Ayala Museum brings photos to Abreeza Mall

Ayala Museum, the Filipino Heritage Festival, and Abreeza Mall present “KISAME: Visions of Heaven on Earth – An Exhibition of Photographs of Ceiling Paintings from Churches in the Province of Bohol at Abreeza Mall’s Ground Floor Expansion Wing from March 5 to 31, 2016.
“KISAME: Visions of Heaven on Earth” showcases the Filipino’s artistic heritage in the context of ecclesiastical art. Featuring installations of large format photographs and video documentation of architectural paintings selected from 17 churches in Bohol, the exhibition is an up-close view of images that represent visions of heaven on earth. It also features the historical background of each painting and the church to which it belongs in a somewhat Visita Iglesia Bohol presentation in photographs.
Bohol has a number of old churches, dating back to the early years of the Spanish colonization of the island. The province boasts ancient massive edifices that retain century-old architectural design. Research shows that painting models to copy from were scarce and so, as with sculpture, the sources of inspiration for imitation were the engraved illustrations, filetes, and viñetas in the religious books brought by the friars. Since these were in black and white, the artist was virtually at liberty to select his own colors.
The photographs featured in this exhibition were taken by Honorable Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., from the ceiling paintings of the churches in Bohol in the dioceses of Tagbilaran and Talibon from April 17 to 21, 2008. These selected works of art that adorn the parish churches are the remaining works of two pioneering Cebuano artists, Raymundo Francia and Canuto Avila, executed during the first half of the 20th century.
The exhibition’s curators are Fr. Milan Ted Torralba and Kenneth Esguerra. Fr. Milan Ted Torralba was the Assistant Secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican Embassy) in Manila and is currently the Vice President of External Affairs of the Visayan Association of Museums and Galleries, the Executive Secretary of the Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and the Corporate Secretary of the Bohol Heritage Development Foundation. Meanwhile, Kenneth Esguerra is presently the Senior Curator and Head of Conservation of Ayala Museum, and has over two decades of working experience in museums both in the Philippines and abroad. He was the Director for Exhibitions and concurrent Chief Registrar of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (1988-2001), has taught Curatorship and Collections Management under the Philippine Arts Program of the University of the Philippines-Manila (1998-2003), and was the managing director of the Balay Taliambong: The Cojuangco Museum and Art Center (2001-2003).
“KISAME: Visions of Heaven on Earth” was first presented as part of the 2008 National Heritage Month celebration organized annually by the Filipino Heritage Festival. It was first exhibited at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum from May 27 to July 20, 2008.
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