The Philippine art world is buzzing with activity. So much activity, in fact, that there really is no way to cover all art exhibitions properly within the span of the year. Only so many words can be written truthfully, passionately, and with earnest appreciation about every art exhibition coming out this year, and as a […]
Highlighting Sculpture Efforts and Exhibits for the Year: BluPrint Year-End 2025
The first thing people usually think of when they think about art is “paintings.” The brush, the palette of colors, the canvas: all come together to form what people stereotypically see as “art.” But a deeply important medium within the large umbrella of “art” is sculpture.
Sculpture is an essential part of our conceptualization of artistry, especially because, unlike many paintings, sculptors work in a three-dimensional medium, seeing angles and ideas that painters may not consider.
For our year-end roundup this 2025, we give a salute to the sculptors and ceramicists of our era, as we see the ways the art form has evolved in 2025, and what that hints for its future within our local art scene.
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The Orlinas and Glass Sculpture
The Orlinas—patriarch Ramon Orlina, and his children and protégés Anna and Michael—have had a very active year in the Philippine art scene. Michael Orlina, for example, had his debut solo exhibition in Galerie Stephanie this year, while Anna Orlina ventured into fashion during the Lamina Lifestyle Fair.
Ramon Orlina is one of the signature figures of glass sculpture in the Philippines; indeed, he may be the signature figure, especially as he is still active in today’s art scene. Orlina’s children have taken up the mantle of glass sculpture, and they bring with them newer techniques they learned abroad to push the boundaries of local glass sculpture to new heights.
And as all three continue to be active in the sculpture scene, whether directly or by exhibiting up-and-coming sculptors in Museo Orlina, they bring with them the hope for a Philippines to be truly at the cutting edge of the art world.
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Read more: ‘RAM: Nature’s Abundance’ is the Orlina Family’s Collaborative MoCAF Exhibit
The Pettyjohns and Moving Philippine Ceramics Forward
On the other side of the sculpture divide is Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, pioneers in Philippine pottery and ceramics. Jon himself was in the spotlight this year for his collaborative exhibition with his daughter Hanna, and the exhibition highlighted the differing styles of the two and how they found a way to bridge them together for the exhibition.
Jon mixes the modernity of the craft today with the traditions of the past; at times, he has expressed his gratitude for being able to witness and learn indigenous ways of making ceramics in the country. The ability to merge the two, to find a harmonious balance between the past and the future, is what makes him such a significant presence in the art world today.
“The history of crafts always continually absorbs what’s [the] new available techniques and materials,” he said. “That’s important. If you try to keep anything [the same], anytime you talk about purity, or keeping something, the traditional art, like, pure, that’s a very deadly thing because then it dies. If it cannot evolve, it’s finished.”
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Read more: Jon and Hanna Pettyjohn: Bridging the Multigenerational Spirit of Artistry
Ciane Xavier and Porcelain Sculpture
For more unique uses of sculpture within the art scene, Ciane Xavier’s February exhibition at Galerie Stephanie, Breaking to Mend, utilizes porcelain statues, plates, and figures to depict a slew of scenarios and emotions inherent to the human condition.
In there, the discussion centers on the portrayal of the fragility of human emotions, especially with its central sculptures of two people in the midst of an argument, whilst surrounded by broken plates. It is a very evocative exhibition, and one that shows a way for sculpture to meld the figurative language of art to the literal materiality of sculpture.
“In its fragility, this delicate material is strengthened by stories that are glazed by the human emotions and the relationships that bind one to another,” the exhibit write-up said. “This exhibition is an invitation to engage in the metaphorical mending of ‘moments we cherish and the moments we fear.’”
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Read more: ‘Breaking to Mend’: Ciane Xavier Illustrates the Fragility of Human Emotions
Sam Feleo and Unconventional Sculpture
Finally, in this list, we have Sam Feleo, whose artwork experiments with form and structure, creating pottery and sculpture with a one-of-a-kind organic look to their forms. Feleo does this look by avoiding common pottery techniques like glazing, only doing bisque firing for the works, and hand-painting each creation itself.
It ends up looking strange and fleshy, folded in ways that ceramics tend to avoid, and at times with crystals clutching to the structure after being buried in water for a period of time. The works look fluid and flowing, embodying the “embryonic state” that she wanted to showcase in her exhibitions.
“Kaya siya embryonic forms kasi gusto ko paglaruan ang idea na ang art, hindi nila kailangan maging static, pwede siyang nag-ta-transform, nag-pupulsate,” she said. “I wanted to capture that softness, the organicness in these works.”
Read more: Sam Feleo Presents a Fleshy New Sculptural Vision with ‘Grip/Pulse’
Boundless Exploration
These four examples illustrate sculptors’ appetite for innovation in the field of sculpture. Whether it’s merging the past and the present, or coming up with new methods that go against the grain of society, Philippine sculpture refuses to be stagnant—only growing more and more interesting as time goes by.
Photos by Elle Yap, Ed Simon, and Kim Santos.
Related reading: ‘Nerikomi’: Winnie Go Explores the Individual Artistry of Functional Pottery
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