Arts & Culture

Local Pop Art Culture in Retrospect

With different media to use and the avenues to portray, the local pop art in Cebu is surely something that grows gradually every day. Here, there are two local artists who use digital and street art that fully outgrew the traditional style of the movement.

Roy Lichtenstein was one of leading figures of pop art in America in the 1960’s. Pop art became the new art movement and Lichtenstein used his influence though parody pop art. Styled and inspired by comic strips, his works managed to expand its influence to advertising.

Pop art is commonly defined as a movement that copies methods, styles, and themes of popular culture and media like comics. The emergence of pop art that started during Lichtenstein’s time used bright colors which themes and subjects are about modern life and trends.

Gilby Clarke Aventurado is an experienced graphic artist and illustrator. With a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree, he used his skill in design to bring enthusiasm and inspiration.

One of Gilby’s inspirations is Roy Lichtenstein. “My style started back in 2016 when I was also inspired by James Jean, Shepard Fairey, and Andy Warhol,” he shares. He is also a member of the local bands Trial by Ordeal and Underground.

Gilby is more focused on the digital pop art movement and uses subjects or portraits of famous people.

Unlike the traditional pop art that used bright colors, Gilby is more focused on black and gray portraits textured by modern style pop art illustration.

“I think what makes my style different is that I focus more on portraits,” Gilby adds.

On the other hand, Kano, a local graphic and street artist used pop art on the streets. “Back in 2016, I was doing pop art on the streets and my subject was always this female, painted a comic strip on the walls. Later on, I decided to change my style so I experimented on my characters and made them more colorful,” Kano adds.

After few tries in his experimentations, he used his own character. “What I can say is that my style is more cartoon-ish,” he says.

Kano is a street artist that uses bright colors in his pop art on the streets.

Just like Gilby, Kano admits being influenced by famous pop art artists as well. His medium, the streets, is what makes him different.

“Seeing my own work in public places, it makes me happy. It’s like an addiction,” Kano shares.

The local art scene explores more on characters and realism. According to Kano, there are also a lot of street artists that use characters. But he adds, “My style is more of a cartoon, cute characters on a trippy colors but everything is still on the process”.

Gilby adds that the future of local pop art has a long way to go. He envisions it to be minimal. As someone who focuses more on the digital movement, he sees the local pop art culture to be growing still.

The combination of street art and pop art movement carries more avenue of self expression. As a street artist, Kano believes that this movement will showcase that the local street of Cebu is varied and equally good as the other art style.

The local pop art culture is a movement that experiments and thrives. The art that relies on trends and what’s new is good enough, but the movement that continues to combine with an enough amount of curiosity and support will strive to be the best.

Arts & Culture

Chaos and Clarity: Zen Aesthetic in Oj Hofer’s Art

by Jing Ramos |

Oj Hofer, our fashion contributing editor, is a Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines. Though he began painting at the age of eight, his artistic journey took a transformative turn in 2013. While volunteering as a costume designer for Siddhartha: The Musical, he encountered Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy, sparking a deep devotion to Japanese sumi-e painting and kanji calligraphy. Over the years, he refined his craft, using his art to share the Dharma through exhibitions while supporting the Hsing Yun Educational Foundation. In 2022, his spiritual path deepened at Nan Tien University, where he embraced Zen and Humanistic Buddhism, shaping his artistic philosophy.

“Plum Blossoms in Moonlight.” Serigraphy on abaca.

In his recent works, Hofer merges traditional calligraphy with serigraphy, drawing inspiration from his friend Charles Lahti—an internationally recognized New York-based painter and printmaker. Lahti, known for his collaborations with post-war American artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and LeRoy Neiman, introduced Hofer to silkscreen techniques. Through a workshop Lahti conducted in Cebu—arranged by their mutual friend Greg Urra—Hofer integrated silkscreen into his Zen artworks, particularly those on abaca.

“The Circle of Harmony” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Hofer’s cross-disciplinary approach challenges conventional Zen aesthetics. His layered paintings on abaca may seem far from tranquil at first glance, but closer contemplation reveals a meditative core. His serigraph of an Enso circle, for example, initially appears chaotic, filled with Tang Dynasty poetry and overlapping, repetitive forms. Yet, by focusing on a single calligraphic element, the viewer experiences a moment of clarity—a glimpse of awakening within the visual complexity.

“Monkey Mind” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Even more engaging is his diptych Monkey Mind. At odds with the traditional Zen emphasis on negative space, this piece is deliberately busy, reflecting the restless nature of the mind. A distracted viewer may struggle to find a focal point, but one attuned to emptiness and presence will perceive clarity amidst the seeming disarray.

Ink and intention—creating calligraphy in support of one of my advocacies.

By fusing Zen philosophy with the discipline of serigraphy, Hofer invites his audience to look beyond surface impressions and discover stillness within movement, balance within complexity. His art does not merely depict Zen—it embodies the paradoxes at its core, offering a path to mindfulness through the act of seeing and the experience of doing.

Arts & Culture

What is Sappia? The Rice Myth Goddess of Bohol Who Helped Feed the People During a Great Famine

by Emma Gomez

The story began when the people of Bohol started to experience hunger and famine. All the livestocks were inedible and the fields were dried out leaving only weeds planted on the ground. The people prayed to the goddess of mercy, Sappia, to ask for food.

Sappia, the rice myth goddess of Bohol

Sappia, from the heavens, heard the cries of the people. She saw the dense population of weeds and offered to help them. Sappia thought of nourishing the weeds to be edible and healthy for the people of Bohol. Straightaway, she sprinkled the weed with milk from her bossom. She emptied each breast until blood came out. Before she left, she whispered to the weeds that they may be nourished and be able to feed the people.

When harvest season came, the people of Bohol quickly gathered the nourished weeds. They observed that the ones sprinkled with milk were white, while the other were red. They called the new plant rice and they replanted these in honor of Sappia, and for the people to devour.

Arts & Culture

Kimsoy’s Canvas of a Lifetime in Full Display

by Diana Gillo

There is nothing more fascinating than seeing an artist’s lifetime of work in one room. Such is the experience in Jose “Kimsoy” Yap’s third solo exhibit entitled “Kimsoy: Episodes of Mastery,” at Galerie Raphael Cebu. This serves as the truest form of homage to his enduring journey, showcasing works that span over decades.

Kimsoy with his student and muse, Zhara Rivera Mercado, at the entrance of Galerie Raphael

The exhibit speaks greatly of Kimsoy’s evolution as an artist, with his shifting mediums and remarkable variety of subjects. His creations range from heartfelt portraits of individuals he encountered along his journey to detailed landscapes inspired by the different walks of his life. The room’s layout carries the weight of his years of craft with one wall lined with pastels, another with watercolors, and another with oil painting.

As the River Flows Onward by Kimsoy Yap 2020 | Oil on canvas | 82×48 inches

The exhibit transcends beyond just the commemoration of Kimsoy’s masterful periods. It wanders more into a sense of intimacy reflecting Kimsoy’s life’s journey—from his roots as a young boy in Negros Oriental, through his pursuit of greater artistic mastery in New York, to his prominence in Cebu’s art scene. All his work freehanded, created both with his left and right hand, depicts the ways in which we all leave traces of ourselves in our work and in the world.

A Friend of Mine 1979 | watercolor on paper | 24×18 inches

In a Relaxed Mood 1977 | water color on paper | 16×19.5 inches

The opening ceremony featured Ambassador Jose Mari Cariño, alongside special guests Ivy Ang Gabas, Paolo Li, Angbetic Tan, Laurie Bouquiren of the Visayas Art Fair, and Valerie Go of Galerie Raphael Cebu. The exhibit is open until March 21, 2025.