Zean Cabangis

Born 1985 in Manila, Philippines
Lives and works in Philippines

Zean Cabangis, trained as a painter, uses acrylic and emulsion transfer as his medium. The use of transfer technique allows him to reproduce multiple photographic images and create a sensation of accumulated layers. The subject matter of his work consists of reconstructed memories, film scenes as well as objects and scenes from everyday life. Cabangis’ work is embedded in his personal experiences and explores the processes of remembering and forgetting.
Zean Cabangis is a recipient of multiple prizes: Most Outstanding Thesis of 2006 (College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines), Gawad Chancellor Award for Academic Achievement (Shell Student’s Art Competition, Manila, 2004), Faber Castel Painting Competition (Finalist, 2008) and most recently Artist-in-Residence at Southeast Asia Group Exchange Programme, Tenggara, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2011).

CV
Cabangis took his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines. Having won the prize of Most Outstanding Thesis of 2006, he graduated from his BFA programme in 2007.
Solo exhibitions: “2004 Shell National Student's Art Competition”, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (2004), “2005 Shell National Student’s Art Competition”, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (2005), “Shade my eyes and I can see you”, Silverlens 20sq Gallery, Manila, Philippines (2012).
Group exhibitions: “whowhatwhenwherehowwhy”, Silverlens 20sq Gallery, Manila, Philippines (2010), “Walking on Thin Ice”, Art Informal Gallery, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (2011), “Gathering”, Now Gallery, Makati City, Philippines (2011), “Goat Paths”, Art Informal Gallery, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (2012), “Condestruct”, Art Informal Gallery, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (2013).
He had other group exhibitions at Salud Bistro Gallery, Blan Gallery, Kaida Gallery, Cubao Expo, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Boston Gallery, The Forth Gallery, Whitebox Studio and West Gallery in Quezon City.
He also exhibited at local places like Baguio City, Makati City, Kamuning and Quezon City and international places like Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Singapore.
Presence at art fairs: “Art Stage 2013” at Singapore, “Art Fair Philippines 2013”, “Art in the Park” (2013), “A Child’s Dream Silent Auction” (2013).

Zean Cabangis, This Moment Will Never Change, 2016, Mixed media, 152.4 x 152.4 cm Zean Cabangis, This Moment Will Never Change, 2016, Mixed media, 152.4 x 152.4 cm

Exhibitions

Manila: The Night is Restless, The Day is Scornful

Group exhibition of contemporary Filipino artists at ARNDT Singapore
Curated by Norman Crisologo
July 12 - August 30, 2014
Opening reception | Friday | July 11, 2014 | 6-9 pm

Please click here to view the list of artworks

"Manila: The Night is Restless, The Day is Scornful" features works by Mike Adrao, Gabriel Barredo, Santiago Bose, Zean Cabangis, Jigger Cruz, Alfredo Esquillo, Dex Fernandez, Kawayan de Guia, José Legaspi, Pow Martinez, Alwin Reamillo, Kaloy Sanchez, Norberto Roldan, Jose Tence Ruiz and Tatong Torres.
                  
Manila is a city of extremes, and at a time that only the extreme makes an impression, it still manages to shock. To wander into its streets, to be among the crowds, to be caught in the din of history that barrages you at every corner is to participate in a drama that began centuries ago, but whose cries and whispers echo resound well into the present. The sacred and the profane, the amatory smiles and the feral gaze are all on display here, as the unforgiving sun of its days give way to the artificial neon of night.
This exhibition is a guided tour of Manila, by asking its best contemporary artists to act as Virgils ushering us into its depths as well as pointing out the stars of the darkened heavens above this infernal city.
Erwin Romulo, 2014

Manila: The Night is Restless, The Day is Scornful, 2014 Manila: The Night is Restless, The Day is Scornful, 2014

The catalogue was published on the occasion of the curated exhibition of Norman Crisologo at ARNDT Singapore in 2014.

This publicationis a guided tour of Manila, by asking its best contemporary artists to act as Virgils ushering us into its depths as well as pointing out the stars of the darkened heavens above this infernal city and features works by Mike Adrao, Gabriel Barredo, Santiago Bose, Zean Cabangis, Jigger Cruz, Alfredo Esquillo, Dex Fernandez, Kawayan de Guia, José Legaspi, Pow Martinez, Alwin Reamillo, Kaloy Sanchez, Norberto Roldan, Jose Tence Ruiz and Tatong Torres.

The publication "Manila: The Night is Restless, The Day is Scornful" features the essays of Erwin Romulo, Oliver X.A. Rexles


Self-Published by ARNDT / 70pages, many colour plates
unbound soft cover
Language English

Installation view I  Installation view I
Installation view II Installation view II
Installation view III Installation view III
Installation view IV Installation view IV

A3 PRESENTS: WASAK! Filipino Art Today

December 8, 2015 – January 30, 2016

Opening | Saturday | December 5, 2015, 12 - 6 pm

A group exhibition curated by Norman Crisologo and Erwin Romulo across two locations in Berlin at:

ARNDT Berlin Potsdamer Strasse 96 (Tue - Sat, 11am - 6pm)

ARNDT ART AGENCY A3 Fasanenstrasse 28 NEW PREMISES (Wed - Sat, 12 - 6pm)

Exhibiting artists: Zean Cabangis, Annie Cabigting, Buen Calubayan, Louie Cordero, Jigger Cruz, Marina Cruz, Kawayan De Guia, Alfredo Esquillo, Ian Fabro, Nona Garcia, Robert Langenegger, Pow Martinez, Manuel Ocampo, Alwin Reamillo, Norberto Roldan, Kaloy Sanchez, José Santos III, Rodel Tapaya, Tatong Torres and Ronald Ventura.

A publication has been published by DISTANZ Verlag to accompany the exhibition.

View the complete publication HERE.

The underlying motivation of the exhibition and accompanying publication in Berlin is to shed light on the fascinating contemporary art landscape in the Philippines. WASAK! explores Filipino contemporary art, in the hope of providing an emblematic contextual compendium for western audiences. Signaling the first instance of its kind, WASAK! thus offers snapshots of current artistic practices from the Philippines, uniting a selection of its leading protagonists across generational lines, genres, and media.

All of the 19 participating artists included have witnessed the social and political upheaval of Philippines’ recent history. Most of these artists spent their maturation grappling with local events that have transpired such as: natural disasters like earthquakes and floods; political unrest in the form of coup d’état and calls to presidential impeachments; political ineptitude in the form of corruption and briberies; and longstanding bouts with poverty and urban overpopulation. This selection of artists have nurtured, or at least, directed their ideas into the reality that is Manila, the nation’s capital, from where most of the country’s bizarre undulations spring.

Although much of their work is inspired by their own localities, these artists continue to seek their place among the rest of the world. Through the jumble and mess of their own ground zero—which is a country of broken histories, a nation of lush influences, and a people constantly having to live despite of something—their art continued to become, individually, more diverse and yet collectively, as a single exploded view. ‘Wasak’ is a Filipino word that means “in ruins.” When used in the vernacular, it means “wrecked,” or as a more encouraging interjection—it can also mean “going for broke.” It is a term that signals a hazard.
In this field of scattered landscapes, of broken narratives and loose continuity, what then could be ascribed as Philippine Art? The artists represented in WASAK! have come from the different potholes this gap has created, which explains the varying degrees how their work tries to explain not only a locality, but their own place in art history.

In a 1979 essay, one of the most influential Filipino art critic, Leo Benesa, asked the question: “What is Philippine in Philippine Art?” Knowing how any kind of art from any other place cannot escape the influence of the Western canon, he settled with a more optimistic response in implying that the intention of the artist to paint well is what makes them Filipino: “Painters first, and bearers of message, second,” he concluded. The majority of the artists in the show have chosen painting as their primary medium, with a few exceptions that have dealt primarily with assemblage and sculpture. In looking at their paintings, trying to find out what special place they hold, we can follow Benesa’s prescription—to look at the form first, and then deal with the message later. To try to understand, before anything else, that their intention is to do something which is relevant for them, before handing out a prognosis that casts them as representatives of an aesthetic sensibility, a socio-historical period, or worse, a movement.

The 19 artists covered in WASAK! provide us with an opportunity to experience the different directions they have wandered into—a chance to view a small course of history that is finding its way into the arts.

ARNDT Berlin
Potsdamer Strasse 96
10785 Berlin
info@arndtberlin.com
+49 30 2061 3870

ARNDT ART AGENCY A3
Fasanenstrasse 28
10719 Berlin
contact@arndtartagency.com
+49 30 2061 3870

PRESS

Randian | WASAK! | 7 April, 2016

Coconuts Manila | There’s an exhibit of PH contemporary art in Berlin and it’s called…'Wasak' | 15 January 2016

Zitty Berlin | „Wasak!“ zeigt Bilder aus einem katholischen Asien | 14 January 2016

Art Radar | WASAK! Filipino Art Today at ARNDT Berlin | 12 January 2016

Kunst und Film | WASAK! Filipino Art Today | January 2016

Artsy | ARNDT Explores the Complexities of Filipino Art in New Berlin Gallery Space | 12 January 2016

Financial Times | The Art Market: All about agencies | 18 December 2015

Blouin artinfo | ARNDT Opens new Berlin Venue With Filipino Art Shows | 11 December 2015

Taz | Kunstraum | Land der Brüche - Kunst aus den Philippinen | 10 December 2015

Artnet | Arndt Gallery Opens New Upmarket Location in West Berlin | 3 December 2015

Inquirer | Filipino Art Exhibit WASAK! to open new gallery in Berlin  | 26 November 2015

Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015 Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT Berlin, 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015  Installation view, WASAK! Filipino Art Today, ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3), 2015
"WASAK! Reloaded", installation view at ARNDT Fine Art, Singapore "WASAK! Reloaded", installation view at ARNDT Fine Art, Singapore

WASAK! Reloaded

Group Exhibition of Filipino Art Today

27 August - 8 October 2016

Opening | Saturday | August 27, 2016, 12 - 5 pm | ARNDT Fine Art, Singapore 

WASAK! Reloaded  is a group exhibition exploring the Filipino contemporary art landscape and is accompanied by a major hard copy publication WASAK! Filipino Art Today published by European publisher DISTANZ Verlag. The show is a continuation of the well-received group exhibition presented in Berlin in 2015, and will travel to Gazelli Art House in London in 2017.

Exhibiting artists include: Zean Cabangis, Louie Cordero, Jigger Cruz, Marina Cruz, Kawayan De Guia, Alfredo Esquillo, Ian Fabro, Robert Langenegger, Jason Montinola, Pow Martinez, Manuel Ocampo, Norberto Roldan, Kaloy Sanchez, Rodel Tapaya and Ronald Ventura.

The underlying motivation of WASAK! and its accompanying publication is to shed light on the fascinating contemporary art currently being produced in the Philippines. By offering an overview of Filipino contemporary art, WASAK!  aims to provide an emblematic contextual compendium. Uniting a selection of leading protagonists across generational lines, genres, and media, the exhibition presents snapshots of current artistic practices from the Philippines.

The 17 participating artists have witnessed the social and political upheaval of Philippines’ recent history. Most of these artists spent their maturation grappling with local events that have transpired such as: natural disasters like earthquakes and floods; political unrest in the form of coup d’état and calls to presidential impeachments; political ineptitude in the form of corruption and briberies; and longstanding bouts with poverty and urban overpopulation. This selection of artists have nurtured, or at least, directed their ideas into the reality that is Manila, the nation’s capital, from where most of the country’s bizarre undulations spring.

Although much of the artists´ work is inspired by their own localities, these artists continue to seek their place among the rest of the world. Through the jumble and mess of their own ground zero—which is a country of broken histories, a nation of lush influences, and a people constantly having to live despite of something—their art continued to become, individually, more diverse and yet collectively, as a single exploded view. ‘Wasak’ is a Filipino word that means “in ruins.” When used in the vernacular, it means “wrecked,” or as a more encouraging interjection—it can also mean “going for broke.” It is a term that signals a hazard.

In this field of scattered landscapes, of broken narratives and loose continuity, what then could be ascribed as Philippine Art? The artists represented in WASAK! have come from the different potholes this gap has created, which explains the varying degrees how their work tries to explain not only a locality, but their own place in art history.

The 17 artists covered in WASAK! provide us with an opportunity to experience the different directions they have wandered into—a chance to view a small course of history that is finding its way into the arts.

Press Contact:
Pey Chuan Tan
peychuan@arndtfineart.com
+65 9111 3203

Venue:
ARNDT Fine Art Pte Ltd
Gillman Barracks
47 Malan Road #01-25
Singapore 109444
Tel. +65 67340775
Opening hours: Tues - Sat 11am- 7pm, and by appointment

Press:
Blouin ARTINFO | Filipino Artists Present "WASAK! Reloaded" at ARNDT Fine Art | July 21, 2016

Blouin Art Info | Filipino Artists Present ‘WASAK! Reloaded’ at ARNDT Fine Art | July 21, 2016