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Walking on Eggshells: Danny Rayos del Sol, the Philippines’ Lone Ostrich Eggshell Artist

by Jing Ramos

Danny Rayos del Sol’s extensive background in the country’s artistic milieu has played a crucial role in fostering a highly spirited community that thrives on collaboration and creativity. He is quite known as the former head of the National Committee for Art Galleries under the National Commission for Culture and Arts. He also curates for ManilArt, the National Art Fair, and the Annual Sculpture Review. As a cultural worker, he has been a mentor for various artists as well as spearheading the establishment of the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Art Fairs.

“Mag-Ina” | Medium: Ostrich Egg Shell | Size: 6.5″

Consequently, Danny Rayos del Sol found himself immersed in the actual creative process of his own artwork. His medium is perhaps one of the most unusual in the current sculpture art style. Ostrich eggshells are known for their thickness and strength, making it possible for the artist to work on the material with detailed geometric patterns in the utmost delicacy. The size of the ostrich egg, which can be up to 15 centimeters in diameter, allows the artist to create texture incisions in various depths with some designs cut directly on the eggshell.

This year, Visayas Art Fair 5 honors the artist’s achievement by showcasing his current works that define the nation’s cultural landscape. The artist’s body of work portrays images and patterns suggesting norms and derivatives concurrent to folk and contemporary iconography. His narratives on peace, freedom and spirituality has shaped his aesthetics that is uniquely Filipino and elevated it into fine art.

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Visayas Art Fair 2025 Features Gil Maningo

The artist Gil Maningo

by Jing Ramos

What sets Gil Maningo apart from his peers is his impeccable use of the challenging gold leaf medium, reminiscent of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt of the Vienna Secession art movement mainly for its prominent use of gold and lavish scenery. This technique known for its intricate layering adds dimension to the artist’s imagery ,captivating viewers and inviting them into a world of elegance and depth.

The artist’s studio cluttered with art works in progress.

The artist’s spiritual expression is nearly palpable in his inspired works. His paintings appeal to viewers in a more personal and emotional way with repeated themes in which images are portrayed as part of a cosmic or divine nature.

It was inevitable that Gil Maningo was the choice as the featured artist for the Visayas Art Fair 5,2025. Gil served as a mentor and a source of inspiration for emerging visual artists in the Visayas. This reinforced the importance of bringing the community together as well as support of the artistic landscape.

Monastery of the Holy Eucharist by Gil Maningo

To quote Laurie Boquiren, Chairman of the Visayas Art Fair year 5,2025 “Gil Maningo’s choice as artist of the year is a celebration of his extraordinary contributions to the art world and his embodiment of the Visayan spirit. His mastery of the gold leaf medium,cultural representation, spiritual depth and multi -disciplinary approach make him a true luminary in the artistic community. Visayas Art Fair is privileged to showcase his beautiful works and inspire others through his remarkable journey.”

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Cafe Society

by Jing Ramos

Maury Henry Biddle Paul coined the term “cafe society” to describe a set of personalities often seen in fashionable restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, and parties. Their marked characteristics were extravagant frivolousness, intense intellectuality, and high-spiritedness. In the 1920s, he wrote under the pseudonym of Cholly Knickerbocker in the New York American-Journal for Hearst Publications to chronicle Manhattan’s “new hybrid”.

Above all, it was a period of transition during which a cluster of wealthy and high-minded individuals embraced a group of artists, writers, and designers, creating a cultural phenomenon. This lively approach to people’s lives in the arts, politics, and business had shaken the status quo.

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, at the end of the 1930s, writers Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus discussed existentialism on the banquettes of Cafe de Flore on the Boulevard Saint Germain. This ushered in the birth of the cool.

But the “cafe society” as we know of it now has morphed more into social connectivity and the inclusions of cafes as a site for exchange of views, news and ideas. Currently, this is the cafe life we experience. It is no longer conspicuous but rather a modernist urban ritual operating in a structured pattern, far from the rebelliousness and novelty of past generations.