Contemporary art exhibition offers range of perspectives on Philippine culture

GLENDALE, CA — The Forest Lawn Museum presents “Filipino California: Art and the Filipino Diaspora,” an exhibition featuring the work of seven contemporary artists working in a variety of styles and formats, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, conceptual art and more. The artists in the exhibition—Eliseo Art Silva, Allison Hueman, Anthony Francisco, Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza, Christine Morla, Maria Villote and Junn Roca—address directly and indirectly issues related to Filipino culture and the Filipino-American experience.

Eliseo Art Silva is one of the most prominent Filipino-American artists today. One of his major public art projects in Los Angeles is “Talang Gabay: Our Guiding Star” (2022), the entrance arch to the historic Filipinotown neighborhood. Silva was born in Manila and immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen. Today, he has studios in both the United States and the Philippines. Silva’s studio art incorporates surrealist elements and is charged with political meaning that examines his experiences as an immigrant and pays tribute to the sacrifices and contributions of Filipinos in America.

Allison Hueman is an Oakland-based artist whose diverse portfolio includes outdoor murals, fine art paintings, and immersive installations. Hueman first gained recognition for her street art and is known for her distinctive style, which she calls “etherealism.” Her works have a dreamlike quality that combines human figures with abstract elements and vaporous layers. In addition to her paintings, Hueman has also collaborated with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Nike, Sony Music, and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Philippine California features new paintings by Hueman, including one inspired by “The Mystery of Life,” a 1928 Forest Lawn sculpture by Italian artist Ernesto Gazzeri.

Anthony Francisco is a creator, director, illustrator and concept artist who has worked on a range of creative projects, including over twenty films. For nine years, he worked as a Senior Visual Development Artist for Marvel Studios, where he designed iconic characters such as Baby Groot (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Loki (“Thor”) and the Dora Milaje (“Black Panther”). Throughout his career, Francisco has drawn inspiration and influence from Filipino culture to design new characters. He is currently developing several projects, including an animated series about Filipino folklore and a vast science fiction universe called “Creature Chronicles.”

Christine Morla is a multidisciplinary artist best known for her installations that examine color, texture and scale. Inspired by the Philippines banigHand-woven rugs used for sleeping and sitting, Morla creates labor-intensive installations with hundreds of pieces of wallpaper, found materials, and smaller weavings. Her work explores the complexities of contemporary identity, with each element of her installations contributing to vibrant works that explore cultural signifiers within and outside of her own inspirations and influences.

Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza is a multidisciplinary artist who explores the impact of history, memory, and nostalgia on individual experience. Raised in Manila before emigrating to Los Angeles as a child, her works are informed by her experiences as part of the Filipino diaspora. Mendoza plays with scale, material, and perspective to transform existing images and objects into new works of art. Her work is intended as an act of decolonization that asks viewers to reconsider the history, context, and value of these objects and experiences. Among her many honors, Mendoza was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts in 2019.

Maria Villote was born in Manila and immigrated to the United States at the age of ten. Her works explore important themes around diasporic identities, including assimilation, cultural alienation, and the feeling of being an outsider. Many of her works use recognizable objects in surprising or unexpected ways. Villote aims to highlight the cultural amalgamation that occurs when two worlds collide, drawing analogies between cultures while exploring similarities and differences. Above all, she wants her works to encourage viewers to reflect on their own cultural identities, highlight the challenges immigrants face, and create connections that bridge the gaps between different cultures.

For over forty years, Junn Roca has worked in the fields of fine and commercial art. He was born and raised in the Philippines, where he apprenticed under renowned Filipino painter Felix Gonzales. After moving to the United States in 1979, Roca began a successful career in the animation industry, working as a background artist and winning two Emmy Awards. Today, Roca works primarily as an “en plein air” painter, and the exhibition features works depicting scenes ranging from rustic Philippine villages to iconic California landscapes.

The exhibition was curated by museum director James Fishburne, PhD. He said, “We are thrilled to showcase this group of artists and their expressions of Filipino culture across genres and styles. From Anthony Francisco’s contributions to popular culture to Allison Hueman’s influence in street art and studio painting, the artists in this exhibition offer us a deeper understanding of Filipino culture and its impact on contemporary society.” Eliseo Art Silva said, “Filipinos have been in California for centuries and continue to shape the state. It is an honor to exhibit alongside other Filipino-American artists and explore the commonalities and variations in our perspectives on the culture of the Philippines and the impact we have had on the culture of California.”

The exhibition will be on view at the Forest Lawn Museum from April 20 through September 8. An opening reception was held on Saturday, April 20 at the Forest Lawn Museum. The event featured live music and complimentary Filipino food and beverages. The event also featured the presentation of a $500 Forest Lawn Museum Arts Fellowship to rising Filipino-American artist Edmund Arevalo.

Museum visiting hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Crucifixion-Resurrection Room: Located next to the Forest Lawn Museum, the Crucifixion-Resurrection Room features THE Crucifixion (195 feet x 45 feet), which is the largest painting in the western United States. It was painted by Polish artist Jan Styka in the 1890s. The building also houses The Resurrection (70 feet by 51 feet), which was painted by American artist Robert Clark in 1965. Visitors can view the newly revamped, 18-minute, documentary-style audiovisual program, which includes new video and narration that tell the story of two colossal paintings and the unique building Forest Lawn created to house them. The audiovisual program airs Tuesday through Sunday on the hour (10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed at 1 p.m. for lunch). Closed occasionally for special events. For more information about the Crucifixion-Resurrection Room, visit the website.

Visiting hours for the Great Mausoleum are 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. daily. Admission and parking to the Forest Lawn Museum, Hall of Crucifixion-Resurrection, and the Great Mausoleum are free. For more information or to schedule a free group tour, please call 323-340-4782, email [email protected], or visit the website.

Please note that the Forest Lawn Museum is located at the top of Forest Lawn-Glendale Hill. Please follow the museum and/or event signage.

The Forest Lawn Museum opened in 1952 and today includes three galleries and a gift shop. The renowned permanent collection of sculpture, stained glass, mosaics and architecture is spread across Forest Lawn’s six Southern California locations. Forest Lawn founder Dr. Hubert Eaton wrote in his Builder’s Credo that our park should be “a place where artists study and draw; where teachers lead happy children to see what they read in books.” In that spirit, selections from the Forest Lawn Museum’s permanent collection of photographs, paintings, and bronze and marble sculptures are on display in the museum’s front gallery. The Forest Lawn Museum typically devotes two galleries to world-class rotating exhibitions, focusing on subjects ranging from aerial photography to puppetry to stained glass.

The Forest Lawn Museum is located adjacent to the Crucifixion-Resurrection Room, which houses “The Crucifixion,” a 200-foot-wide by 45-foot-high painting by Polish artist Jan Styka. Other notable pieces from Forest Lawn’s collection in the Great Mausoleum include the stained glass window “The Last Supper” by artist Rosa Caselli-Moretti, the “Poets’ Windows,” and marble replicas of Michelangelo’s “Moses” and “Pietà.”