Galeria Paloma and Samsung Debut a New Series of Art Exhibitions, Bridging Familiar Forms of Art and Cryptoart NFTs
The launching exhibition invites visitors to view paintings and sculpture by Carlos side-by-side with his pieces of crypto art in collaboration with crypto artist and motion designer Isaiah Cacnio
Galeria Paloma, in partnership with Samsung The Frame, is pleased to present “The Colors of Carlos,” an art exhibition featuring paintings, sculpture, and crypto art NFTs by the artist Carlos on July 8 to 12, 2022, at the North Court of Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Mano Amiga, an organization that provides quality education for underprivileged children and sustainable livelihood opportunities to families from disadvantaged communities.
“The Colors of Carlos” is the launching exhibit of a series of upcoming shows by Galeria Paloma which aims to bridge the gap between the familiar media of visual art and the emerging genre of crypto art. In these exhibitions, traditional forms of art will be displayed side-by-side with crypto art in Samsung The Frame TV screens.
While digital art has existed since the advent of computers, the ownership and provenance of digital works of art that are not entirely in the physical custody of its owner or creator is one of the reasons why the adoption of the genre has come slowly. In the past several years, however, these uncertainties have been replaced with the immutability of blockchains proving ownership, provenance, and authenticity in a transparent fashion. As a result, there has been an uptick in the adoption and collection of crypto art, encouraging bullishness toward crypto art not only among collectors and digital-native artists, but even among traditional artists who harness their creativity as they explore the medium.
The Colors of Carlos
In the Philippines, one of these artists is Carlos. Carlos is a painter and sculptor with an art career spanning 40 years. He is most known for the use of vibrant colors, which are just as much a subject as the idyllic scenes he paints on canvases.
“Life is about the colors you and others paint your world with,” he states.
While the past decades have seen him creating paintings and sculpture, this year he has added crypto art as another medium in his oeuvre. As an artist, he approaches crypto art not just as a means to secure ownership and provenance for the digital art he creates, but even more so as a medium by which he is able to express his artist’s philosophy–to tell a story that inspires joy and optimism in the viewer–beyond the canvas. In this regard, and to highlight his use of color, he collaborated with artist and motion designer Isaiah Cacnio, bringing monochromatic versions of the paintings to life through choreographed colorization and animation. In so doing, the crypto art pieces envelop the viewer deeper into the warmth and joy of the worlds he creates in his canvases. Several pieces from his genesis collection “In My World” will also be displayed.
Carlos held his first exhibit as a full-time artist in Power Plant Mall almost 20 years ago, exhibiting not only paintings, but a medium he explored before paintings: sculpture. The exhibition sold out within minutes. While he rarely creates sculpture, a select number of pieces from his archives will be exhibited for the first time.
Unlike most of his canvases, his sculptures feature people, and most notably, people undertaking physical work. Fishermen hauling their catch, builders laying cornerstones–his respect for undertaking hard work emanates from his pieces.
“It is not to display the toil of labor. I am most interested in depicting the nobility of hard work,” he says. Referring to his tableau of fishermen hauling their nets, he explains: “There’s a joy, a camaraderie, even, in working arm-in-arm with others to fulfill a task.” Carlos first sold his pieces of sculpture in the late eighties through Galeria Mia, his wife’s gallery along Pasay Road, Makati.
Art for a New Era
A remarkable feature of this exhibit and the rest of the series is the use of Samsung The Frame TVs for all the digital artworks. “We were impressed by its features, some of which are its matte screen and incredible resolution, and, of course, the bezel that melds seamlessly in an art exhibition and ultimately, a collector’s home,” says gallery director Kimberly Delgado. “The Frame is poised to serve Galeria Paloma’s discerning art collectors who appreciate that their collections must be displayed in the best way possible. This applies equally to digital artworks.
“Crypto art is not meant to displace the traditional art forms, like painting or sculpting, but rather broadening what we consider art and how we secure art in this new digital era. We are hoping to familiarize the local art market further and provide seamless ways to collect and display crypto art,” continues Delgado.
Since The Frame’s launch five years ago, Samsung has curated a diverse catalogue of art in partnership with international galleries and museums and has given consumers the ability to discover pieces that inspire them in their own homes.
“Samsung’s The Frame has helped to democratize access to art by placing it into the homes of people around the world. However, this partnership with Galeria Paloma featuring their new NFT art collection is something new for us and extremely special,” says Mahir Al-Rubah, head of AV product marketing at Samsung. “We look forward to taking part in this digital-art series and help the gallery foster greater appreciation and understanding of this emerging art genre."
The Frame is part of Samsung's Lifestyle TV lineup, designed not only to deliver exceptional picture quality but also to elevate homes with beautiful design.
Mano Amiga
One of the company values of Galeria Paloma is to offer financial, intellectual, and moral support to organizations that provide sustainable solutions to effect social change. Advocacies that endorse quality education to underprivileged children, sustainable livelihoods to disadvantaged women, and other initiatives are all aspects that have been proven successful by the Mano Amiga model since it was established in Mexico almost sixty years ago.
“Children from low-income families have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic-induced educational disruption. This partnership with Galeria Paloma enables us to provide more scholarships and help more students bounce back from the learning loss, and to receive the quality education they need and deserve,” says Lynn Pinugu, Mano Amiga co-founder and executive director. “We are incredibly grateful to Galeria Paloma and Carlos for choosing to support the scholarships of disadvantaged children at Mano Amiga Philippines.”
The public is welcome to visit the exhibition on July 8 - 12 at Power Plant Mall. For more information, visit www.galeriapaloma.com.