Gabriel Barredo (b.1957) is a world-renowned sculptor who remains one of the driving forces in Philippine art. His most recent masterpiece, Asphalt, is Art Fair Manila’s centerpiece — and rightly so. Upon the fair’s unveiling, Barredo’s work generated a lot of global buzz. The 40 foot installation piece made of polished gun metal, found objects, and video projections was immediately rumored to be purchased by fashion powerhouse LMVH (the company responsible for brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Givenchy, and Marc Jacobs) for its museum in Cologne, Germany.
“I love living with my work… but there are indeed negotiations for Asphalt,” shares Barredo. The magnum opus is currently kept in the artist’s studio south of Metro Manila. While the artwork’s fate is still uncertain, Asphalt serves as proof of the sculptor’s staying power.
“Asphalt”- Photograph courtesy of Art Fair Manila
The last time Gabriel Barredo made an appearance in the exhibit circuit was 2005. His work has also appeared in Pupil’s 20/20 music video in 2011. Ely Buendia, the band’s frontman, is seen traversing an eerily-empty EDSA while holding the Barredo artwork. Aside from this, not much is known about this time period in Barredo’s career, save for the artist’s regular forays into the international auction scene. His works are carried by the international auction house, Christie’s.
Asphalt, then, came as a bit of a surprise to many, since Barredo seemingly stayed dormant for quite a while. “I personally don’t like doing shows often. There are artists who would mount exhibits every two weeks or even every week. I just believe in staying true to the quality of the work.” It is for this reason he has not been “churning out” works for the public to view; it could be said that the artist is protective of his craft.
20/20 by Pupil. Spot the Gabriel Barredo artwork.Asphalt is what one would call an imagistic assault. The combination of polished metal, found objects, and video projections make it an artistic work that is a lot to take in. An initial encounter with it would be overwhelming, as it serves as Barredo’s commentary on history.“This generation—and mine— never went to war, but we must remember to never let something like this happen again.”
Asphalt is dark, a departure from the kinetic sculptor’s previous works, which were mostly in silver and gold. Fashion designer Rajo Laurel even refers to the installation piece as a “beautiful nightmare.” Disfigured dolls, authentic Nazi trophies, bomber helmets, collages, and mechanical birds fashioned out of CT scan films are just a few of the things one can see in Asphalt. The artist worked on the installation for a total of ten months and had to postpone making his commissioned pieces.
Photograph courtesy of Art Asia Pacific.
Barredo acknowledges that there is a lot of Filipino talent; there are emerging artists in the country who are steadily gaining recognition worldwide. “The center of the art market now is the Philippines. We’ve gone far. It used to be China and Malaysia for a time. But we’re in the height of it now. The new breed of artists we have is excellent. I mean, there are some exceptional ones.”
When asked about what’s next, Barredo is restrained when speaking of a new project. “There’s something in the works, a collaboration with many Filipino artists. The aim of it is to show the country’s rich cultural heritage. We had a good sense of art even before the Spanish Occupation.” When pressed for more details, the enigmatic and elusive artist smiles faintly and says, like the fate of his most recent masterpiece, details about this project are still uncertain. Surely, this is enough to keep many art enthusiasts on their toes.
