Nina, Bam and Alee Garibay

The Trinity in Transit 

The children of Emmanuel Garibay are making their own name in the art world

October 24, 2016 

By Hannah Jo Uy

The children of Emmanuel Garibay are making their own name in the art world Three has often been considered a sacred number representative of the past, present, and future. It has also been considered indicative of beginning, the middle, and the end, as well as birth, life, and death. For the three Garibay siblings, their art represents the transitory state of their own consciousness. Through their unique and distinct approach, they showcase a different commentary on reality, both visually and conceptually.

In their steadfast commitment to inject their own brand of authenticity they have each created a diverse oeuvre that is deeply rooted on both the mundane and the extraordinary, as well as the banal and the exceptional moments in life. Talented, passionate, and dedicated to their crafts, the children of distinguished artist Emmanuel Garibay are making waves in the local art scene for their unique approach to realism in which they explore particular facets of our existence.

That creativity was a norm in the household is of no surprise. They were constantly encouraged to work on something productive, often remembering seeing their father painting all day. The walls of their home were overflowing with works of art and as encouragement their father would hold drawing contests awarding R20 to the winner. Independence was instilled in them even as young children, and deeply cultivated as they were encouraged to do their own homework and sort out their own problems in an effort to instill lessons of life and to ensure that they won’t let the day pass without having learned something new.

As such, the three grew up to be self-sufficient, widely creative, and imaginative, with their own unique artistic pursuits. Alee, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts and Major in Painting. Nina, graduated from the Philippine High School of the Arts and also from the University of the Philippines, while the youngest, Bam, graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Ateneo de Manila University.

Though they have long developed, and continue to develop, their own unique style, they still place great value in their father’s spontaneous drawing lessons growing up. His indirect and spontaneous manner of imparting knowledge through suggestions and feedbacks formed the roots of their artistic process as it helped equip them with basic knowledge while at the same time allowing them to grow according to their own unique identities.

Nina is a visual poet of the past, slowly claiming mastery over nostalgia. Inspired by everything from National Geographic magazines to the romantic landscapes of JMW Turner and portraits by Sargant, Nina, has nurtured a fascination for old things and domestic settings in an effort to “understand how people relate to time, space, and each other.” Using photographs as a reference, she has painted to classical tunes, Beatles and Arashi as she contemplates the development of a piece. The silhouettes of her works are not made up of solid, delineated lines, which give the scenes an ephemeral quality, almost fleeting as though a recollection of a dream, or a fading memory. “I think honesty is very important in art making, also you are what you make,” she says. “Our teacher used to drum in the school motto on our heads—‘The good, the true, and the beautiful.’ When I think about it, all these things are somewhat relative. So being true to your self makes sense. You don’t always have to be different; in fact, similarities can be a base from where you can communicate with other people.”

She has always nurtured an inclination for the arts, evident even during her secondary education however it was only until after an internship interview after college that she became truly convinced of becoming a full time artist. By this time, she was free from the academic shackles imposed on the traditional study of visual art, and she craved to go back to the canvas and create according to her own standards and criteria, no longer as a requirement to fulfill an objective. Finding a strong affinity for photo manipulation, her works lend themselves to being narratives with poignant figures acting out in evocative landscapes. “It is almost automatic for one to create stories to try and make sense of things,” she relates.

Alee is grounded in the present. She curates our current reality and captures intimate moments of personal space within the details of her work, which are representative of deeper aspects of the human psyche. In a play of memory, mysticism, and the mundane, she observes society through a creative visual pondering.

As a full time artist, Alee has been perhaps the most active of the three. Specializing in oil and watercolor, she has received multiple awards and is a four-time finalist in the prestigious Shell National Student Art Competition. Initially an Art Studies student, Alee shifted to Fine Arts in her second year upon settling on the decision to dive headfirst into an artistic career. An avid traveler with a restless heart, the likes of Max Beckmann, Rene Magritte, Lucian Freud, John Singer Sargent, Rembrandt, El Greco, Frida Kahlo, and Anselm Kiefer, among others serve as her inspiration and her artworks evoke the melancholic themes that seem to serve as an extension of the mood set by listening to Chopin and Bach.

Drawing inspiration from the photographs documenting her travels, she has grown a deep fascination for the meaning of inhabited space, and each piece is a fascinating dialogue between the canvas and the painter, with Alee herself allowing it to evolve in an organic manner as she nurtures her own understanding of it. Throughout her evolution, she has progressively divulged a more personal and intimate side to herself, showcasing lighter palettes. The more diffused shades are in stark contrast to her darker tones which are the visual metaphor of the transparency she is cultivating with her artistic career. Of her creative philosophy, she says simply, “Be honest. Strive to do your best.”

His works take in a more surreal quality, with sarcasm, humor, and irreverence depicted by cool, bright and perhaps in what can be considered garish colors, to which Bam is also drawn to in viewing the works of other artists. At the brink of his evolution, he has confidently assimilated the use of oil and acrylic and is concerned with dystopic imageries that seem to evoke the setting of another world and another dimension, familiar yet frightening in his unexpected treatment of otherwise commonplace images.

In September, the three siblings had a group show entitled the “Good ol’ times” at Kaida Contemporary in Quezon City. Gleaning from their shared experiences, it was a window to personal narratives how they are entangles in each other’s stories. Though it serves as their first art project as a family, it will certainly not be their last.

Alee, has recently celebrated the opening of her fourth solo exhibit entitled “As It Is.” In this collection, Alee shares raw snapshots of a semi-nomadic period in her life, when she was staying in four houses, displaying her deep contemplation, appreciation and understanding of various situations. “The collection is an attempt to see grace and flow in the banality of daily living. A look at one’s life not with rational/investigative detachment but a detachment more akin to letting go, an acceptance of things, of one’s self as they/you were.”

“As It Is,” will be on display at Art Verite’ until Oct. 16.

ALL IN THE FAMILY From left: Nina, Bam, and Alee Garibay 

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