This year’s ALT Philippines—the art fair’s third installment since 2020—may be one gallery short from its previous ten, but it offers nothing less from its previous editions. In fact, it will be one grand spectacle of the best from the country, with around 200 participating artists who will showcase a myriad of stories evoked through different forms of visual media and styles.

But among the display of creative works on exhibit, the fair will highlight works by five critically-acclaimed names in the local art scene for the Special Project Spaces. Under this particular program include Juan Alcazaren, Geraldine Javier, Pete Jimenez, Oca Villamiel, and Isabel Santos, who are set to produce a large-scale project that the art-loving audience will only witness during the event.

You may be a fan of a couple or all of them, and we’re sure you’re curious about what they have in store for visitors of the fair. Read up on these one-of-a-kind creative geniuses and what they prepared for their respective exhibits guaranteed to give you a memorable art appreciation experience.

Juan Alcazaren

Artist Juan Alcazaren has always worked on sculptures and installations, and you’ll see his work of magic through a large scale, wall-bound work utilizing found objects, domestic ware, and daily artefacts. The show, titled “(NOW)”, will present a monochromatic display of blacks and grays, arranged particularly to highlight the arrangement’s shadows which will appear constellation-like when lit against the wall. The concept expresses the artist’s idea of the word “now”— whether literally the present or, just like the stars whose light we see only after traveling great distance, it exists from a very distant past.

Geraldine Javier

Geraldine Javier’s upcoming showcase will speak of a global concern that we have been continuously fighting for—the environment. In 'Catch of the Day”, the artist will mount a pool-like installation filled with finely cut plastic pieces collected from various water refilling stations. This move reflects her acknowledgement on present-day convenience’s significance, but also sends a message to the future generations to use innovation as means to protect the earth as well. Meanwhile, the exhibit 'Seascape (Blue Hour I & II)' will carry encaustic paintings which connect her ongoing garden archive with the global threat of marine debris, suggesting that all ecosystems and species are ultimately linked.

Pete Jimenez

In “A City Set on a Hill Cannot be Hidden,” Pete Jimenez will utilize thirty giant cement sacks installed in a 45 sq.m. set, allowing viewers to see how salvaged discarded material can also illuminate power. Through this exhibition, he forefronts light’s capacity, especially its effect in the darkness.

Oca Villamiel

The practice of poisoning rivers for bigger yields of fish and shrimp in areas around the country is the inspiration behind Oca Vilamiel’s “Water is Life”. Through a 7-meter installation made of countless strips of silver foil, these tiny pieces present a metaphor of how bodies of water—and everything in life, in general—are affected by our actions, just like how the silver foils shift and dance to our movement.

Isabel Santos

Uniqlo UT Grand Prix 2020 winner Isabel Santos will showcase their magical prowess with paint with a large-scale mural in partnership with BOYSEN Paints for ALT 2024. The artist and illustrator, who hails from an art-passionate clan, is a consistent face in several art fairs not just domestically but also globally, mounting several of her works in New York, France, and Berlin and has also completed several artistic residencies in the said countries.

Apart from the Special Project Spaces, ALT 2024 also highlights other key events, including the ALT Video Room curated by Cocoy Lumbao, Jr., a Live Multimedia Performance by three-piece unit Somatosonic, the Conversations Series featuring notable names in art, and the collaborative effort called Silent Auction: Univers x ALT Artists for Charity.

ALT Philippines will be open from February 23-25, 2024.

To know more, visit www.altphilippines.com