Art Events in Manila and Beyond

Renato Orara
Library Bookworks
an exhibition / hidden installation
Opening reception on January 8
Thursday, 6pm

Beginning 2009, fifteen Philippine libraries will be participating in a permanent public installation of artworks by New York-based artist Renato Orara. The installation, consisting of drawings hidden in library books, will be heralded by Library Bookworks, his one-month solo show at SLab.

For his first gallery exhibition in the Philippines, Orara renders human ears in library books and produces corresponding photographic prints with the books' call number labels affixed to them. The library books are shelved in libraries, while the photo prints are displayed in the gallery. These prints also serve as maps that disclose the locations of the drawings. To begin the search for the original artworks, one may come to the gallery to view the photo prints, jot down the works' call numbers, and obtain a list of participating libraries. Thus the gallery becomes a library while the libraries become the galleries.

For over a decade, Renato Orara’s works have garnered international critical acclaim. His works are simple yet extreme. Orara's ballpoint ink works on paper, meticulously rendered and densely layered, seem to embody a reality that transcends that of the object that serves as his subject. Viewing reproductions of his work is not enough preparation for the astonishing experience of seeing the original work. His works have been featured in exhibitions in many cities including New York City, Paris, Brussels, Basel, and Miami, and are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Library Bookworks by Renato Orara runs from January 8 to February 14, 2009 at SLab (Silverlens Lab). There will be an opening reception on January 8, Thursday at 6pm. Renato Orara will have a live online artist talk on January 17, Saturday at 12pm. Library Bookworks will be shown along with Family Spaces by Stella Kalaw at Silverlens Gallery.

Visit SLab at 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. For more information, call 8160044/ 09052650873, email manage@silverlensph oto.com or visit www.silverlensphoto .com / http://slab. silverlensphoto. com.