Must See: Tales + Folk + Fairy

Artists Francis Nacion (left) and Carlo Ongchangco (right)

Last Tuesday evening, we were invited to cut the ribbon of our dear friends Francis Nacion and Carlo Ongchangco’s 2 man show– Tales + Folk + Fairy. The exhibit focuses on the interests of the two artists. Francis’ being folklore while Carlo’s— fairy tales.

C & L ribbon cutters with the artists.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect from Francis:

Francis Nacion with one of his amazing pieces. This one went fast!

The painting up close and personal.

Another Nacion piece.

Here are just some of the paintings and sculptures produced by Carlo:

Sculpture by Carlo Ongchangco

Little Red Riding Hood by Carlo Ongchangco

Little Ms. M with Carlo Ongchangco and her painting: “The Princess And The Pea”.

Darling Little Ms. M, fell in love with “The Princess and the Pea” and asked her papa to buy it for her! Lucky girl! According to Carlo, she is her youngest collector!

L, little Mr. W and Carlo Ongchangco pose in front of “The Nightingale”.

Meanwhile, Little Mr. W and I chose “The Nightingale.” It was the first piece I gravitated to and I am absolutely thrilled to have it!

Here’s a close up of our pieces:

“The Princess And The Pea”

 In the story “The Princess and the Pea,” a king and queen, looking for their lost daughter administer a test to determine if a would-be girl who wandered into their castle is a princess. They make her sleep on layers upon layers of mattresses, at the very base of which they placed on a single pea. Princesses are sensitive creatures, and if the girl is truly a princess, she would feel the pea and have a restless night’s sleep. Ongchangco depicts the sleeping princess on her tower of mattresses, and adds a picture frame as a real-world object to indicate the painting’s narrative context.

“The Nightingale”

In this timeless classic from Hans Christian Andersen, the Emperor of China is so delighted by the song of a Nightingale that he decides to capture it—only to lose interest when a mechanical bird is constructed and gifted to him. This piece is unique because Ongchangco uses the real-world device of a frame to depict the cage where the Nightingale is kept. The recurring element of a rabbit as the visualized narrator is, of course, present; as is a fish, which symbolizes the pervasiveness of water throughout Ongchangco’s oeuvre.

 Congratulations Francis and Carlo! We absolutely loved your exhibit!

Tales + Folk + Fairy will be on display until Sunday, July 21 at the Podium Atrium.

Photos by: Riba Nacion