IT wasn’t until last month’s grand 20th anniversary celebration when Galerie Joaquin owner and president Jack Teotico realized the breadth and scale of the group’s accomplishments.
For the past two decades, Teotico was caught in the daily grind of spearheading one of the country’s premier networks of art galleries. He has been presenting the fine works of both masters and emerging talents here and abroad, which, in turn, helped shape today’s robust Philippine art scene. During the program, a video montage allowed Teotico to finally smell the roses.
“It was an eye-opener for me,” said Teotico in a recent sitdown at The Podium, which houses a Galerie Joaquin branch since 2005.
“Suddenly, [I] woke up and realized that we’ve done quite a lot of things.”
“Quite a lot” encompasses mounting important exhibitions, collaborating with partner galleries and organizations, and presenting the Filipino artist to the global stage.
In the mid 2000’s, Sotheby’s conducted its VIP preview of Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art at the gallery’s main branch in San Juan. The Galerie Joaquin Group also welcomed project integrations with other prominent auction houses such as Borobudur, Masterpiece, and Larasati. The gallery participated as well in diverse art fairs around the world. The long and prestigious list includes Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Japan, New York, and Frankfurt.
Moreover, Galerie Joaquin enjoys having the distinction of being the pioneering Filipino art gallery to penetrate Singapore. The group opened its doors to a broader Southeast Asian market along Cuscaden Road at The Regent in 2006.
Teotico bared that The Galerie Joaquin Group is setting up another ground-breaking move, this time by crossing oceans and expanding in Spain.
Plans are still in the early stages, he said, but the goal is to set up shop “right away,” or as early as this year. It would be the group’s entry point into the Western art market, which makes Spain the ideal choice, as Teotico believes Filipino art is highly received and accepted by Spanish art aficionados.
The acclaimed gallerist credited the rich cultural bond between Spain and the Philippines, and cited how Filipino brands thrive in the Spanish market. Teotico also points to how Galerie Joaquin has been able to determine the makings of a master artist. This includes having the vision, innovativeness, technique, strong emotional impact, and signature.
“Our artists deserve something like this,” Teotico said, referring to having a platform on the global stage. “Ang daming magagaling na Filipino artists, but the most important thing is, we have to try to get them out there. There’s only one way to find out and I think it’s worth a shot.”