with the New York art community with "Flippin' Out: Maynila to Williamsburgh" is the innovation, diversity and vigor of contemporary art production by emerging and underrepresented artists in Manila and New York. After ousting its once popular actor-president, the Philippine people elected a leader who appears to be furthering its economic slide. Vital contemporary art production continues in the face of economic adversity, limited private patronage, and weak government support; these factors cultivate an informed activism and create a platform for emerging artists. The strategy for this exhibition was to work with artists and independent spaces to question the nature and purpose of art practice while partly mapping out the current contemporary art landscapes. Using the older spelling of the respective city names from historical maps to underscore their disparate histories, we are showing works from artists-run spaces in "Maynila" within an artists-run space in "Williamsburgh."

The works will be shipped from Manila in containers called balikbayan boxes that are primarily used by emigrants sending material goods from abroad back to less fortunate relatives in the Philippines. The response from everyone has been tremendous, and the exhibition has been enthusiastically praised for bringing artists and spaces in Manila and New York together in conversation for a common goal for the first time. In a show of solidarity, the artists-run spaces are combining the works of the artists rather than grouping them by venue. Goliath Visual Space, situated in an industrial area of Brooklyn, is an excellent and important example of a nonprofit artists-run space supporting energetic, underrepresented artists and effectively mirrors similar spaces elsewhere. With roughly 10,000 artists and 50 galleries, Williamsburg is globally acknowledged as an emerging art center. New York-based artists within the Filipino community, many with prior affiliations with the participating Manila venues, volunteered to help install the works of their fellow artists, and were invited to participate in the exhibition. Several of the artists represent Mga Tambay ng SoHo, a New York-based collective that was prominent in the activism of the late 1980s, contributing a historical perspective that further links the Philippines and the United States.

Artists-run spaces, Manila: The Cubicle, Furball, Future Prospects, Green Papaya Art Projects, Surrounded by Water, U.F.O.
Artist collective (disbanded), New York:
Mga Tambay ng Soho, represented by Flexy Casero, Feliciano "Blue" Gallardo, Cesar Llamas

Artists: Poklong Anading, Astro, Dormafe Baluyos-Fox, Argee Bandoy, Mark Barretto, Jennifer Berklich, Pablo Biglang-awa, Jr., Bru, Ronald Caringal, Flexy Casero, Clint Catalan, Mariano Ching, Ernest Concepcion, Mike Crisostomo, Louie Cordero, Bembol De la Cruz, Mariano Del Rosario, Ranelle Dial, Christina Dy, Jed Escueta, Patricia Eustaquio, Lambert Fernando, Feliciano "Blue" Gallardo, Lyra Garcellano, Nona Garcia, B. Merry Gang, Carlo Gernale, Robert Langenegger, Cesar Llamas, Perry Martin Mamaril, Riza Manalo, Paolo Martinez, Marcushiro, Jet Melencio, Ged Merino, Carlyle Micklus, Emmanuel Migrino, Donna Miranda, Keiye Miranda, Raoul Norman-Tenazas, Jayson Oliveria, Pablo Orendain, Gary Pastrana, Lyle Sacris, Radioactive Sago Project, Reynolds, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Eufemio Rasco IV, Jucar Raquepo, Norberto Roldan, RA Rivera, Stanley Ruiz, Rodolfo Sabayton Jr., Don Salubayba, Maria Taniguchi, Wire Tuazon, MM Yu, Constantino Zicarelli
Special thanks to co-curators and artists in the Philippines and New York: Lena Cabangbang, Ron Caringal, Clint Catalan, Norberto Roldan, Don Salubayba, Ernest Concepcion, Mariano Del Rosario, Pablo Orendain, Rafe Eddington.

artpulseny.com