The Man Behind the Canvas

Fine art includes many broad categories, such as painting, print, drawing, photography, craft, design, performance art, mixed-media, sculpture, installation, and new media. Each category includes various styles and classifications. For instance, some of the different styles within the painting genre are realism, photo-realism, painterly, impressionism, expressionism, abstraction and abstract. They can be in many forms and styles and we had the pleasure of meeting Cordillera based visual artist and surrealist Mr. Roger "Rishab" Tibon.

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality".

Rishab is a self-taught artist who expresses “profound admiration” for the works of Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo and Max Ernst. Rishab already  had ten solo exhibitions and numerous group shows locally and abroad. You can view his full profile and works by clicking this link http://www.anbinhgallery.com/roger-ldquorishabrdquo-tibon.html

HOW HE STARTED
Rishab was born in Aklan in 1960.  He is a self - taught artist who considers art as a hobby. During his high school years, he is into T-shirt printing and doing airbrush work for jeepneys and signboards, He later move to Cebu and worked as a freelance artist - designer and became an art director for a company. In the mid-1990s, he settled in Baguio, where he started teaching at a private art school. Then he met National Artist Benedicto Cabrera, more popularly known as BenCab.

 Excerpt from  ABS-CBN INTERVIEW

"Nalaman ni (BenCab) nagtuturo ako ng arnis, martial arts. Tinanong niya, ano ba trabaho mo dito? Sabi ko, nagtuturo ako ng art, at nagpapaint ako... Siya ang nag-encourage sa akin maging full-time sa painting," Tibon said. "Siguro kung di niya ako in-encourage nasa advertising pa rin ako."
Asked if BenCab offered him any advice as an artist, Tibon said, "Wala naman, kasi sabi niya, maski punuin mo lang ng pintura yun canvas, may magkakagusto at bibilhin yan (laughs)."


BEN CAB MUSEUM

We love the depth and approach of surreality in his paintings and his works will surely tickle everyone's mind. We are set to meet him around 1:00 pm at BENCABS Museum in Baguio. As you know,  Bencab Museum  is one of Baguio City's most popular tourist attraction that houses permanent collection of Philippine National Artist Benedicto Cabrera (BenCab) in several galleries, as well as venues for art shows and exhibitions. The Philippine Contemporary Art Galleries highlight the artist’s collection of paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture. The smaller exhibition rooms contain other collections accumulated by BenCab through the years.

From downtown Baguio, we took a metered  taxi to BenCab Museum in Tuba. Alternatively, you can take a jeepney bound for Asin road which passes in front of the museum. We agreed to meet inside,  so we decided to enter the museum and paid Php 120.00 for the entrance fee.  We generally didn't have to wait that long because Rishab's place is just few blocks away from the museum . Once he arrived, he toured us around and had a coffee with him at Café Isabel.


Entrance Fee:
Normal rate: Php 120.00
Students: Php 100.00 (w/ Student ID)
Senior Citizens / PWD: Php80 (w/ Senior/PWD ID)

A MYTHICAL PIECE OF IFUGAO SCULPTURE
The bulol, or "Ifugao rice god," is a carved human figurine into which a certain class of anito is said to incorporate itself when worshipped. Bulols are kept in the house or granary, and are usually made in pairs. They are carved of narra wood, which represents wealth, happiness, and well-being. Every step in their production requires a ceremony, from tree selection to arrival at the owner's house; a consecrated bulol has been bathed in pig's blood, had myths recited to it, and received offerings of wine, ritual boxes, and rice cake

Bulols are usually carved in pairs which are frequently male and female and carved figures are often caricatures of actual people in the village.

Bulong-bulungan by Joy Mallari

RISHAB'S WORK

One of Rishab's work  in the gallery. His paintings are distinct and you can easily tell that it's Rishab's. I love the the mystery behind it, the touch of vagueness and fantasy. Great artwork!

CAFE ISABEL
We headed down to Café Isabel to have some snacks and coffee. It was named after BenCab's famous muse in his paintings. In the café, one can enjoy home-cooked dishes by the chef and original recipes by BenCab.

Rishab's painting inside Cafe Isabel

BenCab's Fishpond

MUSEUM SHOP

The MUSEUM SHOP sells art books, paper products such as postcards, and notepads, highland art & crafts such as wood carvings and textiles as well as other souvenir items from t-shirts, and caps.

RISHAB'S HOME 

We exited the museum and he invited us to his home which is  a minute away from the museum entrance. We got in and saw a huge painting in progress. He gave us some tips and advices on how to paint and the materials he used. Before we bid goodbyes, he handed us a souvenir  he draw wayback ( bottom left corner photo).

I would like to express my thanks to Sir Roger Rishab Tibon for the time and for the souvenir as well. It's was such an honor to meet you. You can browse his work by clicking this link or you can reach him through his facebook account https://www.facebook.com/rishabtibon

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