Three renowned visual artists have judged around 1,600 artworks from all over the country which joined the “Usbong Arts” competition of Klaypel Land, the grandest music, arts and food festival set in Clark in the whole month of December.
According to Klaypel owner Sue Morales, the competition will culminate in an awarding ceremony on December 10, 2022.
The judges expressed awe over the pool of talented artists who joined the competition, and how they used the medium – clay made of recycled paper – to their advantage.
The first of the three judges is Pampanga’s very own Norman Tiotuico, a 2008 Most Outstanding Kapampangan awardee in the field of Arts and Culture and also an awardee in the Angeles City government’s “Pupul ning Banua” in 2017.
An indigenous Kapampangan artist and a cultural advocate, Tiotuico studied at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. His works in sculptures, paintings, installation art, Kapampangan Indigenous script calligraphy and performance rituals epitomizes the philosophy behind his inherited Kapampangan culture.
Tiotuico has exhibited various works at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, International Arts Festival in Malaysia, Museum of Philippine Social History granted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and was commissioned by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and Kuliat Foundation Inc., to make a 25-feet bamboo installation art entitled “Kayadduangan” in celebration of the country’s Independence Day in 2022.
During the height of the pandemic, he was able to organize – in partnership with the Angeles City LGU – exhibits of 90 (and counting) artists in two of the leading malls in Angeles City.
This “Pamitipun king Panyulung ning Kalalangan at Amanang Kabiasnan Kapampangan Artist Collective” has motivated artists to create and vent their ideas to the public gaining a substantial revenue to the suffering art industry.
The second judge, Salvador “Buddy” Ching, is a Bulakenyo who graduated from the University of Sto. Tomas with a degree of Fine Arts Major in Painting.
He was one of the five representatives of the country to the 3rd ASEAN Youth Painting Workshop and Exhibition in Indonesia, and eventually moved on to the Asian Biennale Art Exhibition in Havana Cuba, Bangladesh, Seoul Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, California and New York in USA.
With numerous awards and citations from major art competitions in the country under his belt, Ching has had 16 one-man show to date held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, De La Salle Art Gallery, Bulacan Museum, Big&Small Gallery in Megamall, Boston Gallery in Cubao, Art Verité in Serendra BGC, Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City, Secret Fresh SIXINCH Gallery Ronac Art Center in San Juan, Mandaluyong City, Shangri-La Plaza in Edsa, Art Lounge Manila at the Podium, and in California and New York, USA.
He is now a member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Committee on Visual Arts, and a full time multi-awarded Painter, Installation and Performance Artist.
Bulacan-born Roland F. Rosacay is famous for his “Fish-fish” series, which shows a school of colorful fish in vivid hues. He has a distinctive signature style that makes his stand out in the industry.
From 1990 to present, he has received numerous awards and participated in exhibits and art competitions here and abroad. He graduated from the Philippine Women’s University and was part of the Philippine Association of Printmakers in the 1980s.
A painter, sculptor and writer, Rosacay has been a recipient of more than 40 citations including a Certificate of Awardee from the New York International Competition and from the Exchange Exhibit in Seoul, South Korea, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Film Academy of the Philippines.
A Piscean, he is also known for his abstract paintings, which are a combination of two-dimensional figures, and his school of fish which creates a surreal balance on the canvas.
