The Bicolano Maestro Pancho M. Piano participates in three major art exhibit during this month of September 2025: BeCoolism 2 and BISWAL8, with 8 Bicol Artists, at the NAMI Gallery White Plains, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City from September 1 to 15, and the Salingoy Art Group PINTA FRANCIA exhibit on September 16 – 22 at SM Naga City.
Curatorial Notes by NAMI Gallery
BeCoolism 2 presents a new chapter in the creative journey of Mr. Pancho Piano, one of the Philippines’ most respected visual artists. This exhibition brings together a fresh collection of paintings that reflect his continued exploration of form, emotion, and cultural memory. Known for his ability to move between realism and abstraction, Mr. Piano creates works that are both technically refined and deeply expressive.
With a career spanning decades, Mr. Piano has made a lasting impact on the Philippine art scene. He is the founding president of several art groups in the Bikol region, including the Bikol Expression Art Group, the Salingoy Art Group, and the Bikol Kugos Group. His leadership and mentorship have helped shape a vibrant community of artists. Over the years, he has held more than 60 solo exhibitions and participated in over 250 group shows, both locally and internationally.
This new collection draws inspiration from the landscapes, stories, and traditions of Bikol—a region close to Mr. Piano’s heart. His paintings carry traces of local folklore, natural beauty, and quiet moments of reflection. Rather than presenting these themes in a literal way, he allows them to unfold through color, movement, and mood. The result is a body of work that feels rooted yet open, familiar yet full of possibility.
Some paintings in the exhibition lean toward realism, capturing figures and scenes with clarity and grace. Others take a more abstract approach, using texture, shape, and contrast to suggest emotion or memory. What ties them together is a sense of honesty—each piece feels like it was made with care, intention, and a deep respect for the subject.
Mr. Piano’s art doesn’t try to impress with spectacle. It invites quiet attention. There’s a rhythm to the way the works are arranged, a flow that encourages viewers to slow down and take in the details. Whether it’s the softness of a brushstroke or the tension between colors, each element feels considered and sincere.
BeCoolism 2 is not just a showcase of skill—it’s a reflection of a life shaped by curiosity, discipline, and connection. Mr. Piano paints with a sense of purpose, but never with pretense. His work speaks of things that matter: heritage, emotion, and the everyday beauty found in places and stories we sometimes overlook.
There’s something grounding in this collection. It reminds us that art doesn’t always need to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes, it’s the quiet pieces—the ones made with patience and heart—that stay with us the longest.
Expansive Compositions
Vibrant Abstractions
The header features excerpts from recent art pieces by Maestro Pancho Piano, including Mayon I (left) and Mayon II (right). For inquiries, please contact Nami Art Gallery.
© Copyright 2025 Pancho M. Piano. All rights reserved.
About the artist
PANCHO M. PIANO was born in Mangogon Lagonoy, Camarines Sur. He finished bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Nueva Caceres (1978) and took a degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines Diliman as a Jose Joya Scholar (1984-1987). The first Filipino artist to exhibit Leather Art in the Philippines, Pancho has executed numerous murals and stained-glass designs for civic and religious patrons in various cities and municipalities throughout the Bicol region, such as Naga City, Legaspi City, in Pampanga, Quezon City Mandaluyong City, Pasig City, Caloocan City and the Mindanao region, as well as in Japan, Saipan and Palau. Pancho’s paintings and stained-glass designs focus on Bicolano myths and traditions, most especially the Bicolano devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
He had mounted fifty solo exhibitions and participated in over 150 grouped exhibitions, in the Philippines, Japan, Saipan, and the United States of America, France Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, ltaly, Switzerland, Brunei Darussalam, GeorgiaTbilis, Innstruct, Australia, Bratislava, Slovakia, Malaysia and Hawaii Art Dialogo Philippine Malaysia Art exchange 2016. Represented the Philippines in Malaysia Art Expo Pancho has won over 13 major national competitions in the Philippines, including Centennial Mural Painting Competition AFP 1999 and the 1998 AAP Centennial Painting Competition 1998. Pancho was given Artist of the Year Awards for the total of twelve times by various Bicol institutions his work has also been featured in 14 coffee table book publications.