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The Streamlined Contemporary Style of Glenn Cuevo
It’s an adage that art aficionado and space curator Glenn Cuevo lives by: “Everything that takes up space deserves respect”. Cuevo doesn’t believe in clutter because of this. Instead he believes that everything you bring home should be intentional. His Makati home carries this philosophy clearly.
A walk into his Makati condominium shows a carefully curated and impressive collection of art and furniture. Sculptures by the masters – a steel Arturo Luz and a rare Bencab – welcome guests in the receiving area right outside of the elevators. For Cuevo, art goes beyond its beauty. “Art is a creator of emotions. It shouldn’t just be beautiful. It should be able to communicate something to the viewer,” Cuevo says.
His home has a prominent black and white theme with an electric red Bencab metal sculpture by the entrance flanked by Orlina glass sculptures in rich aqua. A black and white painting by Romulo Olazo creates a vignette with another Arturo Luz metal sculpture on the side and a pair of Cesar stools designed by Rodolfo Dordoni.
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Streamlined Contemporary: Blending Art and Space with Precision
Every object in his home evokes a feeling within Glenn Cuevo and is a revealing portrait of who he is. The living area makes space for a curvilinear sofa designed by Zaha Hadid. It’s placed on a burgundy red carpet by Studio Soliven’s latest collaboration with Pia Wurtzbach. “I call my style streamlined contemporary. Everything I do is with precision,” he explains. “The placement of the furniture really is very important because if you put it in the right space, the beauty of the piece comes out. The same is true with paintings.”
Off to the side, Cuevo created a quiet corner with a minimalist painting by Fernando Zobel and a leather Metropolitan armchair designed by Jeffrey Bernett. “Each area has to have their own personality,” he says. A long painting behind the sofa by Lao Lianben has black and white strokes with what seems to be a human figure and a curious red dot on one side – the same shade of red found in the carpet or Bencab’s metal sculptures.
Design Choices that Tell a Story
Cuevo’s breadth of knowledge in art and design is deep and shows in the vignettes he creates in his home. The hallway to his room follows you through his collection of art by Japanese artists – a sculpture by Akiko Nakaya, a quiet pencil drawing of a teacup by Izumi Akiyama and a graffiti-like painting by Hashimoto Yutaka. A turn leads you to another hallway with large black and white portraits of Yayoi Kusama and Andy Warhol facing each other. At the far end, like an altar, is a Bernard Pacquing on a plinth – a rolled pillow held by a metal c-clamp.
Glenn Cuevo urges you to know more about the artists as well. Don’t just purchase art because it’s the trend or because it might be a good investment. If possible, try to forge a relationship with the artist – talk to them, read up on them, find out their process. “You gain a different dimension or facet of the artist that they want to share with you. Sometimes it’s very personal. You’ll have a different appreciation of the work of the artist as well. It will have more depth because you understand the philosophy of the artist. The experiences shared to you by the artist affects how you view the artwork.”
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Photographed by Jar Concengco.
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