Bert Antonio, nephew to open joint exhibit at West Gallery

Noted Boston-based Filipino artist Bert Antonio and his 12-year-old nephew Ethan Antonio are set to open their first exhibit together, titled NO_ matter_WHO_did_WHAT_&_WHY, at the West Gallery in Quezon City on July 8.

Many of the more than 30 artworks featured in this one-of-a-kind show were produced over a two-week period in the summer of 2014 in Beverly Hills, Florida.

“Working with him [Ethan] side by side, I see his impulses come with good instinct, making his marks freely but with focus. He knows how to work his ‘canvas.’ I find myself looking at his work that had him looking at mine,” Bert said of his nephew, whom he has raised from childhood.

“As it progressed, we started doing some pieces together. I start on one and he adds to it, he starts one and I do the same, and this goes on [until] we both agree and decide it’s finished. Since we were both on the same page doing ‘paperviews,’ I do most of the finishing touches, adding the ‘test patterns’ on the bottom half of the pieces for both his, mine and our collaborations,” the artist said of their creative process.

“The decision on how to finish his pieces is his alone. He’s familiar with my work, so he knows how I can finish them and he picks the pattern he wants. The colors are also his decisions,” he added.

“His works gives me the privilege to learn more of what I do and have already done. It’s like having a fresh pair of curious, intelligent eyes. He understands my framework and extended it further by giving me a new space to play in…. As far as we’re both concerned, NO_matter_WHO_did_ WHAT_&_WHY—we [were] both happy with [the] time spent doing them,” Bert said.

A participant in various shows since the early 1980s, Bert held his first one-man exhibit at the Pinaglabanan Galleries in 1985. Since then, he has held shows in Manila, Boston and New York City. His artworks have been reviewed in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, as well as in various Philippine publications. Alvin I. Dacanay

NO_matter_WHO_did_ WHAT_&_WHY will open at Gallery 2 of the West Gallery on July 8 at 6 p.m. and will run until August 8. West Gallery is at 48 West Avenue, Quezon City, and is open from Monday to Saturday. For more information, contact (632) 411-0336, send an e-mail to info@westgallery.org or visit www.westgallery.org.