Artists Ronson Culibrina and Olan Ventura offer their vibrant, modern pieces at The Goldenberg Mansion Art Series Two.
If you’re itching for a unique art experience this weekend, “Fragmentation & Fusion” at the Goldenberg Mansion might just be your must-visit exhibit. Featuring the recent works of Ronson Culibrina and Olan Ventura, the mansion’s second art series showcases both artists’ reflection on classical beauty in tension with modernity, and Filipino heritage disrupted by contemporary ideas.
“Fragmentation & Fusion,” running only from November 23 to 24, is split into two parts, with a dedicated area for each artist—Culibrina’s “Marahuyo” in the mansion proper and Ventura’s “Prismatic Petals” in the glass house by the garden.
“Marahuyo” means “to be enchanted,” and seeing Culibrina’s works displayed within the hallways of the mansion, it’s clear why it was named so. From afar, each piece seemingly portrays rural landscapes reminiscent of Amorsolo’s work, yet as you near the canvas, more details reveal his pieces’ true form. Neon text blocking the portrait’s main figure, cartoon references displayed next to a carabao tilling the soil, bubbles spewing from a smoke pipe — odd vivid elements that seem to playfully disrupt the idyllic setting of the pieces.
“I grew up with these images of rural life,” Culibrina shares on his inspirations. “But as I’ve grown, I’ve realized that the Filipino experience is more complex. It’s not just about nostalgia; it’s about how we adapt, how we blend traditions with modernity, and how we navigate an increasingly interconnected world.”
Packed with western cultural references, Culibrina’s works achieve this interconnected world through tension and dynamic energy, with each piece bursting with colorful chaos amidst the serene world he would initially display.
Each piece is enhanced by its thoughtful placement within the mansion’s halls, its corridors frame the works similar to a museum. Its wide walls and high ceilings, invite the viewer to hone in, come closer, and immerse themselves in Culibrina’s kaleidoscopic details.
Exiting the side of the mansion leads you to the terrace, where you’re met with the entrance to the second exhibit: Ventura’s “Prismatic Petals.” A glass house awaits you to enter, and even before you do so, glimpses of his ornate pieces can be seen through the transparent panes. Purposefully intriguing, it urges you to enter and discover them in full.
At first glance, Ventura’s pieces seem like familiar still life portraits: florals with vivid hues, birds and butterflies painted to realistic detail—but all this is soon met with a sudden stop. Ventura’s pieces are punctuated, in varying degrees of sudden breaks. Neon lines that dissect the canvas like a broken TV screen, colors that extend beyond the florals, similar to a printing error, Ventura evokes a tension and visual interest in his purposeful interruptions in his work.
The pieces seem to portray an anxiety between the natural form of the florals and the rigidity of the linear interruptions, yet both bleed into each other as if by design. “Sometimes you have to destroy beauty in order to create a new kind of beauty,” Ventura shares. The work is a reckoning on the fragmented nature of contemporary existence, where beauty and order are continually interrupted by the chaos of technology and modern life.
Although distinct from one another, both exhibitions are bound by the constant pull of opposing ideas, of old and new, of natural and digital. Both show a disruption of the perceived natural order, yet finding beauty in their contrasting elements. These sentiments are echoed even in the venue. The Goldenberg Mansion has long been a symbol of the city’s colonial past, yet stands today as a hub for the arts.
The joint exhibition offers more than just a showcase of masterful contemporary works, it invites the viewer to question, and cast doubt on what should be. How does one hold tradition in an ever-changing world? Should we abandon the archaic to make way for the new? How do we come to terms with the complexities of our past, and how do we navigate a path forward?
Fragmentation & Fusion is open to the public from November 23 to 24, 2024. The Goldenberg Mansion is located at 838 General Solano Street, San Miguel, Manila. Open from 9 am to 4 pm.
A portion of the sale from the exhibition will be donated to the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, a non-stock, non-profit organization that aims to provide continuous leadership training and opportunities for higher education to deserving Girl Scouts.
