FROM glowing under the spotlight onstage, titans of Philippine performance art Nonoy Froilan and Edna Vida share the track lights of the exhibition space for the first time together as visual artists.
The couple of almost five decades join hands to showcase another facet of their artistry at Conrad Manila’s Gallery C, featuring Froilan’s photographs and Vida’s paintings. The show, titled Duets, opened recently and is on view until January 8.
Fellow dancer and former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Nestor Jardin curated the presentation. He called the project “exciting and challenging,” having to marry two different visual art forms, while working on diverse subject matters: Froilan with his shots of cloudscape and Vida with depictions of dancers.
“It took me days to look over hundreds of Edna’s paintings and Nonoy’s photographs, trying to see points of similarities and confluence in their artworks,” Jardin said during the opening. “From the perspective of style and form, color, movement, energy and emotions, I finally saw some points of convergence. Thus was born the thematic, curatorial idea for Duets, or partners.”
“Edna and Nonoy,” he adds, “must be perhaps among the most versatile artists I’ve ever known. I’ve always admired their works, be it in dance, or theater, and now in visual arts.”
The premier Filipino danseur of his time, Froilan exemplified how male dancers can shine in their own light alongside prima ballerinas. For his lifelong contribution to the development of dance in the country, he was bestowed with the prestigious Gawad CCP Para sa Sining 2020 for Dance.
Post-retirement from performing, Froilan founded the Froilan Video Arts and picked up photography as a hobby. He regularly captured snaps of cloudscape from their home overlooking Makati, Mandaluyong and Manila.
“Why clouds? Because it poses a challenge like in dancing, wherein if you hesitate, it becomes a lost moment, done and gone,” he said, adding that, to date, he has over 9,000 images of cloud formations that he takes “almost daily, all from my window.”
While Froilan admits to having uncertainties with his new craft, he continues to dare, as he did in dancing. A brave, unyielding mindset that has captured photographs marked with dramatic lightning and, of course, movement.
“When I see Nonoy’s artworks—maybe he doesn’t recognize it because he sees it from his own eye—I see dance,” Vida said. “In his clouds I see pirouettes and grande jeté. I see set designs behind the colors. Nonoy’s always been interested in lights and colors.”
For her part, Vida is no stranger to art exhibitions. She has had a couple of shows for her paintings, being the ever multitalented artist. Aside from being the principal dancer of Ballet Philippines and one of its leading choreographers, Vida is also a theater actor, writer, cartoonist and art critic.
When the pandemic hit, Vida felt the urge to pick up the paintbrush once more. “The lockdowns changed me and Nonoy a lot,” she said. “Being imprisoned in the state of obscurity is the best time to be an artist.”
According to Vida, she and her husband had no form of conversation about the confluence of their artworks for the exhibition, before quipping a qualifier.
“Well, I always ask Nonoy if my work is nice or not. Sometimes he says, ‘It’s not nice. It’s not yet finished.’ And I say, ‘OK.’ But I always say his pictures are nice because I’m nicer,” Vida said, drawing a laugh from her husband.
Their show, Duets, was the singular idea of Jardin, whom Vida considers a true advocate for the arts, as well as a friend, an advisor, a mentor and a brother. Jardin presented the works of Vida and Froilan in 25 pairings, each one with its thematic origin and inspiration.
Solace inspires harmony in sight and thought with Froilan’s shot of a starless night, titled Blood Moon, matching Vida’s On Stage 64, showing a dancer in red, her torso curled and arm flung, lost in the call of her passion. Meanwhile, Hope features a photo of a towering streak of white cloud against an ocean sky, titled La Tour Eiffel, together with Giselle 3, wherein the subject is frozen in a pose.
Present during the opening was National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes. She said the exhibition should remind dancers of the possible life that awaits them after retirement. “What excites me the most about this moment is the fact that there are numerous artists, dancers who wonder where they’re going to go after they’re done performing, and right here are three fantastic examples,” she said, alluding to her sister Vida, Froilan and Jardin. “This is a promising development for dancers. There is fantastic life after dance. But while you can dance, dance!”
Meanwhile, according to Linda Pecoraro, Conrad Manila General Manager, the exhibition complements Conrad Manila’s art program that inspires guests. Duets serves as the 17th art installation at Gallery C since the hotel’s art program was launched in 2017. The show is their third art presentation since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We reiterate our commitment to enshrine our legacy of enabling our guests to experience luxury and genuine Filipino hospitality,” Pecoraro said. “Through the inspiring visual artworks of Duets, let us see the future as bright and beautiful.”