Art Gallery by The Manila Hotel opens its fourth exhibit with brilliant, innovative works of two of the most creative artists in the country today.“RENAISSANCE” is an exhibit that showcases the rebirth of scrap materials meant to be disposed of and, in the masterful hands of our two featured artists MARIO “RAM” MALLARI and AGUILARDO “AGI” PAGKATIPUNAN, they are given new life as functional art.

“Renaissance” is the first collaboration between Mallari and Pagkatipunan. Producing works of beauty, creativity and functionality from items that have been cast aside, the artists have given a higher meaning to upcycling.

Pagkatipunan hails from the town known for its amazing artists, San Mateo, Rizal. A celebrated furniture maker and designer, he is an architect turned carpenter-sculptor whose works breathe life into salvaged and recycled Philippine hardwood.

Mallari, on the other hand, has been exposed to metal works early in his life by his relatives who were metalsmiths. He focused in metal sculpting only in 2012, but the intricate pieces he makes define him a true force of nature. With a nod to a utopian future forged from memories of an earlier era, his works depict a tension between past and future.

Aside from this being their first exhibit together, a highlight piece of “Renaissance” is called The Wood Abstract, the first collaborative work between the two artists.

The exhibit includes: The Salung Puwet series, and Berde by Pagkatipunan; the Steam Trooper Lampshade, The Sound Machine 2, and R2D2 Lampshade by Mallari, to name a few.

This Art Gallery opened only in 2018, but it has since featured some of the most brilliant, most respected artists in different fields. Designed to be a crucial contributor to highlight and support Filipino arts and culture, the Art Gallery by The Manila Hotel will always be proud of our nation’s heritage. It will always be platform to preserve our nation’s legacy through the Filipino artists’ most amazing works.

“Renaissance,” which is ongoing, will run until January 31, 2020.