Скачать или смотреть EP57: Hidden Faces: Uncovering Demi Padua's Trompe-l'œil Art | Layers, Illusion, Spoliarium

Flashback: 2016
With sparks flying, the name Demi Padua emerged suddenly and unexpectedly, defying conventional expectations, as an abstract painting — bereft of any representational image — won the Grand Prize in the first national art competition launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The competition was rightly billed as “Tanaw,” which can be defined as a viewpoint, a perspective, a depth, and a panorama of art, presented by BSP between book covers, showcasing the priceless BSP art collection, and distinguishing a distant horizon.
"Tanaw,” in fact, was the title of the award-winning coffee-table book, distinguished by its encyclopedic collection of old and contemporary masterworks. Just what was it that the astute Tanaw jury saw in the work of Demi Padua, a previously unknown artist?
On awards night, Demi Padua walked up the stage and came down, richer by half a million, a veritable lotto from the heavens, the largest cash prize offered by an art competition.
No Filipino artist can find a better, more auspicious introduction to a field that he is determined to conquer. Awards, however, are but the start, and not the conclusion, of an art career. And not a few artists who have ignored this truism have eventually come to regret it, ultimately leaving the art scene. Demi Padua never rested on his laurels, but was indeed inspired by the long-sought recognition, actively holding a series of solo and tandem exhibitions, and joining group exhibitions where, in fellowship with other artists, Padua became a byword in contemporary Philippine abstraction.
Flash forward: 2025
In an exhibition titled “Layers and Shadows,” Demi Padua realized his dream of exhibiting his works at the National Museum of the Philippines. This time, not his abstraction but his representational art took center stage in a solo exhibition. It is an honor not accorded to many Filipino artists.

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