A visual journey that depicts the evolution of Spanish cities and their inhabitants from the fifties until the present day, focusing on the two cities where Rizal lived and studied: Madrid and Barcelona Cities, where as a young man he began to conceive what was to be his first novel and one of the most important works of Philippine literature. On view this December at the Metropolitan Museum Of Manila. For inquiries, call 817-6676 local 112 or email: [email protected].

As the third to the last of a series of exhibitions for 2011, Roberto Chabet’s Tabo features a video installation inspired by the opening chapter of Jose Rizal’s novel El Filibusterismo. On view this December at the Lopez Memorial Museum. For more information, call Fanny at 631-2417.

18 Limited Edition Prints using a cellphone (iPhone) featuring Los Angeles by photographer Atom Magadia. On view from December 7 to 31 at the Filipinas Heritage Library.

Maria Jeona presents her first major solo show with Manila Contemporary entitled Tricky, Sexy, Sodomy or The Case of The Attention-Seeking Whores by Maria Jeona as Cumerlier Cuntiteh, The Spy Detective. On view until December 4, at the Manila Contemporary Gallery. For inquiries, please call Jean Reyes at 844-7328 or email: [email protected].

US-based Filipino artist Jevijoe Vitug presents his latest ‘visual environment’: The Truns. On view until December 4, at the Manila Contemporary Gallery. For inquiries, please call Jean Reyes at 844-7328 or email: [email protected].

A collaborative insight of two artists from the North and South, Anton del Castillo from Manila and Michael Bacol from Mindanao. Both have been dealing with the concept of war. They have created a series of mixed media works that symbolically portrayed violent toys/play imagery which subconsciously destroys the innocence of children, which may lead to be violently inclined when they grow up, thus emphasizing the importance of toys’ impact in the development of the children’s character. Curated by Patrick Flores. December 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29 at the CCP Small Gallery. For details, contact the CCP Visual Arts Division at 832-1125 loc. 1504-1505.

An exhibit featuring the art of Sarah Gaugler. With this exhibit, she explores how the forces of beauty and death run parallel with each other. She harnesses the symbolism of death as change, and beauty as life into her art. Portraits and actual tattoo designs of otherworldly beings, that represent the people in her daily encounters, comprise this collection. Dead Lines and Tattoo Designs is a journey into the mind of a woman-furious yet sublime. Sarah Gaugler is also known as the vocalist of Turbo Goth, a celebrity and model, a brilliant visual artist and has distinguished herself as a tattoo artist.

The opening night is on November 17, Thursday, 8PM with performances by Turbo Goth and more at saGuijo Cafe + Bar located at 7612 Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati City. Recommended viewing hours are 9pm onwards, except Monday. Exhibit runs until November 23, 2011.

On his sixth solo exhibition, Neil Arvin Javier expounds on his punk, street and recycled DIY sensibilities in paintings, collages, collaborative works, assemblages, and his new evolution of SculpTOYZ. As in all of his previous shows, Javier represents his highly personal stories in raw form, intentionally eschewing conventional methods of creating art, unafraid of consequences and uncaring of critique.

“It’s the beginning of the beginning and the end of an era, and so much more than an artwork. It’s my portfolio and describing it is describing me. Everything and anything must come to an end, in the end it doesn’t even matter because new life will start to emerge, just like a finished artworX, to begin a new one,” according to Javier.

What the audience may view as a vulgar explosion of illustrations may provoke or shock, but the artist stays true to his personal aesthetics in creating pieces that are filled with found images and conjured characters that inhabit his world and his life, rife with the saturation…

Working collaboratively between Manila and New York, Enzo Camacho and Amy Lien, both Harvard graduates, conduct a performance and sculptural assemblage revolving around a conversation on immanent critique (via a transcribed conversation with Curator Patrick Flores), concepts of a self-regulating society and a sculptural vocabulary that is intentionally scattered.

This is the Second installment of “Sprout”, a 4-part project of Plantingrice.com exploring the limits of different cultural infrastructures by curating exhibition programs that examine continuous social and artistic dialog.

On view from November 12 to December 3 at Republikha Art Gallery located at Unit 102 Magnitude Bldg. #186 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan, QC. For more details, please call 543-8807, email [email protected] or log on to www.republikha.com.

Nectar Restaurant and Pinwheel are proud to present “An Abstract Love Story”, a solo show by teacher, musician and painter, Niño Hernandez.

The show will feature several pieces of acrylic on canvas featuring an attempt by the artist to uncover this often-chased, barely-understood concept of love. Hernandez’s particular love for abstract art can be traced back to its origin, to the year 2000 when he walked into the Mark Rothko room at the Tate Modern and saw the Seagram series. It was overwhelming, intense, calm and profound. That was the start of a dream—to pursue life as an abstract artist.

“Abstact painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn’t have any beginning or end. He didn’t mean it as a compliment. But it was!” – Jackson Pollock

But as Hernandez continued on his journey, he discovered a greater love—one that would not let go and was so deep and beyond his comprehension. The kind of love…