Golden Milestone

Earlier this March, several days before the nationwide enhanced community quarantine was enforced, Paete-born painter and sculptor Dominic Rubio and his friends and collectors gathered at the Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila hotel for one of the most important art events in years – his Rubio’s Mondial exhibition. Just before the year ends, Rubio is set to have another major exhibition to celebrate three important events in his life and career: his 50th birthday, 25 years in the art industry, and 20 years with his home gallery, Galerie Joaquin. Presented by Galerie Joaquin, Shangri-La Plaza Malls, and Galerie Raphael, the exhibit titled “Golden Milestone” will open on Rubio’s birthday, December 27, at the Luxury Lane Level 1 East Wing of the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong. A By Invitation Only opening reception will be held at the venue and will be livestreamed via Facebook live at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Dominic Rubio had his first exhibition with Galerie Joaquin in 2003, in which the artist explored his favored subject of Filipino women in the context of an evolving sensibility as shown in the figures and faces from an earlier period at the turn of the century as well as a suite of updated portraits replete with glamour from the distaff side. In 2007, the artist spearheaded the 2007 calendar of exhibits of Galerie Joaquin Singapore with a sold-out exhibition, “Early Times”.

Rubio has been described by art critics such as the eminent art historian and professor, the late Dr. Reuben Cañete, as the modern-day Damian Domingo with his depictions of various Filipino archetypes. Rubio also highlights the Tipos de Pais genre of Damian Domingo, the founding director of Manila’s Academia de Dibujo y Pintura of 1821), where the emphasis was depicting the figures, clothes, commerce and activities of the residents of the Philippine archipelago. These then became important parts of the country’s artistic recorded history whether these figures came from the ilustrado or comprador class, foreign merchants or farm workers and the local folk. As the camera had not been invented yet, the Tipos de Pais of Domingo became the initial encyclopedic compilation in depicting and recording the kinds of people (hence tipos de pais) who lived in the archipelago. What Rubio does with his modern day ‘Tipos de Pais” is to appropriate its epistemic value to depict and record a multi class society, typically Rubio’s World, whether these be characters of personage and various class and ethnic stations. With painstaking research undertaken on architecture and period costumes, the artist’s works have always been well-received as viewers can identify with Rubio’s characters and scenes.

In the “Golden Milestone” exhibit, the artist will introduce a new element in his paintings – the use of gold leaf paint to highlight details of characters and images, or as background to his familiar imagery. A deluxe edition of his brass sculptures of his well-known themes of Old Manila, Plantation Life, and the Filipino-Chinese community will also be featured.

“Golden Milestone” will run from December 27, 2020 to January 10, 2021 at the Luxury Lane Level 1 East Wing of the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong. For inquiries, please contact Galerie Joaquin at info@galeriejoaquin.com or (+632) 8723 9253 or Galerie Raphael at galerieraphael.shang@gmail.com or (+632) 8941 6194.