Jun Alfon Painting Exhibit at the BAEC
Sixty-two-year-old Fernando “Jun” Solis Alfon Jr. (yes, son of Visayan film director Fernando Alfon Sr. and nephew of esteemed writer Estrella Alfon) wants urban people to “feel the pulse of hardworking and warm souls who exist in an almost extinct, but genuine world generally unknown to the public.” His works, featured in his 31st one-man show at the SM City Cebu Art Center last June 25 to July 10, profoundly capture the mystical aura of Philippine southern tribes like the T’bolis, Bagobos, Higawnons, Maranaos, Mandayas, Mansakas and Badjaos. The exhibit again documented his experiences among the indigenous people of Mindanao with whom he had interfaced, while immersing in their actual environment.
A coffee table book on his works entitled “Mystical and Magical Mindanao” penned by Grace Dacanay-Chong, printed in 2008, revealed how 40 years of his life got dedicated to producing a series of acrylic and watercolor paintings – on panel, as well as vendor, musician, and mother and child series, and his works on paper in the modernist’s approach.
“This is what strikes the beholder of Jun Alfon’s subjects on canvas. They are a rare – and hopefully not vanishing – breed of men, women, and children from the uplands of Mindanao. They belong to some of the many tribes, collectively called Lumad, who are precariously hanging on to their ethnic culture.”
Alfon feels he has something in common with these people. They look as colorful as his own life journey.
Born in Manila in the 50s, Alfon lived here in Cebu where his father, Fernando Alfon Sr. was a filmmaker, with an artist’s temperament. “He was always excited and always deep into creating new ways of doing things,” Chong pointed out in the book.
Finally with a degree, Alfon apprenticed as a stage designer at the Cultural Center of the Philippines under Willie Buhay, an interior designer. Buhay, spotting Alfon’s talent and passion for the arts, encouraged him to take up serious painting. Suddenly a door opened for Alfon when he was commissioned to do all the paintings for Margarita “Ting-Ting” Cojuangco’s living room which he helped transform into a Chinese emperor’s room.
Now armed with confidence and a sizable portfolio, he journeyed to Davao where he hoped he would develop his art further.
As part of the 2013-2014 Cultural Program, the Philippine Cultural Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) in Tampa, Florida will present Alfon’s original paintings of the indigenous tribes of the Philippines in a one-man show on Sunday, November 24, 2013 to be held at the Bautista Lobby of the beautiful Bayanihan Arts and Events Center. The exhibits will be open to the public from 1-5 pm. A portion of the sales of the paintings will go to PCFI’s future cultural programs.
The Bayanihan Arts and Events Center is located at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive, Tampa, FL 33626.
For more information, call (813) 925-1232, call PCFI Cultural Affairs Director Joey Omila at (813) 312-6518 or visit us at www.pcfitampa.org .