Kim Cruz Blooms Her Way Into The Philippine Art Scene
The 24-year-old multi-hyphenate visual artist Kim Cruz breaks into the local art scene. This stylish and adept creative has taken the Philippine contemporary art world by storm with her impressive works focused on the female form and figure. A former VJ and ESPN Philippines host, her pursuit of art started during the pandemic. Since then, she already had two sold-out solo shows in less than a year. The most recent was Nymphéas, an exhibition at Secret Fresh Gallery, where she debuted a new art style. Here, she shares what inspires her, her creative process, and the most important advice that she always keeps in mind.
With a dream of becoming a museum curator or an art dealer, Kim has always been interested in the art business. She saw the chance to pursue that dream during the pandemic pause. She then decided to apply as an intern for an art gallery to gain as much experience as she could. Through her internship at Secret Fresh gallery, she was able to learn the ropes of producing exhibitions as well as the ins and outs of running the business. It was also through this gig that she was able to meet Ben Cab. His mentorship taught her humility and to embrace the journey as it is.
“I always go back to my purpose and why I’m pursuing this. By being grounded, you leave space for improvement and development as well. There’s so much to learn as a young artist, and that’s something that I want to focus on in my early years as a creative.”
Kim Cruz
FINDING INSPIRATION
Kim Cruz turns to art books, art documentaries, and films for inspiration. To her, those are massive parts of the process. She would save pages of the books or take photos of certain pieces that caught her attention. Globetrotting is also her passion, and whenever she finds herself in another country or city she would find proper time to visit museums, watch interesting shows, or visit parks. Always with a journal in hand, she takes note of even the most random and mundane things like flowers, trees, people architecture, and sceneries. These are all the things that she flips through when the need to be artistically inspired unfolds.
Before releasing a collection or certain pieces, Kim would travel and immerse in nature to unclutter her head. She considers the ability to manifest and materialize her creative thoughts very spiritual and nourishing. After the initial process of finding inspiration, she plans out the execution. Learning different techniques and methods for art is something she immensely enjoys. Being an art student had a huge influence on the process because she had spent a lot of time reading about art history and the technicalities of art. For Kim Cruz, the mental preparation takes more from her than actually working on the pieces. She just goes with the flow when it comes to painting and sketching.
It is refreshing to witness young artists like Kim Cruz navigate the world of art with so much humility and passion trailing with her. Talents like her who value learning and aim to keep on improving through experience and risks are certainly set for a good road ahead. She hopes to stay true to her values and ultimately be able to inspire people through her art.
Notes about the Contributor
Daniel Lampa
Art enthusiast and into Fashion, French Culture, Mid-century modern design and spends a lot of his time curating his home in Manila and LA. He lives with his 3 dogs, Coco, Yohji and Junya.
