Sio Montera

A3: The Art of Three

Bluewaater Gallery, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, Mactan, Cebu

The Art of Three (A3) is a visual convergence that calls for unity in the face of diversity. Years ago of trio of participating painters first crossed paths while finishing their Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Soon after completion of their studies they have move on to practice and establish their art in their respective home fronts. Now they are crossing paths again in the arena of an art gallery. This art exhibition seeks to solidify the individual’s commonalities and delineate differences. And it answers the qualifier of young art and contemporary. Having come from different regions of the country, the triad of Arthur dela Cruz, Sio Montera and Aman Santos III intends the show to be representative in nature and character.
Dela Cruz hails from Davao hence we’ll be seeing the vignettes and splendor of his hometown. The Visayas is represented by Montera whose turf is Cebu while bringing his art from Manila is Santos. Being trained by common professors in Graduate school we find their difference thru their work and leanings. Dela Cruz’s works are incorporations of things his place is known and famous for. Montera on the other hand, let’s go of what the eyes can normally see and comprehend by doing pure abstraction. Santos’ art is the urban challenge of making way through nameless crowds where faces and identities have become generic and seemingly featureless. The show is a small microcosm of the nation’s entirety composed of representations from the three main geographic regions of the archipelago. The artists who come from the three major art centers of Cebu, Davao, and Manila assembles to provide a peek of their art’s directions and a glimpse of art from their respective regions that proves an ongoing melting pot, a healthy condition that disdains homogeneity resulting to art that is forever vibrant.