Provenance: Finale Art File, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

The bizarre and surreal often go hand in hand in the works of contemporary Filipino artist Louie Cordero. Based in Malabon, Cordero graduated from the University of the Philippines’s College of Fine Arts and also honed his craft through a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2001. Cordero's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, the Singapore Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei. He has also been the recipient of several awards and honors, including the Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Ateneo Art Awards. Cordero’s artistic practice is characterized by the use of uncanny and unorthodox elements such as innards, veins, and tissue, contorted into different forms and shapes that resemble unclassified new lifeforms and organisms. Such an approach and predisposition to an ultimately organic aesthetic allows Cordero to explore the possibilities of our unknown future in a way that puts life at its center. Though it may seem macabre and uncomfortable at first glance, Cordero’s pieces act as an ironic reminder of our mortality. Overall, he continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art with his unique style, thought-provoking themes, and his use of traditional Philippine imagery and symbolism. (J.D.)