AFTER years of working with swatches provided by architects and interior designers, former photographer Ivan Acuña enjoys a role reversal when five accomplished individuals work around his abstract pieces instead. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/Photo by Rodel Rotoni
FOR a change, Rustan’s home editor Andres Vazquez Prada chooses cold, masculine colors such as gray, silver and cobalt blue in lieu of warm, earthy shades for his “Luxe” living room. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/Photo by Rodel Rotoni
Interior metalscapes By Alex Vergara Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 19:53:00 07/22/2008
MANILA, Philippines—For more than a week now, Rustan’s Home in Makati has doubled as a gallery featuring the artworks of painter Ivan Acuña. Dubbed as “Ode to Metalscapes,” the series is said to be one of the most anticipated events in Metro Manila’s visual arts calendar this July.
Joining the contemporary abstract painter are five equally famous and creative individuals—Andres Vazquez Prada, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, Hindy Weber-Tantoco, Mary Lou Vergara and Inquirer Lifestyle’s Tessa Prieto-Valdes.
Drawing from their respective styles, the five were asked to design various lifestyle displays inspired by and incorporating a few select paintings of Acuña, with local and imported items sold at Rustan’s Home.
The displays are as unique as the people behind them. Ranging from bold to subdued, from eclectic to streamlined, from traditional to modern, the displays revolve around Acuña’s fluid and metallic brushstrokes.
“I’m used to working with interior designers and architects,” said Acuña, whose paintings are in a number of public areas, from showrooms to lobbies of big buildings, and posh condominiums. “But instead of me being limited by swatches, this time it’s the other way around. For a change, it’s nice to have other people work around my paintings.”
Before going to work, the five agreed among themselves what area in the house to showcase and the Acuña artwork to base it on.
The flamboyant Prieto-Valdes chose Acuña’s twin red paintings with vibrant splashes of gold, yellow and bits of green as backdrops for her table setting dubbed as “Vivacious.”
“Juxtaposing such bold paintings with subdued pieces wouldn’t have worked,” says the interior designer. “Nor would it look good had I used boldly colored items that contrasted with the paintings.”
Instead, she chose a selection of items, including IVV hand-blown glass, Vidreco glass dinner plates and slate plate mats, in colors that mostly echo those found in the painting. And for that added Prieto-Valdes touch, she threw in a number of candleholders spruced up with strings of dangling purple beads that remind us of her statement earrings.
Muted colors
For her office-cum-study area called “Vogue,” Aranas-Alunan went for contrast by combining muted colors and textures in keeping with the painter’s black-and-white work.
To help her realize her vision, the bag designer used streamlined furniture pieces, including a U+ side table, Artemide table lamp and Kartell chair.
She gave the setup a light feminine touch with the use of floral area rug and decorative throw pillows. As testaments to her love for Filipino-made objects, she added medium-size native baskets and small capiz table accents.
“My own office would have been similar to this if only I had the same unlimited budget,” she quips. “I imagined these baskets, for instance, as roomy containers for swatches and samples I come across daily. These table accents can hold anything, from candies to paper clips.”
For someone who favors earthy shades, Vazquez Prada, Rustan’s very own home editor, went against his own preference by choosing Acuña’s gray and silver painting with jolts of electric blue.
Dubbed as “Luxe,” his living room showcase combines such elements as a Padua Tristan settee with pearl gray shag, carabao horn nesting tables and U+ Cado side table.
Colors are decidedly mute except for the silver polycarbonate lamp, which gives the entire setup a neo-European look.
Serving as perfect foil to the metallic piece is a glass bubble lamp by Artemide. To make the showcase look homey yet elegant, Vazquez Prada used a pair of pale tinalak-covered throw pillows from Davao.
“This is really an ideal opportunity to buy stuff for everybody and make it work,” he says. “Normally, I’d spend a great deal of time putting various items together for shows like this.”
Well, not this time. With Ivan’s paintings to set the tone, everything sort of just fell into place for everybody, including Vergara (“Divine”) and Weber-Tantoco (“Vibrant”), who did a meditation room and an outdoor lounge, respectively.
Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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