White Walls Gallery presents a retrospective and tribute exhibition for Nestor Vinluan

“Since he gave me a free hand as the curator of his Diamond Jubilee, I thought of celebrating Dean Vinluan’s multifaceted legacy in the Philippine contemporary art scene,” De Veyra says. The curator thus explored the idea of seeing Vinluan as one of the country’s most accomplished and most important abstractionists and as a mentor to countless artists and creatives, not to mention being the longest dean to serve the UPCFA, making him instrumental to the building of the college’s current campus.

“The main challenge was to come up with a lineup of artists that represents this triangulation of Dean Vinluan’s indelible legacy in the art world,” says De Veyra. “The process of building a lineup of over 60 artists meant having to interview his students from the first batches that he taught since he returned from New York down to the very last class that he advised at the UPCFA,” shares the curator.

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Vinluan finished his Fine Arts degree at UPCFA in 1972 and continued his studies at the Pratt Institute in New York on a Fullbright Hays scholarship. There, in 1982, he earned a master’s degree in painting with a minor in printmaking.

When he returned to the Philippines a year later, he started teaching at his alma mater and later assumed the position of dean. He received accolades, citations, invitations, and leading roles in the local art scene. He also became an artist-in-residence in Austria and Singapore and an honourary member of the Asia Society Philippines. He earned the Most Outstanding Fullbright Alumni in Arts and Humanities from the Philippine Fullbright Scholar’s Association, among many other international recognitions. His oeuvre, marked by rhythmic geometrical patterns and inspirations from the natural world, was described by Imahica Art Gallery as having “an unparalleled, quiet spirituality and ethereal sublimity”.

In this momentous celebration, De Veyra featured the works of Junyee, Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado, Benjie Cabangis, Norberto Carating, Elmer Borlongan, Emmanuel “Manny” Garibay, Manuel Ocampo, Jonathan Olazo, Leo Abaya, Jose John Santos III, Pam Yan Santos, Rey Concepcion, MM Yu, John Cinco, Katti Sta Ana, Jon Red, Patricia Perez-Eustaquio, Juni Salvador, Riel Hilario, Pablo Biglang-awa, Ernest Concepcion, Paulo Vinlian (son of the celebrated artist), Hanna Petty John, Archie Oclos, Lec Cruz, Ayka Go, Kaloy Sanchez, Reybert Ramos, Winner Jumalon, Fernando Escora, Ian Quirante, Indy Paredes, Sarah de Veyra-Buyco, Buen Abrigo, Pam Quinto, Jojo Soria de Veyra, Joven Alcala, Dyani Lao, Olive Jaro Lopez, Jaco Payawal, Julieanne Ng, Shireen Co, Nasser Zulueta, Carzen Arpa Esprela, Carmel Lim Torres, Sio Montera, Norman Dreo, Grandier Gil Bella, Yasmin Almonte, Benjamin T Cabrera, Regina Reyes, Noelle Varela, Roan Alvarez, Nubbin Beldia, Ness Sheen, Nathalie Dagmang, Pancho Piano, Raul Rodriguez, John Paul Diciembre, and Zeke Cancio. Lastly, Liv Romualdez Vinluan (daughter of the celebrated artist) made a special tribute.

“Perhaps the most rewarding feedback from Dean Vinluan was when he personally told me that he respects me as a visual artist and curator. To be respected by your own mentor is something that is deeply grounding and humbling,” De Veyra shares.

Read more: In Conversation with Junyee: The father of installation art in the Philippines

The tremendous amount of support that the former dean received from his students, colleagues, and contemporaries was overwhelming enough to tug the heart of such an indomitable figure in the Philippine art scene. “Dean Vinluan thanked me, while on the verge of tears,” De Veyra remembers.

“I remember telling him that it is an honour to celebrate a man who has poured out his life for the development of countless artists, creatives, art educators, designers, gallerists, and art writers in the Philippines,” he says.

In mounting the exhibition, De Veyra realised there was still much to learn from Vinluan’s storied life and legacy. “I feel I barely scratched the surface of Dean Nestor Olarte Vinluan,” he says. “How can anyone truly give justice to 75 years of a truly well-lived life? Dean Vinluan’s deep spirituality and personal philosophy, his understanding of the cosmos and of the unseen forces that are at work in our daily lives, his masterful techniques that prove why he is one of the most important abstractionists in the country, and his mesmerising and riveting pictorial fields are but some of the aspects of Dean Vinluan that future curators, art lovers, writers, scholars, gallerists, and collectors, can learn more about,” he explains.

In one of De Veyra’s lunches with Vinluan, he asked his mentor what advice he has for him and the next generation of artists to achieve longevity in life and art practice. De Veyra shares this with Tatler: “Kindness, prayer and meditation, [knowing] the importance of being functionally fit so one can continue producing work despite one’s age, manage one’s energy by having a marathon mentality in both relationships and art practice, and the necessity of being able to focus on your work—not awards or external validation...”

Vinluan believes that to be an artist with a well-lived life, have your work as “... what makes you feel alive.”

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