Bacolod-based but one of the most important artists in Asia, Charlie Co has since been known for works with strong socio-realist themes rendered in expressionist and surrealist mode.
Co has exhibited in numerous countries and has represented the Philippines in prestigious international events such as the Asian Modernism exhibition at the Japan Foundation Asian Cultural Centre in Tokyo and the 23rd Sao Paolo Biennial in Brazil. He received the Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1990.
In the 1980s, he co-founded the Black Artists of Asia (BAA), a Bacolod-based group that helped bring public attention to the plight of sugarcane farmers or sakadas and other underprivileged sectors.
Together with his peers, Charlie has been instrumental in encouraging growth among artist communities in the Visayas specifically through their art biennial initiative, the Visayan Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference or VIVA EXCON, which is now celebrating its 30th year.
In 2005, Charlie Co co-founded Orange Gallery in Bacolod City with Ben Lopue as a venue for young contemporary artists and curators. It has since expanded to Orange Project, the center of a thriving art district for visual arts, film and media-based practices.
Charlie Co’s solo exhibit opens at Mamusa Gallery (ground floor of Casa Emperador, Festive Walk, Megaworld, Iloilo City) on Sept 26, 2022 at 6 p.m.
For Inquiries, contact mamusaartgallery@gmail.com and +63 9693129754.
