by Gene Alcantara Ariosto Dale Bagtas, a 27-year-old multi-awarded artist from Bulacan, Philippines, has garnered two awards at the XIV Florence Biennale 2023: Second Prize for the Visitors Award and Fourth Prize for Mixed Media with his entry, “Redemption of Humanity”, a painting in acrylic and mixed media.
Another Filipino artist, Rebie Remoso, was given a Special Commendation by the Jury for her video art of Filipino children.
With the theme, “I AM YOU, Individual and Collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design”, the exhibition attracted entries from around the world, 21 of which were by Filipinos from the Philippines and Europe. The XIV Florence Biennale is a biannual International Exhibition of Contemporary Art and Design held from 14 to 22 October 2023 at the Spadolini and the Cavaniglia Pavilions of the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, Italy.
All entries competed in various categories including Ceramic Art, Drawing, Calligraphy and Printmaking, Installation Art, Jewellery Art, Mixed Media, New Media Art, Painting, Performance Art, Photography, Sculpture, Textile & Fiber Art, and Video Art among other things.
Bagtas’ entry spoke of the “tremendous possibilities of beauty, that each of us contains something that is irreducibly good, as we are all part of the grand fabric of the universe.”
He explained that his painting shows himself, in accordance with the theme, as a white spot in the middle, with dots representing people around the world, their different cultures and religions.
He added that the upper part shows the light above and people’s beliefs in their God, and the dark part below are those who suffer, but are guided by the light above.
Bagtas attests that we are a part of the whole, as well as a whole corresponding with other wholes, as if saying: “I am you, and you are me, and together, we will wake up from the dark and begin to see.”
Dale Bagtas, middle, with his father Aris Bagtas, right. Selfie by Gene Alcantara, left.
Bagtas received two medals and two certificates from the Biennale.
After the awarding Bagtas was approached by gallery owners in Florence and other parts of Europe, wanting photos with him and to know the price of his painting, clearly a sign of interest in the young Filipino’s works.
Bagtas and his father, Aris Bagtas, were stunned by the young man’s two awards and both cried briefly, promising to go to church the following day to say thanks.
Overwhelmed with joy, young Bagtas thanked “God for the blessing and for looking after the group”. He meant the other artists who waved Filipino flags during the awarding ceremony.
Aris Bagtas, also a well known artist, said that, “Filipino artists are now competing with the best in the world.”
A number of the artists went to other countries in Europe to hold more exhibits.
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