Postura

Start:	Jun 20, '08
End:	Aug 30, '08
Location:	Metropolitan Museum, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Roxas Boulevard, Manila

Romulo Galicano and Patis Tesoro are joining forces for a six-week exhibit to celebrate “the bearing and elegance of the Filipino.”

“Postura,” featuring 62 portraits by Galicano and some 28 Filipiniana clothes and 19 doll tableaux by Tesoro, will open on June 19 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila on Roxas Boulevard (tel. 8125034). The project is a collaborative effort of the Met and Finale Art Gallery. It will run until Aug. 30.

“Postura” is a nod to the Filipino’s carriage when posing for his/her portrait, when “being in your Sunday best isn’t good enough. You have to be in your Filipino dress,” notes co-organizer Ramon Villegas at the press preview. Thus, the coming together of “the people who represent the best in portraiture in the 21st century and the best in Filipino wear in the same period in our country.”

Tesoro explains that “Postura” isn’t a retrospective but vignettes of a lifetime of work by two individuals celebrating Filipino art, lifestyle and traditions.

All the 28 clothes to be shown were borrowed from her clients such as Tingting Cojuangco and Ado Escudero. For the first time, she’s also presenting a doll rendition of the Virgin Mary in an 18th-century Filipino dress.

Of the 62 Galicanos, 14 pieces are being shown for the first time. Five of them have his models wearing Tesoro’s designs.

[Excerpt from "Portrait of the Filipino as proud Filipino", By Cheche Moral Philippine Daily Inquirer, Posted date: June 16, 2008 http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20080616-142879 ]