A Preview of Allegories & Realities of Ofelia Gelvezón-Téqui: in Retrospect

Allegories & Realities of Ofelia Gelvezón-Téqui: in Retrospect is the very first major exhibition for year 2020 at the Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery) of  the Cultural Center of the Philippines that will officially open on February 22, 2020 at 4:00pm. It is part of CCP's 50th Anniversary Exhibitions that started last year and will cap in September, 2020 to end the year long celebration. Ms. Ofelia is one of CCP's major artists and the first female Thirteen Artist Awardee given in 1972. 

The exhibition includes 219 works and the largest collection of Ms. Ofelia's work. She has produced a large body of work that has been viewed and displayed not only at the CCP, but in major galleries here in the country and other parts of the world. Although, she has moved to different places abroad, Ms. Ofelia has always declared that she makes works for the Filipinos and carries with her the Filipino sensibility and Filipino perspective. 

"There will also be a reading area where guests can read about Ofelia through the various articles, essays, & books that were written about her works. There will also be an interactive corner for children. We're also planning a number of public programs for the exhibition on March 4, 2020 to celebrate Women's month. We're doing a panel discussion with women printmakers with Ofelia before she flies out. On April 18, we're going to have an online conversation with the curator Butz Herrrera & Ofelia who will be in France then, and we will find a way to use technology to our advantage," said Rica Estrada of CCP Visual Arts.

Aside from the artist's collection, other featured artworks will be borrowed from private and institutional collections. Ma. Victoria Herrera, Director and Chief Curator of the Ateneo Art Gallery, has been invited to curate the exhibition. 

"This is very much a homecoming for me. It's been a while, I miss this place. I started working on this three years ago & Ofie's works has always been one of my favorites in the CCP collection. I'll explain about the title that best describes the works of Ofie. Allogories & Realities took a while for me to come up the title that best describe works of Ofie. I know that her prints many of which belong to the part of the CCP collection are very strong allegorically statements for her works, but I also realized how she's been much interested to the realities in the Philippines even though she lives overseas, and that becomes more evident now in her prints and paintings," explained Ms. Victoria Herrera.

"Part of the objective is also to share or make our viewers understand more the process of print making. This has been one of the advocacies of CCP. In the mid 1990s, we opened the workshop of the Printmakers Association of the Philippines (PAP) at the folk Arts Theater. It was actually a collaboration between CCP and PAP, and we continue to have regular programs with them. Having this exhibition is also a good opportunity to promote the practice of print making," Ms. Herrera added.

Elements within the exhibition showing the process, the plate, and then the image. Ms. Ofie pointed out also, as you can see the plate still has ink. Normally printmakers clean the plate after editioning, and destroy it. Instead of cutting the plate, she left the ink—it becomes an artwork itself. The CCP has had a number of her plates and they were framed. It's also for viewers to understand what really is printmaking. The size of the plate is actually the size on the sides of the print as plate marks. They are made of zinc or copper. Printmakers admire Ms. Ofie in her Tallo Viscosity Etching. 

The Four Horsemen

For more details, please contact the Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department at (632) 8832-1125 loc. 1505/1505 and (632) 8832-3702, mobile (0917) 603-3809, or send an email to ccp.exhibits@gmail.com, or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.