The Amor Art Exhibit will run on February 2 – 17, 2024, at the V Gallery Museum of Naga College Foundation
ABOUT THE SALINGOY ART GROUP
Salingoy, a Bikol word meaning “to look back,” is the name of the art group established in Naga City on December 30, 2000, with the renowned Bicolano artist Pancho Piano as one of the founding members. After 20 years, the art group has emerged renewed, revitalized and stronger, with its members armed with the spirit and the vision to carve a distinct name in the visual art scene and to represent Naga City as the ambassador of the visual arts in the Bicol Region and beyond.
To promote and nurture the visual arts and culture of the city and the region is the very soul that embodies and unifies the Salingoy Art Group. It is confident with the Naga City Government as its patron and partner. The artists’ dream of having a home for the visual arts has now become a reality, boding well for the flourishing of the arts community.
(Through the years, members of the art group have participated in art exhibits in Naga City, art spaces in Bicol, and Metro Manila. The Amor art exhibition features eight women artists of Salingoy. Many women members were invited, but a few declined due to family matters, while others had prior work commitments. The group is currently headed by artist Romualdo “Rommel” Perez. (References: Salingoy Art Group website and FB page)
FEATURED ARTISTS
CHRISTINA BINALLA
Christina B. Binalla is a passionate and dedicated Bicolana artist based in Naga City, Camarines Sur. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Major in the English Language from Ateneo de Naga University and Literature Major from the University of Nueva Caceres. Currently studying Law at the University of Nueva Caceres, her artistic journey began in elementary school, competing in numerous poster-making competitions. She later started attending galleries during her college years, and one of them was the Salingoy Art Gallery. Joining the Salingoy Art Group in 2014, she made her artistic debut two years later.
Her artistic journey started with a great interest in sketching and creating posters using oil pastels and markers alone, but it has since expanded to include a variety of mediums and techniques. Her main mediums are watercolor, oil, acrylic, and coffee. She prefers painting landscapes, mother and child, and women portraits as her main subjects. Painting serves as an expressive medium along with her literary writings. Embracing ongoing learning and development as an artist, each work she produces is a step closer to developing her abilities and finding her unique artistic voice.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment inspire her. In the Philippines, the women’s movement has made significant progress. However, numerous issues persist that need resolution, including the disparity in economic and political representation, as well as the aggression and violence stemming from the prevailing patriarchal ideology that continues to exist today. She strives to emphasize the significance of the women’s movement in the ongoing struggle for social justice and equality. According to her perspective, feminist art should reflect an awareness of women’s social and economic standing in the world. She also believes that it should manifest in forms and perceptions drawn from a sense of spiritual kinship among women.
Featured art by Christina Binalla
© Copyright 2024 Christina Binalla. All rights reserved.
KATRINA CABRAL
Kat is an energetic and ever-curious young artist from Naga City. She enjoys using a plethora of art mediums, both traditional and digital. Her favorites include oil paints and soft pastels, and digital painting. Her canvas often leans on realism and surrealism, whereas her sketchpads brim with animal, plant, and human anatomical studies and sketches, besides seascapes.
Her canvases have been featured in multiple art exhibitions within and beyond the region. Her multifaceted aptitude has led her to work in the fields such as medicine, printed media, and journalism. Despite her meek nature, she has proven herself as a powerful speaker, journalist, student-scientist, and passionate artist.
Her interest in discerning the intricacies of life sciences in pursuit of becoming a competent physician makes her a unique artist. Currently preparing to enroll in medical school, she hopes to share her art with the world and contribute to her parents’ well-being.
Featured art by Katrina Cabral
© Copyright 2024 Katrina Cabral. All rights reserved.
KYLA ENSOYA
Kyla Ensoya, 18 years old, a senior high school student, currently resides in Fabrica, Calabanga, Camarines Sur. She developed an interest in art in 2018, inspiring her to create artworks. Starting with studying shapes, she later taught herself to create pencil portraits. With the support of her encouraging parents, she has been able to persist in her artistic endeavors and explore various mediums. She creates pencil portraits, acrylic painting, coffee painting, watercolor painting, charcoal painting (wood), and digital painting. She is even delving into the study of animation. She has attended several art exhibits in Calabanga and Naga City.
Though lacking a permanent art style, Kyla is content with exploring different sides of art and takes her time in the creative process.
Featured Art by Kyla Ensoya
© Copyright 2024 Kyla Ensoya. All rights reserved.
GEMMALYN VELA PADILLA
Gemmalyn V. Padilla, born and raised in Sipocot, Camarines Sur, has been interested in drawings since kindergarten. Making money out of her art since elementary by doing school projects for schoolmates, Gemmalyn’s influence include comics and Japanese anime. She graduated from high school and developed her drawing skills in drafting, continuing to college at the former Camarines Sur State Agricultural College (CSSAC), now Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA), for BS Industrial Technology major in Drafting Technology.
Gemmalyn worked in an animation studio in Manila at Studio D, a subcontractor of Toei Animation Philippines, contributing to famous animé shows like One Piece, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z movies, and more from 2005 to 2011. A member of Salingoy Art Group since 2015, she engages in various activities such as facilitating workshops and coaching students in comic art. Participating in several group art exhibitions locally and in Manila, Gemmalyn’s journey continues to evolve.
Featured art by Gemmalyn V. Padilla
© Copyright 2024 Gemmalyn V. Padilla. All rights reserved.
LECIEL RAMOS
Leciel loves to learn and feels most alive when she teaches. Her passion inspired her to create the Ikigaii Innovation Art Hub, a local art enterprise promoting inclusive and collaborative learning across various sectors and communities. Organizing workshops on doodle, zentangle, calligraphy, painting, and crafts-making, she engages Bicolano artists and advocates support for them by organizing themed exhibits. While her first love was doodle and zentagle art, the pandemic prompted her to start painting, discovering its therapeutic effect on mental health. Though not a professional, Leciel is a diligent learner, aspiring to be a visual storyteller highlighting the beauty and power in every woman, the core subject of her pieces.
Recent successful engagements of the Ikigaii Innovation Art Hub were Art to Heart, thematic workshops held in June 2023 with budding and aspiring artists; and, Ruso x V-Gallery Pop-up Fair during the Rigmat Arts and Culture Festival in September 2023.
Featured art by Leciel Ramos
© Copyright 2024 Leciel Ramos. All rights reserved.
ALMA BELLA SATUR TADLE
Alma Bella Satur Tadle is passionate about art. Since childhood, she found art fascinating. Inspired by her mother, a teacher who used watercolor paint to create visual aids, Alma grew up with a fondness for colors. At the tender age of 7, mesmerized by multicolored images in comic books, she made copying their graphics her hobby, serving as the baseline for her artistic journey.
Throughout high school, Alma engaged in commission projects, assignments, and activities related to art and drawings. Upon entering college, her artistic heart urged her to pursue fine arts, but her mother encouraged her to take a different path, which she decided to follow. Despite trying various courses related to baking, cosmetology, dressmaking, and more, Alma still felt a sense of incompleteness.
She spent time crafting rug dolls, sewing dresses and gowns, and creating a variety of souvenirs, finding contentment in these activities. In September 2014, Alma found herself attending a workshop, where Sir Jerome Sta. Maria approached her and invited her to join the Salingoy Art Group. There, she met co-artists who became not just friends but family, providing a sense of belonging. Since then, Alma has been exposed to art exhibits in Legaspi City, Daet, Manila, SM City Naga and Robinsons Naga, among others.
When Alma holds a pen, a brush, and her palette, it feels like an integral part of her. Touching her canvas, it seems like she is narrating her story through her art.
Featured art by Alma Bella Satur Tadle
© Copyright 2024 Alma Bella Satur Tadle. All rights reserved.
LEA N. UVAS
A Bicolana, Lea N. Uvas, from Sipocot, Camarines Sur. Education: JSC, BSC, major in Management, Methods of Teaching, MBA, is an instructor by profession, teaching Stenography, Management, and other Basic Subjects in the University of Nueva Caceres, Naga City; Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Naga City; Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Sipocot, Camarines Sur, among other colleges in the Bicol Region. Lea’s dream towards the arts started in her elementary grades and heightened during college.
“Painting is my passion, my life, and my happiness. My father’s drawing caught my attention and greatly influenced me. More than a self- taught artist, now, I paint to show the depth, expression, importance, and value of my artwork. I visit galleries to observe and enjoy works of other artists. . . Joined several group art exhibitions in Naga City and Metro Manila, and . . . reached paintings abroad bought by relatives, art enthusiasts, and close friends.
“Salingoy Art Group inspires me to be able to create artworks that can lessen man’s burden and boredom, and help people see and feel the Beauty of Life.”
Featured art by Lea Uvas
© Copyright 2024 Lea Uvas. All rights reserved.
SOFIA LOUISE C. ZABALLA
Sofia Louise C. Zaballa, known by the artist’s name Soufizelle, is a veterinary medicine student and emerging artist striving to balance her passion with pragmatism.
She began drawing at an early age, holding pencils and crayons. However, her pursuit of art intensified when she was gifted her first artist-grade watercolor set in junior high school. Encouraged by family and friends, she delved deeper into painting, focusing on watercolor and later expanding her skills to include acrylics.
As a self-taught artist, Sofia’s knowledge of art is primarily derived from hands-on experience. Recognizing the importance of nurturing her passion, she took a proactive step by enrolling in an arts and design strand during senior high school. Exploring multiple forms of art, encompassing both performing and non-performing realms, her main specialties lie in theater arts and visual arts. Sofia has consistently aimed for versatility, welcoming and embracing any artistic challenges that come her way.
Despite choosing not to pursue arts in college due to another passion, Sofia remains dedicated to her artistic endeavors. While unable to afford being a full-time artist at present, she harbors ambitions of becoming a veterinarian artist in the future. Grateful to be a part of the Salingoy Art Group, Sofia acknowledges the unwavering support and continuous inspiration provided by her fellow artists throughout her journey.
Featured art by Sofia Louise Zaballa
© Copyright 2024 Sofia Louise Zaballa. All rights reserved.
