The truth about the Filipino art world
Intrigue, gossip, power plays, ego-tripping, and factionalism,” whispers one art world veteran, “Am I talking about the upcoming Philippine elections—or the battle between the noontime TV shows? Absolutely not! I think the Filipino art scene can rival both Filipino politics and showbiz combined!”
“There’s no doubt about it,” says another. “The Philippine art industry is vibrant and continues to grow every year. Due to this reality, more people are involved, and that can be both a good thing and a bad thing.”
What is the truth about the Filipino art world? From the outside looking in, it’s a dazzling spectacle of eccentric artists, high-strung gallerists, mentors (and mentees), media mavens, and bloggers against a backdrop of exhibitions and auctions. All of this is played out to overflow crowds. “I have heard that there are some hangers-on that don’t even bother to cook a single meal at home. There are so many different openings and cocktail parties that you could very well never have to spend money on dinner,” says one gallery financier ruefully.
Indeed, the local art scene has become a huge ecosystem, as deep and as wide as the ocean, and just as filled with fascinating creatures. Says one observer: “There are not just the gallery owners, auction houses and artists—now there are artist managers, art advisers, brokers, restorers, framers, authenticators, even the families of the artists are now in the mix.”
Analytics continue to hold, even against listicle makers and racecar clubs. Did you know, for example, that while the rest of the country topped worldwide searches for Taylor Swift on Google, the influential art resource website Artnet named the three most-searched Filipino artists as Fernando Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, and Ronald Ventura?
“Now don’t forget the curators, impresarios, academics, historians, museums, and government functionaries,” says one man with a ringside seat. “And, goodness me, even very influential architects and decorators and feng shui experts.”
The elite and the seasoned collectors don’t care about trends. They trust their own taste —but make no mistake, they can 100% pick out the best piece in seconds of walking into an exhibit without batting an eyelash.
“There’s one very famous interior designer,” reveals one person in the know, “who tells his clients point-blank: ‘This is my house, not yours. And only I will decide on what goes through its doors.’ He is very strict about everything that enters the premises and that includes all the multimillion-peso art. There are variations on that theme in certain big mansions and expensive condos, dictated according to varying degrees of niceness.”
Then again, grins one aficionado, “It’s all about who you know. Do you go to this certain artist’s birthday parties? And if you are really, really in, do you go to his children’s? What are you prepared to do to get a painting by the artist du jour? Are you friendly with a certain caterer or party planner because they provide all the little giveaways? Can you land a weekend invitation to our local equivalent of the posh Hamptons — at Tali Beach or even better, dare I say, at that other secret seaside location that is even more exclusive? (Where the guests are pampered with in-house spas and beauty treatments.) All of these factors go into the minute calculations of whether you deserve a certain masterpiece or not.”
The art scene is inextricably bound up with the “elephant in the room,” says one observer. “And that goes by the name of ‘money.’” And why not? The Philippine STAR reported elsewhere in its pages that our country is the fastest-growing market for pricey Maseratis, no matter that they cost P7 million a pop. “That’s extremely small potatoes when mansions in Forbes and penthouses in BGC now glide effortlessly beyond the P500 million mark well into bilyonaryo-land—named after the website that does nothing but chronicle (and enthusiastically throw brickbats) at the 9-zero club. Of course, one needs to acquire art that is worthy of that gilt-edged real estate.”
Another pundit puts it differently: “It’s not all about the pesos. There are the people who have what I think is just as important—the knowledge! You have, for example, the connoisseurs and the collectors, the people who know about the art and those who possess it. I can count the collectors on one hand who are actually both: who study, read, research, and then who own all these masterpieces.”
And what are the all-important collectors like? One loose-tongued savant says there are five different kinds of this species: “First, there is the seasoned collector, those who have been collecting for 15 to 20 years. They have a very discerning eye, educated by those hard-won decades of experience. The thing is that they will never buy high because they have been able to scoop up all the established artists for very cheap but they always bring prestige to any art occasion.”
He continues, “Next on the list, and diametrically opposite, are the newbies, who started collecting in the last one to four years. They tend to be trend-driven and hope secretly that their buys are good investments. (They do know that if they ever decide to re-sell, they will be condemned as ‘flippers’ by the galleries and cast out of paradise.) The newbies tend to be protégés of the collector and can be called ‘pretenders.’ These collectors are actually or planning to be dealers on the sly.”
Fourth, he lists, “are the collector-mentors, who try to influence the newbies to support their favorite artists or pet galleries. In return, they get special priority from these outlets.”
And finally, our expert says, “There are the elite or Triple-A tycoon-level collectors who buy because they love the artwork or because it is a form of top-tier investment, or even estate planning. The elite and the seasoned collectors don’t care about trends. They trust their own taste— but make no mistake, they can 100% pick out the best piece in seconds of walking into an exhibit without batting an eyelash.”
There is one thing to remember in all this. As a grizzled observer puts it, “Regardless of whether you are a bucket-list collector, fanboy or a blue-blooded enthusiast, there is always one very important truth about the Filipino art world: just like with the rest of Philippine society, it is always subject to change. Who knows? This year’s sheep may very well become the next decade’s lions!”
