Instituto Cervantes presents “Fondly Remembering Spain” an exhibition of Phyllis Zaballero’s “Spanish paintings”. The exhibit will be on view at the Instituto Cervantes’ Intramuros branch from November 10, 2022 to January 22, 2023.

This collection of paintings, including those from private collections and those from the artist, was inspired by the Zaballero’s years spent in Barcelona and memories of her trips around the Iberian Peninsula from 1957 to 1960 which had a strong impact on her as an artist.

She belongs to what we can define as the postmodern generation of artists who were trained in the spirit of the still revolutionary avant-garde style of the first half of the 20th century.  Her first artworks developed in an extraordinary period of Philippine painting, from the 50s to the 80s.

“Fondly Remembering Spain” is organized by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain. For further information, please visit Instituto Cervantes’ website at http://manila.cervantes.es, Facebook page (InstitutoCervantesManila) or Instagram (institutocervantesmanila). You may also send an email to cenmni@cervantes.es.

Together with Fernando Zóbel and Juvenal Sansó, the Spanish painter Betsy Westendorp, who considers the Philippines as her adoptive country, is perhaps the contemporary artist who best represents the connection between Spanish and Filipino art.

In its efforts to promote outstanding women on National Women’s Month, an exhibition in honor of Ms. Westendorp was initially programmed for March 14. However, it did not push through due to the lockdown. Instead, Instituto Cervantes created a short documentary, giving us a tour of the exhibition and an exclusive interview in which the artist tells us about her life and her work.

The highlight of the event is Betsy’s painting “Passage”, which is of special significance for the artist. This is accompanied by the works of various Filipino and Spanish artists with which they pay tribute to Westendorp, namely Phyllis Zaballero, Ivi Avellana Cosio, Marivic Rufino, Vicky Zubiri, Eva Baró, Carmen Brias, Cristina Grisar and Inma Ortoll.

The documentary will be followed by an interview with fellow artists Phyllis Zaballero and Marivic Rufino, as well as Ms. Tina Colayco, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and finally, a message from Betsy herself.

Creadoras: A Tribute to Betsy Westendorp is presented by Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, with the collaboration of the Intramuros Administration and the contributing artists, as well as Manila-born Spanish musician Luis Eduardo Aute.

The link for the event is https://zoom.us/j/95665972044. Access is free of charge and open to all. For further information visit https://manila.cervantes.es or the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Please find photos attached.

For further information kindly contact: cenmni@cervantes.es