A Filipino expatriate once based in Indonesia, Fernando Modesto can already claim a niche among the art collectors of Europe, Asia and North America. His reputation lies in his independent visual style on subjects of Western content and milieu but told with the brush works dipped in colors expressing the Asian sentiment.

"Life, which is the subject of all art, is a tease," Modesto says. "Like the earth, it is always moving. Art is not about experiencing life but feeling the thrill of interpreting and expressing life with your talent. You play with yourself, with your emotions as though you are God himself.

"Colors and scribbles tell about my personal feelings at the time I did my painting or drawing. But they do not describe me. I am not a consistent person. The scribbles are personal symbols of my uneasiness. I am trying to beat boredom, which occupies me always. Scribbling is a part of the creative process because painting itself is a lot of scribbles."

In his best works, the world constantly and forever moves through various dimensions of spirituality and artfulness.

"By instinct, you realize that the world is a mysterious place that an artist must explore in his lifetime. It is an exciting place. You have to discover it. Nobody will help you in that direction. You have to feel it," Modesto adds.

Brown and built heavier than her lean and renowned father, the sculptor Ed Castrillo, who casts a long shadow in the history of Filipino art of the 20th century, Ovvian Castrillo can move away from her father's shadow with ease with her many talents. Last year, she produced a feel-good book entitled "Goddess in the Mirror: A Book of Self-Discovery for the Filipino Woman."

A paragraph from Chapter Seven of her book says , "That's why, in my belief, women have a big responsibility and opportunity that should not be downplayed, minimized or ignored. This is the responsibility and opportunity to plant seeds of peace among our children seeds of peace and love into their hearts and mind, for the sake of our families, for the sake of our communities, for the sake of our country and our world!.."

This excerpt is a verbal transference of the theme of dynamism shown in Ovvian's three-dimensional pieces whether in the expanding and narrowing elongations, in the intertwined volumes of metal, in the stack of metal blocks, or in the perceptible cast of light and shadows. There seems to be a whirling race to gather quickly a bunch of responses-a motion that correlates towards communal action, which is another theme of Ovvian's metal blocks and volumes.

"My themes appeal for universal brotherhood. Something encompassing through many generations of mankind-past, present and future. In my works, I like to relate abstract concepts of emotions that human beings will go through in their lives," she says.

In the concluding chapter of her book, Ovvian voiced out this feeling of rapture that parallels her self-description.

"Nothing replaces the value and comfort of a warm, tight embrace, an endearing or playful kiss, or nay manifestation of genuine heartfelt care. Nothing can come close to the feeling of peace brought by these. Nothing!"

Omnibus Touches runs until April 30. Galerie Hans Brumann is at the third level of Greenbelt 5 along Legaspi Street, Makati City. For more information, email dididee@hiraya.com