Danny Raos del Sol’s ostrich sculptures @ Museo Orlina
Two exhibits—Kumukutikutitap and Reason for the Season—are going on at Danny Rayos del Sol’s Galerie du Soleil (GDS) in Taguig and Ramon Orlina’s Museo Orlina in Tagaytay. The exhibits under an Art Exchange Program by the two galleries feature Christmas-theme glass sculptures by Ramon Orlina at GDS, and Danny Rayos del Sol’s Nativity and Christmas-theme ostrich egg sculptures and Taguig Artist Group’s Advent paintings at Museo Orlina. The exhibits will run until January 26.
Also at Museo Orlina, a commissioned work by sculptor Jik Villanueva entitled Mine was unveiled on the façade.
The Philippine Christmas season being the longest celebration in the world, art has become more vibrant. The 25-year-old Artepintura Gallery has moved to a new location at 1460 San Marcelino corner Escoda Sts., Ermita, Manila, with inaugural exhibits, SketchPod 2023 by its artists, and Unlikely Heroes by a group of Gen Z artists. It was followed by Reboot back-to-back with Full Circle exhibit. Reboot features 70 artists which the gallery says is “a celebration of its return and is a convergence of the past and the present as old friends of the gallery join forces with new artists, rekindling the creative flame.”
At Club Kino in La Fuerza Plaza, Makati, a series of photographs by Jake Versoza about the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda recounts the tragedy and trauma brought by climate change in our typhoon-stricken country. The exhibit titled Bless Us O Lord from This Thy Sh*t runs until Jan. 27, 2024.
MO Space Gallery at Bonifacio High Street at BGC meanwhile gathered more than 50 artists of various artistic backgrounds and motivations for their year-ender exhibit, The Portrait of a Portrait which ran until December 31.
When we look at art… exhibit by Annie Cabigting at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila at BGC showcases photorealistic paintings that create a profound experience of viewing art. Curated by Nilo Ilarde and co-presented by Finale Art File Gallery, the exhibit runs until April 13, 2024.
Ongoing until February 17 at Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, is the exhibit, Snare for Birds: Rereading the Colonial Archive. A collaborative project by artists Kiri Dalena, Lizza May David, and Jacyln Reyes, it’s a touring exhibition, held with symposia inquiring into Philippine colonial archives and presenting the artists’ stand as women and artists. The project, based on the archives of the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne, Germany, is now on its final iteration at Ateneo Art Gallery.
Meanwhile, at the Manila Clock Tower Museum, the first clock tower museum in Southeast Asia, another advent show is on—Joy to the World exhibits the works of prolific Danny Rayos Del Sol, wood wizard Agi Pagkatipunan, and other select artists. Back to back with this show is Sinsay Batangas by Grupo Sining Batangueño which offers a glimpse of the beauty and culture of Batangas.
That there’s what we can probably say an art explosion in the metropolis can most likely be attributed to the passion, dedication, and love for the art of the artists and art practitioners in the country. Take for example Danny Rayos del Sol, the only known ostrich egg sculptor in the country. In 11 months, he was able to finish Galerie du Soleil, a two-story imposing gallery which doubles as museum in Taguig, adding to the more than 1,200 museums around the country, based on the count by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, NCCA.
“Original design was a simple four-wall gallery just to have a showroom for my artworks,” Rayos del Sol tells TheDiarist.ph, who conceptualized and drew the plan, and asked his friends and fellow artists, his so-called “Con’sulsul’tants” Agi Pagkatipunan, Ombok Villamor and Richard Buxani, for their inputs which he incorporated in the design. He then asked a licensed architect to do the blueprint.
The opening of GDS-Orlina Museum Art Collab in Tagaytay led by Ramon Orlina and Danny Rayos del Sol
On Dec. 8, 2022, Galerie du Soleil opened its gates with an inaugural solo exhibition by Rayos del Sol titled Pasasalamat. In only one year, the gallery counted an impressive total of 10 exhibits, including two from the Taguig Artist Group, TAG, one from Davao Artist Group, back-to-back Lenten exhibits, Ama and Straight from the Heart, a fundraiser for artist Agi Pagkatipunan’s son in need of medical assistance; Seven Masters—Sena, Piano, Blaza, Perez, Miranda, Dimalanta and Galang; and a fundraising exhibition of ZONTA international by All Women Artists for the Benefit of Women.
Rayos del Sol says GDS, fast becoming a hub of art and culture in Taguig, will be his and wife Tess’ legacy to the city. Tess is the head of National Committee on Art Gallery of NCCA and director of ManilArt, while Danny is a former NCCA officer. The gallery/museum houses the permanent collection of the Rayos del Sol family, and gives artists who don’t belong to any gallery a platform to showcase their artworks. The building has become a home for his advocacies and a center for humanitarian works of the Mirasol Outreach Foundation.
MOF was formed in 2013 to address the needs of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. It started with Danny’s Facebook post for donations which elicited an overwhelming response from friends and strangers here and abroad. One of them was an Indonesian partner of a French NGO, Secours Populaire Francais, SPF.
“After all the lengthy email exchanges and several telephone conversations,” Danny recalls, “he then asked me if I could advance the money for this project. I said to myself, is he for real.” He continues, “With much discerning and apprehension, I obliged. We pooled funds with Sheila Garcia Macatulad to start the ball rolling. My sister asked, ‘Why did you agree to do that? What if it fails?’ My reply was simply, ‘if it fails, then Tess and I will have a very handsome donation to the victims.’”
SPF, it turned out, kept its word. A couple of days before their humanitarian relief operation, representatives from Indonesia came with the funds, followed by two more relief operations. Danny continues, “Next, I was invited to an all-expense paid visit to Paris where I met with SPF president Julien Lauprêtre and the other officers of SPF. I was offered a partnership with the biggest NGO in France. A very noble man, Lauprêtre passed away recently.”
Last November, on the 10th year of MOF, Danny Rayos del Sol attended SPF’s convention of humanitarian NGOs from 150 countries in Strassbourg, France. “I’m happy that my humanitarian works were recognized by SPF and was even featured in the president’s report,” says Danny who swears that trust is the key. “I suppose the only way to find out if SPF was trustworthy was to trust them. SPF trusted me to be their partner and I trusted the Lord that He had the hand in all the things that was happening to us,” concludes the humanitarian worker.
Taguig artists’ artworks
Rosal 2 by Addie Cukingnan. 24 x 14 inches, oil on canvas_Arte Pintura exhibit
‘Undecided’ by Rey Aurelio. 30 X 24 inches, oil on canvas_Arte Pintura exhibit
As an artist, Danny Rayos del Sol is just as impressive. He took oil painting lesson as a hobby after earning his MBA at Ateneo Graduate School of Business in 2000, but never pursued it. When he was introduced as an ostrich egg artist in 2007, his first solo exhibition, Whimsy, followed by another solo exhibition, Pananampalataya, in 2008, were both sold out.
What followed were more shows, collaboration “with other artists like Riza Matibag Muyot, Agi Pagkatipunan, and Kublai Millan. Then I carved Philippine ethnic patterns on cow and carabao skulls and horns.”
Then he got back to painting which showed his multi-faceted artistry. His first solo painting exhibition, an abstract-cubism-expressionism, LUNA, followed by another solo using mixed media, HELE at ManilArt, met with resounding success.
Asked which he prefers doing, Danny replies, “I enjoy doing them both. But my true love would always be ostrich egg sculpture because I was never an artist before 2007, but it landed on my plate. It bailed me out of my crises (financial, spiritual and psychological) at that time. It gave me a name , the lone ostrich egg artist in the Philippines. Most of the works are religious images/icons. I used the same to evangelize, teach doctrine, and spread the word of God.”
The Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Manila, Fr. Sid Marinay, has known Danny since 1997 as a parishioner when Father Marinay was the parish priest of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ususan, Taguig. He fondly recalls, “Ariel Rivera, his buddy in Canada whom he had persuaded to come home to start his singing career here, gave a concert for a cause. It was successful. All the proceeds went to construction funds, and we were able to finish the Parish Formation Center before I was transferred to another assignment.”
During this season of giving and loving, it’s heartwarming to note Fr. Marinay’s happy ribbing: “Danny is a sincere human being with a big heart like his belly. His candidness can be easily misunderstood. That doesn’t seem to bother him. As I know him, Danny has a golden heart. As a friend, he is more precious than gold.”
A blessed season to you all!
