The Heart of an Artist: Who is Jefrë

What is an artist? 

For some, they are people dabbling in painting, sculpting, writing, dancing, and many other forms of art in the pursuit of self-expression. For others, they are an inspiration, motivators, and mentors who teach them about the intricacies of life while for others they are the mediums that the good side of life uses to magnify the gifts life can give in different ways. There are some people who do and show art for no payment, no exchange. In its most raw form, making and showcasing one’s art is a pure-hearted practice that embodies ‘gift-giving’. 

Contemporary Filipino-American artist Jefrë is one of these artists who encompasses all of these traits. 

Who is Jefrë?

Jefre Figueras Manuel is an artist currently based in Orlando, Florida, and first worked for the American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the 1990s. At the still young age of 35, Jefrë experienced a harrowing heart attack and had to undergo triple bypass surgery–events that gave him a second chance at life and made him think of what he would leave for the rest of the world. Since that event in 2008, he dove into the art scene, crafting public art and establishing Studio JEFRË–a sophisticated boutique design studio that specializes in environmental art and couture landscapes with artworks that respond and are inspired by the site they are placed in. So far, his public artwork has been seen in places like Manila, Miami, Florida, London, Philadelphia, Abu Dhabi, and San Antonio. 

“I’m not sure if I chose to be an artist or if art chose me.” Jefrë says, “I think for me it was really this idea that the word ‘artist’ allowed me to create anything. Versus if you’re a fashion designer or an architect or an industrial designer, you’re put into a box or category of what you’re supposed to do. And as an artist, you can actually do everything and that’s why I really love moving in that direction. Not only as a title but as a practice in terms of how I look at the process of doing research and how that applies to not only my own artwork but other things too. Like fashion, industrial design, and architecture…I want to show that art is for everyone. Art is not just for one certain demographic that can afford it, it’s not for a certain culture or race. Art is for everyone.” 

On “Points of Origin”, “Talking Heads”, and “The Baks Series”

Overt at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, some of Jefrë’s monumental pieces have finally been exhibited last February and are staying until July. These include scaled-down pieces from his collections, “Points of Origin” which is inspired by the idea of Jefrë reconnecting with his Filipino roots and having pieces in the museum that represent him as a Filipino, “Talking Heads” which highlights the idea of immersing oneself in different cultures and languages but still remembering one’s humanity and connection to each other. This is highlighted through interactive QR Codes that play phrases in different languages. 

“When you play the QR code, you’re gonna actually hear what it says in different languages: ‘I am love, I am free, I am passionate, I am creative,’ and we say things in different ways but at the end of the day, we’re all saying the same thing which is being human, being connected.”

The Baks Series meanwhile portrays Jefrë as a public artist and the exploration of different cities and what makes them great cities. For Jefrë, a great city though isn’t only defined by its great skyscrapers or architecture. It’s defined by its cultures, communities, and emotions that go with the people in them.

“Cities for me aren’t initially about building but the people who occupy it and all the emotions that create a great city such as love, joy, peace, passion. And that’s the names of the figures in the positions that you see.” Jefrë says, “But when you arrange all the positions together and put the bottom of the box heads on a horizon line, it makes a skyline. So it’s what I think makes a great city–all these different emotions composed together.”

As a public artist who’s been in the industry for several years now, Jefrë has been privy to various responses–positive and negative, from different people. While public art can solicit negative reviews for imposing ideas that the public might not agree with instead of allowing them to think for themselves, there are indeed moments when public art can draw forth the best of emotions and inspire. For Jefrë, these moments came in abundance but one moment stood out the most for him–one when his art was able to help shape and save lives. 

“I was in a show and I got a text message or DM and I don’t really look at DMs on Instagram but for some reason, I had to look at it and it was someone reaching out and saying, ‘I am looking at your sculpture, One Love’ and in the background, you hear a heartbeat pumping which is part of the exhibit, and it said that ‘I’m looking at and hearing your heartbeat, thinking about ending mine.’ and it really impacted me for the fact that they were thinking of ending their life.” The conversation, of course, prompted the artist to coach this person through as he asked how this person was simply through messages. 

“They responded later on saying, as I was coaching them through how they were doing just via text cause I couldn’t get a hold of them–that at the end they said, ‘Your art actually changed the way I perceive and view life’ and thanked me for it. So, it’s interesting how art cannot only inspire but also give people hope and I think that’s probably one of the things that I was taken aback by–that my art actually helped shape and saves lives.”

Leaving His Mark: New Projects to Look Forward To

Here in Manila, Jefrë has recently been occupied by a few projects. One of the most recent ones includes the contribution of the 2023 MEGA Ball’s trophy–an award given to Filipino artists who have left their own unique mark on the art and fashion scenes. It should be noted though that this trophy affectionately dubbed “One Love”, is a piece that Jefrë considers a gift to his fellow artists, not just a trophy. 

“When they asked me to do it…I don’t really do trophies, for me trophies are something that you show and give as a reward for an accomplishment.” Jefrë says, “For me, I wanted to make gifts and things that related to me. And for me, it was really just gifting one of my sculptures, which is One Love.”

One Love gives the idea that love and passion are the conquering elements of life and drives people to success. It’s an idea that Jefrë strongly believes in. He even comments that between practicality and passion, he’d encourage someone to always choose passion. ​​

“Practicality is a definition of what people define as practical but for me, if you find your passion and you do things based on passion, people will modify or adapt to whatever you’re doing.” He says, “That then becomes practical.” 

Capturing the image of two figures sitting back to back, the figures in One Love present the East and West cultures portraying the love symbol with their hands–one showing the classic symbol and the other showing the Korean finger heart symbol. 

“It’s nice that a lot of the honorees are fellow artists. And to gift one of my smaller artworks is much more valuable than creating a specific art sculpture, a trophy.”

Jefrë’s work has been seen across the world now. In one word, he accurately describes them as “iconic”–an accurate description since his pieces so far have portrayed universal elements that anyone, regardless of culture, gender, or age can understand and eventually fall in love with. In the pursuit of leaving his mark on the world, the contemporary artist is crafting new and exciting projects in Manila and the US. As a gift for his homeland, Jefrë is in the middle of completing “The Victor” for Bridgetowne–Robinsons Land’s first township with a bridge connecting Pasig and Quezon City. with a 60-meter height, The Victor is even taller than French sculptor Frédérick Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty in Liberty Island, New York which stands at 46-meters. 

Over at South Florida, Jefrë is also looking to create the world’s largest heart which will be like the St. Louis arch but in the form of a heart. It will stand at 10-stories tall and has a bridge inside where people can enter and stand to be right in the middle of the heart. Over at Los Angeles, will be 30 astronaut sculptures that will be touring the entire United States, starting off at the famous Chinese Theater where the iconic Hollywood handprints lie. There, the astronauts will land as if making their first impressions on Earth before traveling to other places–hopefully places all over the world. Lastly, a secret project is slated for Los Angeles–one that Jefrë remarks will rival the famous Hollywood sign. 

Jefrë, of course, has several personal favorites in his collection. But among his plethora of work, his favorites include “The Victor” since it would hopefully, become one of the most iconic sculptures in his Philippine homeland. His exhibit which talks about his issues with heart disease is also a favorite. In this exhibit, he showcases the 57,000 pills he had to take, alongside the prescription bottles, and the four stents in his body which he transformed into a bouquet of flowers. His third favorite would be a public art piece called JAX in the city of Jacksonville. Sometimes dubbed Lerp, Derp, or Love, it’s an iconic piece of work that he hopes can become a postcard piece for the city. 

What is an artist?

With Jefrë in mind, an artist is one who takes the joys and pains of life, transforming them into heartfelt pieces that help shape how people live as a culture and as a society. With the drive to become an artist who creates the next icons of the world in the realm of not just art and sculpture, but in other disciplines like architecture, urban design, industrial design, and fashion, Jefrë is one of the country’s inspiring artists who is able to give his art as heartfelt gifts to the passionate artist and their art.