Had the pleasure last night of attending the opening of Beyond Monochrome, an exhibition of black-and-white fine art photography by various artists arranged by Redlab and Vetro Gallery in Quezon City.
I did a brief vlog on the event, that you can watch here:
Being that photography isn't generally considered as fine art in the Philippines yet, I encourage everyone to drop by the show and check out the work. You may be surprised at what you find. There are new as well as internationally-recognized artists represented here, and all of the pieces are also available for purchase.
Opening night at Vetro Gallery. Fine art wildlife shots by Greg Metro.
Award-winning photographer Allan Borebor's series on NYC. Click to enlarge.
Horse ++ (2013) by Richard Ferriols.
Horse + Man (2013) by Richard Ferriols.
Ferdie Tiongson's "Shadow Dancing" series (and kids trying to copy it)
The artists in the exhibition worked under the guidance of my photography mentor, fine art photographer and printer Red Ognita, who has an unmatched passion for pushing the practice of photography to a higher standard here in the Philippines, as well as for helping students forge their paths as artists.
Alongside Raymond Cruz, one of the local pioneers in landscape photography, he runs Redlab, a top-shelf fine art print studio that also conducts outstanding photography workshops. They printed all of the work, and oversaw the framing and arrangement of the pieces in the gallery. I'm personally grateful to them for elevating my own pursuit of the craft.
Fine art photographers, award winners, and friends. L-R: Raymond Cruz, Paul Resurreccion, Light Lotus Lettuce Li, Jun Pagalilauan, Ferdie Tiongson, Mitch Miguel, Red Ognita, Cez Young, Allan Borebor, and me. (Photo courtesy of Cez Young)
Beyond Monochrome runs from Oct. 1-30, 2016 at Vetro Manila. Find them at 135 Congressional Avenue, Quezon City. Find out more about Redlab here.