Cover The Brut Collective: Reb Belleza, Ron Lopez Davis, David Kaufman, and Sandino Martin highlight ‘raw’ and ‘visceral’ expressions of art, challenging not only each of their particular art forms’ conventions but also what defines an artist collective (Photography: Sandino Martin)
The Brut Collective: Reb Belleza, Ron Lopez Davis, David Kaufman, and Sandino Martin highlight ‘raw’ and ‘visceral’ expressions of art, challenging not only each of their particular art forms’ conventions but also what defines an artist collective (Photography: Sandino Martin)
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Artist collectives usually have a unifying style or design philosophy. Influenced whether by familiar social backgrounds or interests, they might be deemed a solid unit representing a particular clique or cause. However, for The Brut Collective, diversified artistic expression is the key. What binds them together is the brotherhood they found in each other against the tides of convention.
When prolific French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet captivated the art scene in the Fifties with his art brut, which translates to “raw art”, he sparked the idea of having unorthodox experimentations in art using various tools and mediums. Amid the dominant, white-walled galleries showcasing works that conform with standards of perfection, he introduced the experience of seeing art in its unmediated form.
Reb Belleza finds this fascinating, as art should have freedom and spontaneity—both for the maker and the spectator. As a multi-disciplinary artist, he does not limit himself to practising a singular traditional art form but dares to engage himself in various kinds while being rooted in his perception and understanding of the human condition. Having had exhibitions in galleries and museums in Hong Kong, Venice, and New York, Belleza has proven that one enriches his artistry in blurring the boundaries between genres and media.
Belleza wasn’t really looking for a group of artists to join in or planning to create one when he showcased his works in 2018 at the EDSA Shangri-La Plaza under The New Gallery and Artistree Gallery. But in an invitation from one of his good friends, Marti Magsanoc, he chanced upon the works of Ron Lopez Davis alongside those of the late Carlos Celdran at Archivo 1984. Having known each other for around seven years in the art scene, the idea of jointly exhibiting has lingered in his mind.
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Above Reb Belleza is a multi-disciplinary artist whose works traverse the boundaries of traditional art forms, combining painting, sculpture, installation, and performance to create visceral experiences that engage both the intellectual and emotional facets of the viewer. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
Reb Belleza is a multi-disciplinary artist whose works traverse the boundaries of traditional art forms, combining painting, sculpture, installation, and performance to create visceral experiences that engage both the intellectual and emotional facets of the viewer. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
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Abstract artist Davis was born in Manila and grew up in San Francisco, California. Coming from other disciplines like photography, culinary arts, and business, he also practised painting and exhibited his works. Eventually, he was invited to join a group of artists from Berkeley and San Francisco called The Centipede Project Art Cooperative.
Some of Belleza’s recent works like Fluxus and Well Oiled Machine represent his penchant for expressionist style in gestural approach but informed by patterns and vibrancy in colour. Davis has similar aesthetics but with more figurative representations, as seen in recent works like Blue Morning Light and Solitude 1. But what weaves them together is the freedom in movement found in their strokes that synchronises with the emotional message of their works. There is vigour apparent in their fluid expressiveness.
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Above Ronald Lopez Davis II is an Abstract Artist born in Manila but grew up most of his life in San Francisco, California. Later on, his direction took him to painting on canvas. Working primarily with oil ,his mix media works combine a play of colours and textures creating a warm and dynamic energy on the canvas. His works can be found in private collections in Berlin, Barcelona, San Francisco, Berkeley, New York and Florida. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
Ronald Lopez Davis II is an Abstract Artist born in Manila but grew up most of his life in San Francisco, California. Later on, his direction took him to painting on canvas. Working primarily with oil ,his mix media works combine a play of colours and textures creating a warm and dynamic energy on the canvas. His works can be found in private collections in Berlin, Barcelona, San Francisco, Berkeley, New York and Florida. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
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Belleza found affinity not only with Davis’s works but also with those of David Kaufman. The Filipino-American-Spanish artist has always had a lifelong passion for painting; however, he built a successful career first by taking over their family’s architectural stone business. As an intuitive and experimental artist, Kaufman creates mixed media works using gestural abstractions that usually involve material tools and his body.
After being blown away by Kaufman’s first exhibition in Manila, Belleza thought they could soon mount a show. Their works collectively evoke emotional depth as they are crafted through their attunement to their physicality. Kaufman’s recent provocative works, like Innovate and Spearhead, carry his distinct eye for texture yet are also reflective, like those of Davis and Belleza.
But when Belleza discovered Sandino Martin, his daughter’s friend from Dulaang UP, the university-wide theatre organisation of UP Diliman, the Brut Collective was completed.
Above David E Carriedo Kaufman is a Filipino-American-Spanish artist splitting his time between Madrid and Manila. An intuitive and experimental artist, Kaufman rejects tradition, pushing aesthetic boundaries to develop innovative painting techniques. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
David E Carriedo Kaufman is a Filipino-American-Spanish artist splitting his time between Madrid and Manila. An intuitive and experimental artist, Kaufman rejects tradition, pushing aesthetic boundaries to develop innovative painting techniques. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
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In his storytelling, multidisciplinary artist Sandino Martin blurs the line between visual art and performance. Having worked in theatre, film, video, photography, sculpture, and furniture design, Martin explores creating immersive experiences through art. His installations allow spectators to engage with art through visual, spatial, and emotional dimensions. They offer conversations between form, expression, space, and identity.
In a show at White Room Gallery that Belleza curated, he had Martin exhibit his work. Finding affinity and deep respect in each other’s speciality, the four agreed to do a show at J Studio after speaking to its owner, Jia Estrella. In July 2024, The Brut Collective had its first show at J Studio, which was immediately followed by an invitation to Qube Gallery in Cebu. Recently, the artists showcased each of their works at the J Studio’s booth in Art Fair Philippines, which, on the last day, coincided with the opening of their immersive exhibition at Spin Gallery in Antipolo, Rizal.
Above Sandino Martin is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans theatre, film, video, photography, sculpture, and furniture design. At the heart of his practice is a deep curiosity and a journey of self-discovery, creating immersive experiences that engage visual, spatial, and emotional dimensions. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
Sandino Martin is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans theatre, film, video, photography, sculpture, and furniture design. At the heart of his practice is a deep curiosity and a journey of self-discovery, creating immersive experiences that engage visual, spatial, and emotional dimensions. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
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“It was really cathartic—the way it was being put together,” recalls Belleza. “We’re like-minded individuals, and I think that’s the gel that glues us together.”
“It happened pretty organically,” adds Davis, who shares that when the idea was proposed to him, he did not need to think twice to agree. “It’s a very interesting lineup of people coming from different backgrounds and histories.”
“But the interesting thing about us is as much as we are part of a collective, our works could not be any more different,” interjects Kaufman. “Each of us has our own identity, but we always bounce ideas off each other. Somehow, we still remain pure in our personal artistic visions. If they look the same in other collectives, at Brut Collective, we look diversified.”
Above The Brut Collective’s electronic billboard along EDSA-Shaw Boulevard for their show at Spin Gallery (Image: Courtesy of Sandino Martin)
The Brut Collective’s electronic billboard along EDSA-Shaw Boulevard for their show at Spin Gallery (Image: Courtesy of Sandino Martin)
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Varied their styles and mediums may be, the four artists are drawn to forging a new path for the art scene where concept is paramount and there is a dramatic shift in the viewer experience. While many spaces continue to “showcase” art, the Brut Collective aims to immerse their viewers and chart unfiltered paths of interpretation in their art, which, by itself, is raw and untethered.
The shift in approach traces to the members’ transformative journey.
Once focused on figurative sculpture, Martin embraced fragmentation and abstraction, creating rough-hewn works that reflect the imperfections of human existence. Engaging with his work, A Dream Within a Dream, at the recent Art Fair Philippines was a moment of solitude as I navigated the fair's frenetic atmosphere.
Davis abandoned minimalism for layered paintings incorporating found objects and bodily fluids, channelling the darker aspects of the psyche.
Kaufman found freedom in art brut, letting go of meticulous planning to create emotionally charged canvases.
Lastly, Belleza was a figurative painter who painted portraits until he sought freedom to express himself. Despite being accepted into the UP College of Fine Arts in 1987, he went to study visual communication and French in the USA. Returning to the Philippines in the Nineties, he re-enrolled at UP Diliman for studio arts or painting. He earned recognition as one of the university’s 100 artists to watch out for in 2008, with works informed by socially relevant issues.
Above One of David Kaufman’s abstract works infused with expressionist style
Above Martin’s ‘A Dream within a Dream’, made with stainless steel and resin
One of David Kaufman’s abstract works infused with expressionist style
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Above From Belleza’s ‘The Well Oil Machine’ series
Above Davis’s ‘Marin County, CA’, an oil painting with charcoal on canvas
From Belleza’s ‘The Well Oil Machine’ series
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Having seen how the country’s contemporary art scene has grown over the last decades, Belleza comments that it is changing.
“Most of the artists today are in tune wth the world’s art,” he says. “Trying to get a platform is really difficult. I see a lot of galleries discovering new talent, which balances the trajectory, but then artists like myself had to consider the realities: ‘Is this sustainable for my family? Am I going to live off art?’... Some better artists have not yet discovered or had just one group show because they can’t sustain it.”
Coming from different backgrounds prior to practising visual arts, Kaufman finds this an element in the group that affirms their ouevre as unique.
“If you’re a commercial artist, you must play to the audience,” he says, then recalls his career highlights—straddling between architecture-design and visual arts. “I’m lucky to have this privilege to be exploratory and sustain myself, not restricted to the commercial side of the art scene, and that gives me an incredible level of creative freedom.”
Above An installation view of The Brut Collective’s exhibition at Spin Gallery in Antipolo, Rizal, which runs until March 23
An installation view of The Brut Collective’s exhibition at Spin Gallery in Antipolo, Rizal, which runs until March 23
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Davis comments that the recent Art Fair Philippines offers a view of how generations of artists are in a state of flux, with one influencing the other.
“As we progress in our crafts, in our creations, we find ourselves fortunate and more than grateful to showcase our works there,” says Davis. “Even though some people find our generation’s works hokey compared to those from classical artists, I see it from a place of wonder.”
Mounting an exhibition at a startup art gallery tucked in Antipolo is an incredible feat the collective finds unusual for the rest of the artists establishing their careers in Metro Manila. Moreover, the gallery was painted in black and lit dimly, offering a surreal atmosphere that will engulf the visitors as they meditate on The Brut Collective’s works. Advertising the exhibition on an electronic billboard along EDSA was also a maverick idea.
“We decided that with David’s experience, Sandino’s freshness, and his perspective of a new market, everything is in a state of flux right now,” says Davis. “So, any avenue we find will help us get an edge. And if we can take advantage of it, we will.”
Above The contemporary arts scene is changing and The Brut Collective is here to make that change set in motion. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
The contemporary arts scene is changing and The Brut Collective is here to make that change set in motion. (Photo: Sandino Martin)
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Constantly innovating and exploring other means to connect the arts viscerally to the people, The Brut Collective dares to be bold in the dynamic, commercially driven contemporary art scene. The Spin Gallery exhibition is a testament to their fearlessness in embracing unexplored creative terrains. Belleza and Kaufman recall the exhibition opening as moving for many attendees.
“I want the collective to go über modern,” says Martin. “Moving forward, we can mix all the experimentations of each other and create an atmosphere unlike in any other exhibition.”
Although the collective has exhibitions in its lineup, each member can still mount solo shows here and abroad. The group cultivates profound respect for each other and motivates each member to explore more. How the people interact and interpret their works, the collective hopes for meaningful conversations.
“After I finish my work, I become a viewer of my work,” says Martin. “So when I get to converse with other people and hear their thoughts, musings, and curiosities about my work, it makes me more enlightened as a person and as an artist.”
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About
Before assuming the Art and Culture Editor position, Franz has always had a penchant for visual and performing arts. He is passionate about exploring and writing about the local cultural scene and rediscovering the country’s storied past and rich heritage. Besides working on this luxury lifestyle magazine, Franz is an avid book reader, local traveller, museum-goer, chorister, and community theatre playwright.
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Franz earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas. He writes about local visual and performing artists and their craft; drinks wines, liquors, and spirits and talks about the creativity of their respective winemakers and master blenders; tries to learn more about business and investments; respects the tradition and artistry that go behind the making of watches and jewellery; and appreciates the genius of architecture and creative design.
As head of Tatler Philippines’ pool of writers, he helps them bring impactful and socially relevant stories to light.
For any leads, you may reach him through @franzsorillaiv on Instagram or franz@tatlerphilippines.com via email.
