Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit @ Shangri – La

 “LOVE THE EARTH, HEAL THE SPIRIT”

Fernando Modesto

1 – 15 June 2016

Mezzanine, Makati Shangri-la Manila

After a successful show in Hiraya Gallery, gallery owner and curator, Didi Dee announced the opening show of Fernando Modesto’s “Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit” at the Mezzanine of the Makati Shangri-la Manila on June 1, 2016.

Hiraya Gallery has been nurturing artists whose technical competence and creativity are matched only by their dedication to their art since its launch in Manila’s art scene in 1980. “We believe strongly that we shouldn’t impose our business or the gallery’s aesthetic tastes on artists and instead we encourage them to pursue their own individual expression and vision,” says Didi Dee, art director of Hiraya.

One such artist is Fernando Modesto whose last exhibition in Hiraya Gallery last February generated interest and buzz with a collection of large-scale landscapes blending an impressionist style with abstraction. Cid Reyes, art critic and book author, in his review entitled “MODESTO’s ANGELS: Healing Energies wrote - “Like coming back home, indeed like coming full circle, Modesto is presenting his latest works at the Hiraya Gallery, with a show billed as “Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit.” The theme should not be glossed over for they make claim to our attention that this iconic image continues to proclaim its presence in Philippine contemporary art. Like Amorsolo’s “dalagang bukid” or BenCab’s “Sabel”, Modesto’s “angel de la guardia” is a representation of something deeply Filipino, in this case, a puckish figure that has takenresidence in the art community’s collective consciousness, extolling us to look at the brighter, lighter, happier side of life.”

The show, which is the second part of Modesto’s “Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit” collection is brought to the public by the SEA Institute–VIP, a science-based conservation group in the VIP (Verde Island Passage), the world’s center of marine shore-fish biodiversity. Part of the proceeds from the sale will be used for scientific research to educate and raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation in Batangas, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, and Marinduque. It is SEA’s wish to keep intact the treasures we have right at our doorstep for generations to come which is in line with the environmental message of the show’s theme.

Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit will run till June 15 at the Mezzanine of the Makati Shangri-la Manila. For more information, please call (632) 523 3331 or visit www.hiraya.com  or email dididee@hiraya.com