Words by Remalyn Estuesta and Ryanne Co
Photos by Chelsea Cue and Andrea Chan
Vetro is an art gallery open to designers and creators alike who wish to showcase their pieces. Vetro allows creative masterminds to rent out a showroom on one floor and a rooftop lounge on another. Their showroom space has a clean, minimalist, and modern design that allows for a relaxing ambience while looking through various pieces of art. Plus, their roof deck on the sixth floor is the perfect venue for intimate parties overlooking the metro where you can catch a wonderful sunset and Manila’s twinkling skyline. Vetro has only recently opened their first exhibit this month with “An Essential Evolution: The Art of Ann T. Pamintuan.”
Ann T. Pamintuan is an internationally acclaimed Davao-based designer, the first Asian woman to be included in the International Designer Yearbook. Her designs include jewelry, furniture, bags, and home décor.
The exhibit showcases the evolution of Ann Pamintuan’s art pieces: how she went from designing jewelry, picture frames, and vases to furniture and sculptures. It shows her journey as an artist and the development of her style.
Ann Pamintuan is known for using electroplating, a process by which metal coats are applied onto an object, in creating her art pieces. Her works are largely inspired by nature, incorporating the theme into her art through her designs. “Ikebana and origami have a very big influence on my style,” she says. As such, the exhibit has an array of sili brooches, flower-shaped lamps, and of course, her signature cocoon chair, which has been internationally acclaimed by engineers and architects alike.
“Usually, when I work on something, I look at a leaf, or at a branch, and see it as a sofa and one side of a twig could be a part of the sofa, and then I can work on it. From there, you develop a collection,” Pamintuan says. She focuses on keeping her pieces balanced and simple, elegant.
Some of the works exhibited in Vetro are the Lotus Leaf Lounge set, the Glory Be collection and the cocoon chair, inspired from her cocoon vase. The cocoon chair is what Mrs. Pamintuan proudly calls her best piece, the one that has given her instant international recognition.
The exhibit is open to the public from February 27 until March 11 at Vetro. It is open Mondays through Saturdays.
If you want to check out more of Ann Pamintuan’s work, visit:
www.annpamintuan.com
www.facebook.com/AnnTiukinhoyPamintuan/
Or, if you’re an artist looking to display your work, check out:
https://www.facebook.com/vetromanila/
135 Congressional Ave., Project 8, Quezon City
