YOUNG contemporary and modern painters from Pangasinan converged in Baguio to exhibit their art pieces at Pugad ni Art Galleries and Museum over the weekend.

  Their artworks range from ultra-realism to impressionism. Out of the radar for decades, Pangasinan artists are now making waves in art circles here and in Manila.

  Among them is Van Zachary Turingan who exhibited a hyperrealist portrait of an old Ifugao man with an ornate headgear.

  Mona Vince rendered two female lovers in the act of kissing. “Love Union: A bond of love” is a painting that symbolized the love and rights of the same-sex couple. Actually, it is a story about us – my partner and I,” she said. 

“In this painting, I use Madhubani Art which is an Indian art that female artists commonly use. I use earth colors to have a lively and calm look in our eyes. The two-dimensional image appears with depth and volume used to create texture. I really love texture in every painting. I love the impasto technique. That is why most of my artwork has texture.”

  Herwin Buccat, the curator of the event, painted his hometown.  “With my style are trademark “bakawan” roots. I was inspired by the beautiful reservation of my hometown Bolinao, especially the Balingasay River where the beautiful mangroves are located,” he said.  

“Mother Nature is like a root that becomes a human shield, shelter for every creature that must be guarded and cared for. Nature and man are interrelated.“

  Buccat, on short notice, curated the exhibition at the Impasto Room of Pugad ni Art Galleries and Museum. 

He said that this is the artists’ way of bringing Pangasinan to Baguio and how art bridges the two homes through artistic longing. – Text and Photos by JJ Landingin