ABOUT THE ARTIST

Riel Jaramillo Hilario

Hilario’s sculptural oeuvre appropriates forms from traditional santo-making and transforming them into the contemporary by imbibing them both with first, the intent of making them into objects of aesthetic consideration and second, context appropriated from narratives of interest to him.  The last carver from a family of traditional santo-carvers from Ilocos Sur, Hilario’s early education was with Makiling High School for the Arts followed by formal tertiary education at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts.  His early works enabled him to garner several important grants and scholarships which include the Elizabeth McCormack and Jerome Aaron Fellow (Asian Cultural Council, New York, 2013), the Swingspace Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Grant (New York, 2013), the Philippine Artist Residency in Paris (Alliance Francaise de Manille, 2012) and the Cite des Artes Internationale (Paris, 2012).  Since 1996, Hilario has cultivated a practice in sculpture, painting, curating, and art writing, making him a well-rounded artist and curator whose contributions to Philippine contemporary art are noteworthy.  He was selected as the 2012 Ateneo Art Awards Jurors Choice.  His work is collected by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Pinto Art Museum and other notable collections.  He has also been the curator of Pinto Art Museum from 2012-2015.

"It is about rendering visible"

Paul Klee