THREE WOMEN, THREE STARS

Il Mio Salotto
Sep 10, 2022
5 min read

an Art Exhibit in Milan

Since I started my art career, I have been dreaming of an exhibit with other women artists who are also advocates of women empowerment and devoted to the promotion of our own culture and tradition as Filipinos living in Italy.

This dream came true when our very own Philippine Consulate General in Milan tapped me and the other two women artists to represent our community in celebrating the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Italy. Led by Consul Generale Bernadette Therese Fernandez,, with the full support of the officials and staff who lent their artistic effort, they launched the exhibition entitled TRE DONNE, TRE STELLE or THREE WOMEN, THREE STARS at the Ikonica Gallery in Milan this September 2, 2022.

The Ikonica Gallery, strategically located at Via N. A. Porpora 16/A in Milan, is owned and operated by Signor Andrea Colombo, whose more than ten years of experience in organizing art exhibitions in Milano and in other cities in Italy contributed a lot to the presentation of artworks. The gallery has as its primary objective to showcase the works of contemporary artists, be it painting, sculpture, photography, or other video and art installations. It is divided into three rooms, with a glass frontage showing our blown-up pictures and corresponding favorite artworks. The big room was shared by my co-artists and the small one was allotted to me. There is also a small visual room for the continuous video presentation of our profiles and paintings. The other room is an office but was also used as an extension showroom for our small paintings and digital artworks mounted on frames.

Now, let me present the three women (of course, including me) who contributed to the realization of this dream project, Mercedita "MaDittz" Centeno-De Jesus from Bologna, Ann Nadine Silva Van Mierlo of Padova, and Mary Kathleen Magpantay of Milano.

Modesty aside, I would like to introduce myself as simply MaDittz, 58 years old who has been working as a family assistant and babysitter in Bologna for nearly eighteen years. I am a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Architecture in our hometown, Bulacan, and previously, I managed our business in selling and manufacturing art pieces and handicrafts. I am married with two grown-up children. I continued my passion for painting when I got free time after my work and other community services. I use a different medium, but I prefer using oil and watercolor in my masterpieces that mostly depict women's portraiture and nature. My first solo exhibit was done at the Consulate Office of Milan last October 2019. Some of my works also received citations in the exhibitions and competitions that I joined. I also performed art during community events and programs. I am influenced by the works of our National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, and Frida Kahlo’s love of flowers and nature. I admire their use of bright colors and life interpretation thru art. My ultimate dream will finally be realized next year when I will be participating in the coming 14th Edition of the Florence Biennale from the 14th to 22nd of October, 2023.

The second artist is my friend’s daughter, 36 years old, married to an Italian and they now have two children. Ann Nadine was born in the Philippines but had grown up in Italy. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Major in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs. She used to work as a photographer with established clients on wedding coverages but now has turned her interest into painting. She loves the interplay of cool colors with nature and flowers. She also uses oil, acrylic, and watercolor on her floral and landscape illustrations. Her choice of colors soothes the observer's feelings, sending a positive and relaxing mood which is the main factor in Art Therapy. Her works remind us of Artist Claude Monet's style of presentation especially those wind-blown flowers and pond-grown plants. She also collaborated in producing several books, with her nice illustration and digital print mastery. She had her first exhibition in the Philippines. Several of her masterpieces have also been sold and shipped to various European countries. Currently, Nadine works as a project controller and illustrator.

The other Filipina that I am also proud of is Kath, 26 years old and a graduate of Architectural Design MSc Architecture and Urban Design in Politecnico di Milano. She was born and raised here in Italy but still speaks fluent Filipino. She is also fluent in Italian and English. She also works as an Architecture intern and freelance artist. Her art focuses on women's empowerment and nationalism. Her art is influenced by the works of artists Gauguin, Klimt, and Picasso. She mainly uses acrylic as her medium and she is fond of warm colors. She is also into making digital art. As a youth, she was also selected as one of the outstanding Filipino Youth of the Filipino Community of San Tomaso, a Catholic Filipino Community in the Archdiocese of Milan.

For the opening of this exhibit, the Consulate of Milan invited a few dignitaries, namely,Anna Scavuzzo, the Vice Mayor of the City of Milan, Councillor Alessandra Diana Di Marchi, Consul General Yuji Amamiya of Japan with his wife and Consul General Kang Hyung-Shik and wife Kim Ji Youn. There were also representatives from the different Consulate offices, like from Croatia, Consul Gordana Bilfetina, from Algeria Acting Consul General Hichem Slougui and, from Hungary is Commercial Advisor, Daniel Paschek. Other visitors were Dr. Pasqualino Berardinelli and his wife. Our guests were from our corresponding Filipino community organizations from Milan, Padova, Bologna, Torino, and Genova. Part of Consul General Bernadette Fernandez's message was to thank those who attended the opening of the exhibition, specifically the city officials of Milan. She said that it was indeed evidence of good relations between the Italian and the Philippine governments. She was also happy with the attendance of invited Consulate officials from Japan, Korea, Hungary, Croatia, and Algeria.

And one way to introduce the country's well-being is thru art presentation and interpretation.

On the second day of the exhibit, we performed an interactive painting. We worked on three canvases to create a masterpiece, an interpretation of the title of our exhibition, Three Women, Three Stars. The visitors very well appreciated the interactive painting because they saw how we worked with our own styles and skills.

The exhibition ends on September 8th, 2022, but the realization of our dreams will continue, and the sense of creativity will flourish among others who supported and appreciated our team effort. We will, in turn, continue with our training and self-development and share these talents and skills with everyone.