Philipp Brita Badon

Bamboo sing while Badon paints.
2005. 19 East
watch?v=1o11krwhs7I

Badon expands his horizon to the international market in Hong Kong. The exhibit is an eclectic collection of works that centers in his conviction that the maturity and growth of an artist lies in the artist’s attempt to reach the highest points of vision and philosophy as expressed, rendered and imprinted on canvas.

The universe implies infinite thinking and connotes immeasurable power of one’s thoughts. Once again, Badon unearths his God-gift talent and breaks down the multi-faceted cultural barriers through art. His abstract expressionistic pieces of fauvist color schemes and his famous pecan-faced women’s genre will surely speak to the international community in cosmopolitan Hong Kong.

Imagination Celebration 13-17 November 2002
An Exhibition by CanvasAsia - Hongkong
Malaysia, 1994 - Philippine Embassy
Singapore, 1994 - Philippine Embassy
New York, 1990 - Philippine Embassy
Australia, 1987 - Philippine House, Sydney, Australia

1957 Born on September 18 in Quezon City, Philippines to Arnulfo Jalandoni Badon and Remedios Brita.

INTERNATIONAL:
Abruptionalism,Disectionism ARTFORM October 3 to 31,2003 Fine Artists Factory
Pasadena, California
Imagination Celebration 13-17 November 2002
An Exhibition by CanvasAsia - Hongkong
Malaysia, 1994 - Philippine Embassy
Singapore, 1994 - Philippine Embassy
New York, 1990 - Philippine Embassy
Australia, 1987 - Philippine House, Sydney, Australia

1957 Born on September 18 in Quezon City, Philippines to Arnulfo Jalandoni Badon and Remedios Brita.

1974 Enrolled at the University of the East (UE) College of Fine Arts, initially in advertising but changed major to painting in his sophomore year. He worked his way through college as data encoder with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and later with National Economic Development Agency (NEDA).

1977 Sold his first painting to ballet luminary Joji Felix Velarde who saw his “Women in Forest” in the UE Fine Arts stock room.

1978 Worked as artist at Marilyn Jacinto’s Catalogue Advertising and started to paint on a surrealist bent.

1979 Started joining art competition. Won 3rd place in the Annual Students Art Competiton, “Homage to Christianity” (March, collection: UST Museum).

Won First Honorable Mention, “Kaunlaran” (Progress), (October, Philippine Trade Exhibit Painting Competition).

1980 Cited for Outstanding Merit for his entry in Young Arts in Asia Now, an exhibition of paintings by 28 young artists organized by Goethe Haus in Hong Kong.

1981 Married his classmate, Thelma Llorico, whom he has three children – TJ Anne, Nina Christine, and Jona Faye. These women figured prominently in many of his works that follow.

Presented his first one-man exhibit Expressions at the Heritage Art Center.

1982 Held his 2nd Solo show, “Pananaw Pansin” at Café Rafaelita, a collection of works on rural lifestyles and settings.

1983 Mounted his 3rd solo exhibit, People,Places, and Scapes at Siliman University.


1984 Group show around the theme of Family with the Christian Art Society at the Galleria delas Islas.

1985 Started teaching at the Ganesh Art Center and the Academie Beaux Arts in Makati, Metro Manila.


Curated at the Galleria delas Islas during which time he was exposed to indigenous tribal crafts and rituals and casted a large influence on his art.

1986 Attended a group exhibit at the Philippine consulate in Sydney. Interest in aboriginal arts and practices ignited the exposure while doing curator work at Las Islas. He spent time attending festivals of aboriginal crafts, arts and music. Inspired by bark painting methods and mixing colors, he produced a number of sculptures and paintings. Trade Connections Gallery commissioned all his works.

1987 Returned to Manila and mounted his 4th Solo exhibit, Out of the Blue at Galerie Bleue.


1988 Staged his 5th one-man exhibit, Inner Visions at the Heritage Art Center.
His 6th solo exhibit showcased his charcoal drawings at the Hiraya Gallery .

1991 Kasaganahan ng Buhay (Life’s Bounty) won Honorable Mention, an ecology art contest sponsored by Charlie Barreto’s ___.

1992 Started doing works on oil pastels which composed his 7th solo exhibit, Pag-ikot ng Panahon (As the World Turns/Changing Times?) at the Lopez Museum.


Commissioned by Cid Reyes to submit two paintings – El Grande Celebration and, Kasabay ng Pamumuhay - for the book, The History of Brewing in the Philippines” by San Miguel Corporation .

1994 Two solo exhibits, his 8th at the Berenguer-Topacio Gallery was a venture on watercolor. The 9th was aptly titled, Pag-aalay (Offering) at the San Miguel Building in Makati. Proceeds was donated to a church in Antipolo.

1995 His 10th solo show at the Manila Hotel opened a door to a number of foreign patrons.

YOU won’t find Philipp Brita Badon sitting idly by – unless he is trying to capture an inspired moment. "I'd sit around to enjoy the experience," he says. "Then I'd paint it right away."
If that sounds like a rush, it is.
Badon, one of the more successful Filipino contemporary artists, rarely makes studies, and when he does, these are mostly for commissioned pieces. The bulk of his works is the product of those flashes of inspiration. It has grown into a hoard and turned his modest back street studio and gallery in Quezon City into a fine mess. "It's a jumble out there," he says.
That w0ould almost certainly be the impression you'd get if you saw it. More certainly, you couldn't escape being struck by the man's art. First, there is the wildly varied theme, which runs from the ubiquitous mother-and-daughter figures to galactic impressions and erotic art. There is the style, which has drawn comparisons – rightly or wrongly – to early Picasso without the dark mood but with a splash of color.
Then there is the price. Badon builds value in his works from the bottom up, which makes them affordable to fans of art appreciation and a good investment for buyers driven by profit motive. "You have to protect the value of your work, of course, but only up to a point," he says. "Beyond that, you have to leave it to the market."
That's as far as he goes on the commercial aspect of his work. The rest is up to his eldest daughter, 27 year old TJ Anne Badon. "We noticed that his work could use a bit more push as a business proposition. So we decided that for a start, we should look at a more effective marketing plan," she says.
TJ left her job as marketing manager of Pepsi Cola Philippines to join her father's business. She has an enormous respect for it, having watched it grow and having seen its potential. Since coming aboard a year ago, TJ has successfully marketed Badon in the United States Australia, Europe, the Philippines and key cities in Asia.
In Hong Kong for his 27th one-man show, Badon had three paintings snapped up before the exhibit opened. Earlier, he had sold out in Singapore. Plans are under way for a tour of the Middle East, starting with Qatar. But with limited exposure to the business of the art market, TJ sees a big challenge ahead. "First, we have to make contact with the right people," she says. "Only then can we begin the marketing."
It helps that her father’s works speak for themselves. "Word of mouth is a big part of the reason that more people are taking notice," TJ says.
The marketing machine cranks up a gear the more high-profile the product becomes. Badon cracked the Hollywood art circle when Tom Hanks, Diana Ross and Roberta Flack became regular clients. In Manila, celebrity TV host Boy Abunda is not shy to drop a line about his growing collection of Badon impressionists and figures.
That said, Badon still throws the occasional sales pitch, mostly to visitors to his art gallery. But this quickly turns into a discussion of the finer points of his art. "I like doing figures. Mother and daughter is an eternal theme," he says. "I go for the unreachable, what's out there, the things we don't know but can imagine."
At home with mixed media, Badon is equipped to give expression to these themes. He has done more than one theme in pastel, acrylic and oil. There's instant gratification in pastel, which has certain qualities not found in the others. "You get more control and the finished product doesn't smudge easily. It's what you want if an idea strikes you on the spot."
Expecting the unexpected, Badon rarely goes out unprepared for those spur-of-the moment encounters. Awed by the beauty of Hong Kong’s New Territories, he painted the landscape from the window of a moving train over the shoulder of an accidental subject. It was an intense 25-minute ride in which Badon raced against time. It was this sense of urgency that moved him to freeze the moment in pastel when he saw a group of Chinese women collecting mussels in the gathering dusk during a stroll on the beach a short distance from Hong Kong Disneyland. Both works made it to his Hong Kong exhibit.
This passion for instantaneous creation can be consuming, and Badon often pays a toll in mental deflation. To get his creative juices flowing again after a particularly draining session, he has taken to swimming and doesn’t mind a glass or two, may be a bottle, of red wine. “And that’s all during office hours,” he jokes.
Still, his life and work are not nearly as regimented. Badon enjoys playing off-side and once gave his body over to tattoo art, which covers the better part of his skin. “That was a sort of starting point for me, giving bodily expression to another artist,” he says.
It’s also a measure of his humble beginnings. TJ still remembers one birthday gift she got from her father. “He could not afford to buy me a gift for my first birthday,” she says.
“So he painted it, wrote on the back and kept it. He gave it to me when I was old enough to understand.”
It’s her favorite toy. It’s her father’s favorite painting.

There is no mistaking a BADON.
The soulful eyes, the pecan face, half of it being a crescent opposite of the other; like blue and red, light and night, gladness and madness.

There are many phases and faces in Philipp Badon’s body of work,
but the art remains the same.

- J.R Mercado