The Metro Gallery presents “EighteenTwentyFour | 18 x 24″, a group exhibit featuring recent 18″x24″ paintings on canvas by contemporary artists, including our very own Graphic Artist, Simkin de Pio.  The XS Community is invited to view the show starting this Saturday, the 16th of May, 2009 at 6pm. The show will run until the 26th.

De Pio’s works present unique insights into the human condition in a narrative of forms and color that breathe life into thoughts, concepts and emotions from which emerge a striking realism.  Avatar is his take on the emotional ambiguity of icons i.e. in cyberspace and the plasticity created by the coexsitence of modern technology and human behavior.

Simkin, scion of famous Cebuano artist Gig de Pio, graduated from the Ateneo de Manila High School in 1994, and completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman in 1998.  He has garnered a number of awards including a two time awardee at the Shell National Student’s Art Competition, while being elected and actively involved in the college’s student council and a university/college scholar at that.  His fascination with human anatomy, figures and the portrait led to several significant commissioned works all throughout his college and professional career, influence of which is evident in his first solo show “Personification” in January 2007.   He was also one of the 100 UP Centennial Artists whose work graced the centenary celebration exhibit and coffee table book “100 Nudes, 100 Years” held at the Mandarin Oriental Suites in Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, with his work “Point of Inflection”.  Simkin works in a variety of media, although he works mainly in oil, acrylic, and pastel/charcoal.

As Graphic Artist here at Xavier School, he is currently under the wing of Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ and Mr. Gary Garcia at the Development and Alumni Relations Office of the Central Administration where his set of skills in graphic and web design & development aid not only the school itself, but to entities affiliated with it in the likes of the ERDA Group, JBEC, and the Ateneo.  In addition to this, he is an art instructor in the Xavier elective (XELECT) Art Course for High 2, teaching basic drawing and other fundamentals of visual arts to the burgeoning Xaverian artist within. He believes that sharing his skills in drawing and painting to young but great Xavierian minds is both a privilege for him as much as it is essential to their development into Men for Others and well-rounded adults.  Drawing not only enhances our understanding and appreciation of the arts in general, it “puts everything into proportion.”

To know more about de Pio and his art, visit http://simkin.depio.com.

Please feel free to visit the Metro Gallery on or before May 16th (kindly check the map below for directions.)The show features an invigorating plethora of works in various media and styles including those of JULIO AUSTRIA, KADIN TIU, CARLO ONGCHANGCO, WESLEY VALENZUELA, KEKA, RENEBOY CUVOS, EGG FIASCO, PARKER ENCISA, JIGGER CRUZ, MITCH VALERA, VINCENT DE PIO, AILEEN LANUZA, GINO TIOSECO, CLINT CATALAN, HERALDO CORPUZ, RIZALDY GARRA, RAFFY NAPAY, CESAR DELGADO, ALRASHDI MOHAMMAD, AVERIL PARAS, MARCIAL PONTILLAS, ROVI SALEGUMBA, EPIL FRANKLYN, ROBERT SHOOK, JULMARD, RONALD CARINGAL, RIANNE SALVARITA, BJORN CALLEJA, DELF CAMPOS, DEMOSTHENES CAMPOS, JOHN LUTHER PONGOGAN, NEMO, HENRY ROYALES, BERNARDO DEL MUNDO, MARK SALVATUS, CHRISTIAN TAMONDONG, KRIS JAN GAVINO, JOSELITO JANDAYAN, RANDALF DILLA, CJ TANEDO, DON DALMACIO, TYAGO ALMARIO, MARLON SEE, JASON MONTINOLA, ADONAI ARTIFICIO, MYKEL VELASCO, BENJIE BERMUDEZ, LAWRENCE BORSOTO and JOJO LOFRANCO.For more information, click HERE.