Exhibition Run
12th April – 1st July 2018
Pacita Abad: A Million Things To Say presents the artist’s work within the discourse generated by her trapuntos – stitched, padded and quilted paintings that she began in the late 1970s. The exhibition also offers a move away from the artist’s tendency towards self-exoticization, that of being a ‘woman of colour’. Abad’s conscious use of this double entendre – her work was characterized by her use of colour, but also as reference to her dark skin – while possible during the 1980s, can be deleterious in the 21st century where there are as many ‘safe places’ as there are categories of self.
The exhibition seeks a more detailed consideration of her practice by engaging with her processes and materials, as well as the artist’s personal circumstances as the wife of a foreign developmental economist whose travels shaped her artistic production. Characterized by vibrant colour and accumulated material, these large-scale works also reflect the complex position she occupied as a Southeast Asian woman, a Filipina, travelling to other developing nations as an expat’s wife. Her work spoke of many things which were not of her lived experience, but which at the same time was the story of her life – encountering refugees, engaging with overseas Filipinos, finding herself at the edges of societies which she visited. These narratives which are spun to speak about contemporary art and culture in the Philippines, are often located elsewhere. Pacita Abad’s work brought together experiences across cultures – Bangladesh to Sudan, Sudan to Jakarta, Jakarta to Boston, Washington D.C. to Manila – her creative trajectory dictated by her constantly shifting location. This itinerancy, crossing countries, economies and cultures are the subjects and materials, the variables and coordinates that shaped the narratives of Pacita Abad.
Pacita Abad : A Million Things To Say is proudly supported by Lopez Museum and Library, The Pacita Abad Art Estate, Fundacion Pacita and Cibo di Marghi Signature Catering.
Programme for 12 April 2018
4.30pm l In Conversation: Jack Garrity (Pacita Abad Art Estate) and Pio Abad (co-curator of ‘A Million Things to Say’) Benilde SDA Cinema, 12th Floor
5.30pm l Exhibition Opens (Priority access will be given to attendees of the talk)
6.00pm l Welcome Remarks
8.30pm l Exhibition Closes
Public Programs
April 12 | In-Conversation | Benilde SDA Cinema, 12th Floor
A discussion about Pacita’s life, travels and influences with Jack Garrity from the Pacita Abad Art Estate and co-curator of the show, Pio Abad.
April 27 | Differentiating Material Design, Art & Craft | MCAD Multimedia Room
This one-day event will run in collaboration with Benilde’s School of Fashion and Textiles. Join Lulu Tan-Gan and department professors for insight and discussion on differentiating Design, Art and Craft followed by in-lab classes on Fabric Construction, Surface Design and Process.
May 19 | Exploring Conservation : In partnership with the Lopez Museum | MCAD l 3.00pm
Conservation laboratories are often described as balancing the functions of an art studio, a forensic laboratory, and an environmental monitoring unit. Pacita Abad’s show required multiple textile conservation techniques to be conducted to enable the work to be fit for display. Join the discussion on this and conservation practice with experts from the Philippines’ leading Art Conservation department at the Lopez Museum.
May 24 | Pauline J. Yao : Public Lecture | Benilde SDA Cinema, 12th Floor l 3.00pm
Pauline J. Yao is Lead Curator of Visual Art at M+, the new museum for twentieth and twenty-first century visual culture being built in Hong Kong. She has held curatorial positions at theAsian Art Museum of San Francisco and worked as an independent curator and writer in Beijing for six years, during which time she co-founded the storefront art space Arrow Factory.
June 3 | Open House : Dominga Street Community Event | MCAD Manila
MCAD invites everyone on Dominga Street for free entry, food, family activities and tours
around around the Museum and the Pacita Abad show.
June 30 | Contextualizing the Female Narrative | MCAD Manila
Roundtable discussion with Brenda Fajardo, Silvana Diaz, Agnes Arellano and Imelda Cajipe
Endaya.
