No words could explain how much I love visiting art galleries. I am not an artist, I am more of an appreciator. Visiting galleries satisfies my need for human interaction and adventure at the same time.
I was excited to see @jude.villarta's artwork when she mentioned on discord that her art would be in one of the art galleries here in Makati. The other HivePH members were planning to go too, but we failed to schedule a date to visit together because of our schedule differences.
It was a Saturday. I went with my virtual friend, Kat, who’s also into visiting art galleries. We explored three art galleries here in Makati. Let me share with you our art adventure!
📍Finale Art File (La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Ave, Makati City)
Kat and I met for the first time. I thought she had already started exploring the gallery because I arrived a bit late, but to my surprise, she hadn’t visited the gallery yet because she was waiting for me.
From the outside, we could only see two to three people exploring the place. If you want to visit this as well, just a heads up, there’s no entrance fee!
We visited the Finale Art File because of @jude.villarta. When we entered the gallery, my eyes immediately looked for Jude's artwork. She showed me what it looked like prior to my visit but looking at it with my own eyes amazed me.
Kat and I explored the amazing pieces on display separately, although there were times when we looked at and analyzed the pieces together.
Here's a glimpse of some of the works we saw:
This radiates a positive vibe. Bloom, even if you thought you couldn't. This piece is lovely.
This one reminds me of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai.
While compiling these images, I realized I’m into black art pieces. Lol.
Here’s another one.
Since there’s a gallery beside Finale Art File, we decided to visit it as well. Before we left the gallery, we asked about the price of Jude's artwork, and it was expensive! (If I really had that much extra money, I would definitely buy it).
📍Vinyl on Vinyl (La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Ave, Makati City)
There were a couple of people inside when we visited Vinyl on Vinyl. I like how weird the pieces are, but in a beautiful way!
There are more pieces on the second floor. When we got there, it reminded me of the Breakout Escape Room I played with my colleagues, entitled The Clown. We weren’t able to escape that room because we couldn’t get the correct number of masks hanging in the room that is similar to this setup.
mama mo art show 
find the hidden art Just when we were about to leave the place, one of the staff asked us if we were going to post the pictures on our social media accounts. They reminded us to tag their Instagram account when we do. So, if you ever visit this gallery, don’t forget to tag them!
Oh, you could also have a virtual tour of what we saw last month! Check this out!
It was already 12 noon when we headed out. We're wondering whether to see some more exhibitions or eat lunch, but since we're already in an area with a bunch of galleries, why not explore one more?
We were about to go when it started to rain. As usual, ya girl didn’t bring an umbrella! Fortunately, Kat did have one. But even so, it started to rain heavily that even an umbrella couldn’t keep us dry. So I tried to book a grab to our next destination, but it just kept on notifying me that drivers were busy! We waited for a cab till one arrived!
📍Artinformal Makati (The Alley at Karrivin, Makati City)
The cab at that time was a lifesaver! Our next stop, Artinformal!
We were the only ones exploring the gallery. Party Blues by Ella Mendoza is on display. You’d feel the connection already at first glance because the pieces are familiar.
There’s a pot (palayok) that is used for Pukpok/Hampas Palayok (a traditional Filipino game), the marshmallow and hotdog sticks, and the pabitin, to name a few.
Go here to look at more pictures of the display.
It was still raining outside. As usual, I tried to book a grab from Artinformal going to Glorietta because it’s where we’re having our lunch. Unfortunately, the same notification popped up every time I tried to book.
There’s no taxi roaming around, so we chose to walk because it’s easier to find a taxi on the other side of the road.
It took a long time for a cab to arrive. We're both drenched as a result of sharing an umbrella. I felt guilty about not bringing one.
We grabbed lunch in North Park before heading to BGC to meet my other friends. I still had two hours before meeting them. Kat insisted on accompanying me to BGC while waiting for my friends.
We ended our art adventure with Bench Cafe's Maruya Ala Mode and Classic Turon with Sago’t Gulaman and Tea.
Which one?
Kat asked me which of the art pieces I liked the most. I couldn’t answer right away because a lot resonated with me.
I said, this one:
She asked why. I jokingly said because it’s black hahaha, and I love black! But kidding aside, of course aside from Jude’s work, I picked this one because, for me it feels personal.
On the surface, it appears to be black, but when you take the time to grasp it fully, you'll see that there's more to it than just gazing at the outside in a zoomed-out perspective.
That's just my take. After all, art in all forms is subjective. Art itself is a means of expression, it's a connection. Since it is somehow a way of communication, whatever message we've got from those arts is valid.
If you know @jude.villarta, visit her artwork at Finale Art File; hurry, it's only up until January 31!
‘Til my next art adventure! Ciao~
📸 All photos are taken by me unless stated otherwise.