Journeys in Identity: LAKBAY: Voyages into the Absolute with Nena Saguil

“…the necessity to express your inner self through your work, to be true to this inner self and not to fight it. It is a voyage into the absolute, a search for the ideal. The things that you see are mere ‘accidents’ of the feelings made manifest by the mind, the spirit, through the medium of your hands.” — Nena Saguil, from Marika Constantino’s LAKBAY curatorial brief

Nena Saguil’s words capture the essence of LAKBAY: Voyages into the Absolute, an exhibition that places her pioneering cosmic abstractions in conversation with nine international Filipino artists. Taking place from February 9 to 12, 2025, at Discovery Primea Makati, the exhibit explores themes of identity, displacement, and artistic freedom, ideas that were central to the Filipina artist’s life and work.

A key figure in Philippine Modernism and abstract art, Nena Saguil (1914–1994) left the country in the 1950s and spent most of her life between Spain and France. She was one of the first Filipino modernist painters to establish herself in Europe. Her abstract compositions, filled with intricate, organic forms, were deeply personal and universally resonant. Never-before-seen works from Saguil’s NENA Foundation, the show’s principal beneficiary, headline the show.

In LAKBAY, Saguil’s works are presented alongside that of Jana Benitez (U.S.), Rose Cameron (U.S.), Kim Cruz (U.S.), Lizza May David (Germany), John Wayne Forte (U.S.), Marissa Gonzalez (Switzerland), Rasco Jugarap (Belgium), Kulay Labitigan (UK), and Jaclyn Reyes (U.S.)—artists whose lives, like Saguil’s, have been shaped by crossing borders. As much as diaspora is about displacement, it is also an opportunity for cultural exchange: adapting to new environments, learning about one’s host nation’s identities and cultural nuances, and reflecting on those experiences through art. In this way, the artists’ works not only speak to a homeland they once called home but also explore their global citizenship: how identity, in flux, colors their creative expressions.

More than an artistic tribute, LAKBAY is primarily a homecoming, offering global Filipino artists a way to reconnect with their homeland through their work. Carlo Pineda, founder and CEO of boutique creative platform ART HOUSE, shares, “I’ve always been an avid collector of Nena Saguil’s artworks. For Art Month, we wanted to present a different proposition—something new and fresh.” With LAKBAY, Pineda and Constantino initiates conversation: between artists, between generations, between those who have left and those who remain. Nena Saguil becomes a central figure in that dialogue, whose life and work speak to the experience of being both rooted and adrift, of finding freedom in exile.

The exhibition is in line with ART HOUSE’s mission to create a more connected and inclusive art ecosystem, consistently pushing boundaries through experimental art, public installations, and digital explorations. Past projects like ELEMENTO (2023), an installation art series by Leeroy New, solidify the platform’s reputation for engaging diverse audiences and broadening artistic discourse beyond gallery walls.

LAKBAY opens to public eyes on February 9, kickstarting a series of artist talks until February 12, with some featured artists flying in to talk about their creative journeys, challenges, and artistic processes. •

Public Viewing and Artist Talks
February 9-12, 2025 | 10 AM – 7 PM

Artist Talk Schedule:

February 9 | 4 PM – 6 PM
Wayne Forte and Marissa Gonzalez

February 10 | 4 PM – 6 PM
Kim Cruz and Jaclyn Reyes

February 11 | 4 PM – 6 PM
Kulay Labitigan

February 12 | 4 PM – 6 PM
Rose Cameron and Lizza May David

Talks moderated by Marika Constantino

RSVP via Marvi at 09204470410
Limited seats are available.

Featured Artists

Nena Saguil (1914–1994)

A pioneer of Philippine Modernism, Nena Saguil is best known for her intricate cosmic abstractions, meditative landscapes, and mandala-like compositions. One of the first Filipino artists to establish a career abroad, she left the Philippines in the 1950s, living in Spain before settling in France. Her work, deeply personal yet universal, reflects themes of displacement, spirituality, and the search for belonging, an experience shared by many in the diaspora.

Jana Benitez

Recognized as a prodigy at 12 with a debut at the Ayala Museum, Jana Benitez has since developed a distinctive approach to abstraction. After graduating magna cum laude from Brown University, she founded Light Lab studio in Texas and has exhibited internationally in New York, Singapore, and Berlin. Her large-scale, expressive paintings draw from diverse influences, including martial arts training in China and immersive experiences in nature.

Rose Cameron

Born in Manila in 1965, Rose Cameron migrated to the U.S. as a teenager. She later earned an Art History and Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. Raring to return to visual art after a successful career in advertising and fashion, she now explores themes of identity, displacement, and personal memory in her pieces. Cameron’s abstract works balance revelation and concealment, reflecting the tension of navigating multiple cultural identities.

Kim Cruz

Kim Cruz, a painter, art therapist, and curator, founded KALMA ART FOUNDATION, a nonprofit focused on art education and therapy. She has worked extensively with children and women affected by trafficking. At 23, Cruz held her first solo exhibition, selling out a series centered on the female figure. By 25, she debuted internationally at the Tokyo Tower Art Fair and later exhibited in Barcelona. Her works have also been shown in leading Philippine galleries, including Leon Gallery International, Modeka Art, Secret Fresh, and J Studio.

Lizza May David

Berlin-based Lizza May David explores gaps and silences in personal and institutional archives through painting, video, and research-based projects. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg and Berlin University of the Arts, she currently lectures at Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. Recent exhibitions include Encounters of Disbelief (Galleria Duemila, Manila, 2024), Traces of Interest (ifa-Galerie, Stuttgart, 2024), and Snare for Birds: Rereading the Colonial Archive (Ateneo Art Gallery, 2023-2024).

Wayne Forte

Born in Manila in 1950, Wayne Forte studied at the University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A. 1973) and Irvine (M.F.A. 1976). A member of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) for over 25 years, he participated in the Florence Portfolio Project in 1993 and has taught at Biola University and Gordon College. Forte’s early artistic influences came from biblical narratives, focusing on spiritual and transcendent themes. Although initially educated in Modernism, he yearned for the passion of earlier art traditions. Forte resides with his wife and four children in Laguna Niguel, California.

Racso Jugarap

Racso Jugarap, born in 1989, is a Filipino wire artist based in Belgium. His intricate wire sculptures create organic, shadow-like forms representing levitation, fluidity, and resilience. His work has become a medium for self-expression and uniting people through shared experiences.

Marissa Gonzalez

Marissa Gonzalez, born in Manila, grew up in Madrid, where her father served as the Philippine ambassador to Spain. She has exhibited internationally since 2000, with shows in Switzerland, France, the UK, Finland, the U.S., and the United Nations in New York and Geneva. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Gonzales worked for the International Organization for Migration in Geneva. Her first Philippine exhibition, The Road to Silence, at the Ayala Museum, sold out. Gonzalez is particularly acclaimed for her meticulous paintings on jusi fabric, a delicate, durable material indigenous to The Philippines.

Kulay Labitigan

Kulay Labitigan is an artist specializing in illustration and narrative design. His vibrant, kaleidoscopic works reflect his upbringing in the Philippines and his experiences as a Southeast Asian gay man living in London. Kulay holds an MA in Narrative Environments from Central Saint Martins and a BFA in Industrial Design. He has exhibited internationally and collaborated with commercial brands such as BT, Microsoft, and Vodafone.

Jaclyn Reyes

Jaclyn Reyes holds a BFA in Art Photography from Syracuse University and a Master’s in Arts Education from Harvard. A 2020 Create Change Artist-in-Residence at The Laundromat Project, Jaclyn co-created community-based art projects with Little Manila Queens Bayanihan Arts in Woodside, Queens. She has received the 2021 En Foco Media Arts Work in Progress award and the 2020 Asian Women Giving Circle grant for her project We Are They, which highlights Filipino healthcare workers in NYC.

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