Surveying abstraction in the context of Philippine contemporary art, "Pambabae" highlights works by twelve artists: Cipra Kamatoy, Evelyn Collantes, Ileana Lee, Impy Pilapil, Ivi Cosio, Jeannie Javellosa, Lilian Hwang, Nelfa Querubin, Nena Saguil, Pacita Abad, Phyllis Zaballero, and Yola Johnson. Produced between 1969 and 1989, the works are witnesses to a defining era of radical and historical events throughout the globe. From the first time man walked on the moon to the beginning of the World Wide Web, this period signals the arrival of a generation that insisted on articulating realities beyond producing mirror representations of life. At home, the timeline follows the establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1966 and the documented changes in the country's socio-political and cultural landscapes that affected and influenced approaches in art and image-making. 

The exhibition explores the female consciousness and its deployment of visual language in a world where such perspectives are often overshadowed by their male counterparts in narratives that barely define universal concerns. As of this writing, no female artist has been conferred with the National Artist Awards for Visual Arts. It would be absurd and preposterous to think that no body of work nor practice of a female artist is worthy of the honor. Hence, the exhibition title is drawn from a Filipino expression that discriminately imposes gender stereotypes by assigning a category to an object, event, activity, etc., to differentiate genders based on what society believes is acceptable to the population. This generalization creates a form of oppression that may seem subtle but affects each other's potential. However, a way to subvert this is by using the exact language of the oppressor and reclaiming the power to say, "Pambabae din dapat."

Here, we find a seascape by Nena Saguil from the 70s filled with textured patterns that seem like orbs and cosmological spheres. Her paintings respond to the natural world and are often described as an interpretation of the cosmos and the universe. Thus, with similar references, Jeannie Javellosa's watercolor paintings depict order and harmony. One finds the spontaneous and yet measured control in the artist's hand as she composes an image. 

On the other hand, formalistic approaches encroach on the works of Cipra Kamatoy and Lilian Hwang, whose practices follow the Constructivist and 'hard-edge' movements, respectively. Kamatoy's triangular-shaped painting is drawn from indigenous clothing and textile. Hwang's works also display the artist's affinity for extending the field of the artwork to the frames. By doing so, the image's transition continues outside of the canvas. Meanwhile, Evelyn Collantes' demonstration of binary opposition is charged by the artist's urge to define grounds in composition and allow the juxtaposition of an otherwise flat image against a scene that summons the depth of space. Thus, in the same way that Phyllis Zaballero's gestural markings broaden one's perspective in understanding forms of expression and the vestiges of reality.

In this exhibition, the importance of material in the production of art is embedded in the practices of Impy Pilapil, Nelfa Querubin, Pacita Abad, Ivi Cosio, and Ileana Lee. Known for her monumental sculptures, Pilapil is intrigued by the origin of the material she uses and speculates its history through visible impressions and marks on the medium's surface. These accidental formations on stones and rocks allow hypothetical narratives that make the artist think of the places where the material has been and the people who handled it in the past-- everything contributes to a story, a memory. The same can be said of Nelfa Querubin's works. She is a pioneer of abstraction in ceramics who experimented mainly using clay found in her immediate surroundings and the places where she lived. Querubin's quintessential skills and techniques in ceramics had brought many possibilities to the medium. Today, a generation of emerging abstract ceramicists continues to follow Querubin's path by studying her body of work.

Perhaps the most recognized name in this group is the late Pacita Abad, who incorporated non-Western techniques and reclaimed abstraction by emphasizing craft material, refusing to conform to the medium's limitations, and challenging patriarchal and colonial ascendancy in the art world. Similarly, Ivi Cosio's works are interpretations of Filipino themes and other art forms such as literature and dance, adapted to create minimalist paintings, refusing to submit to the notion that abstraction must not be more than the work that is present and even confronting what it means to be present at all. Thus, in the works of Ileana Lee, we find the artist wrestling with such conflicts in defining space and exploring the exact use of material to understand the limits and constraints of art and its community. These challenges also appeal to Yola Johnson's practice as she had previously mounted conceptual work while her wall-bound works appear to be studies or iterations of her installation pieces. 

"Pambabae" is curated by Miguel Rosales and is a continuation of a series of projects that outline art movements and influential figures that had contributed to the dialogue of Philippine art. 

Text by Gwen Bautista