Literature, folk beliefs, and fairy tales are staging points of a unique new show at the Podium Mall.

Both artists are also eager to showcase the latest direction of their aesthetic style, imbuing these new works with a fresh sense of development and evolution.

Entitled Tales, Folk, and Fairy, the two-man exhibition will open on July 16 at the 2nd Floor Atrium of the Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. This exciting event is hosted by Galerie Joaquin Podium in cooperation with Galerie Stephanie.

Galerie Joaquin Podium is located at the Lower Ground Level of The Podium Mall. They may be reached through their landline at (632) 634-7954, or email at podium.galeriejoaquin@gmail.com while Galerie Stephanie is located at Unit 1B Parc Plaza Building, 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5), Libis, Quezon City. They may be reached through their landline at (632) 709-1488.

Carlo Ongchangco’s continued evolution as an artist has him taking the most cherished childhood classics, like the “The Little Matchgirl” and “The Emperor’s New Wardrobe,” and depicting them in his narrative art. Having graduated with a degree in Interior Design from the University of Santo Tomas, he has dabbled in a variety of media in his career as a visual artist. He is currently the Creative Director of Red Fish, an art apparel label he established early this year that creates its own graphic shirts. From 2007 to 2010, Ongchangco was also co-owner and Creative Director of White Box Studio Gallery. It seems that this visual artist, already making waves among collectors, is here to stay.

A great example of the new direction of Ongchangco’s practice is “The Little Mermaid,” a sculpture of wood and epoxy that portrays the mermaid of the story jumping out of the sea. Ongchangco, whether on canvas or in his sculptures, has a recurring narrator image of a rabbit, and this character is also present. It is also present in his “Red Riding Hood Going to Granma,” where the titular character bicycling to her granma’s house in the distance with the rabbit narrator in tow. Ongchanco’s oeuvre shows an increased confidence in his characteristic ‘boxy’ and anime-inspired figurations. The result is an increasingly consistent series of wonderful and whimsical artworks.

On the other end of the spectrum, Francis Nacion uses his own personal experience as a springboard for a larger examination of Philippine folklore and folk traditions. His investigation into our interactions with the spirit world was brought about by his brother’s third-eye. Coming off the darkness of his earlier works, the Nacion’s brighter canavases are nevertheless still visually arresting and beautifully haunting.

Nacion plays on the ability of spirits to take the forms of humans and animals. So we have a painting like “Metamorphose,” which shows a bird transforming into a woman—or “Solar Eclipse,” where a spirit entity in the form of a man transforms into a dog. Done in an abstracted form of cubism, they are wonderful renditions of folklore in the Philippines.

These new works are works of wonder, perfect for new collectors or experienced collectors looking into supporting newer artists who are about to hit their stride. This is definitely a show that can’t be missed.