Secret Fresh

"Memory Lane"
By Rhex Dacaymat

Art often burdens itself to renew the unremarkable. It appeals to us by burnishing the mundane and its images in novelty that pulls us from the drudgery of the everyday. However, in “Memory Lane” at Secret Fresh Gallery, John Rhex Dacaymat renders the ordinary in its purest form, insisting that life remains whittled as is and bare as we wake up to it every day. Known for his monochromatic rendering of branches and sticks against patches of graphite sketches, Dacaymat's repertoire of lifeless limbs takes on an extended metaphor in a show that plays on the scales of repetition and memory.

Each piece in the artist’s exhibition reenacts each other, meaning one can easily mistake the delicate rendering of a branch’s form and shadow as unique to itself, only to see the same intricacy in another branch in a different piece. Or close together or scaled differently, tricking us further into this branching interplay that stokes the same feeling of similarity but at a different angle or cast under a different light that stems or magnifies the same branch. And while a cycle of repeating images is nothing new in contemporary art, the choice to suspend and reiterate petrified limbs, those we see and dismiss every day as discards, is the artist’s attempt to re-examine life from its otherwise lifeless and discarded remains. In this iteration of Dacaymat’s long relationship to these natural fragments, he has re-signified and consigned them to an artistic afterlife that provokes from us a deeper appreciation of our innate reliance on remembering.

Collectively, “Memory Lane” is an ensemble of radical similarities. It orchestrates images of branches referencing themselves and their discarded figure elsewhere, creeping behind each other’s sinewy shadow and disfigurement, repeatedly demanding our attention. Still, the show invites the audience to glimpse the artist’s reference from the world, not the grand images but the often-unnoticed immediate environment. It could very well be one’s backyard, surrounded by trees that shed themselves and captivated not by their lofty canopies but by what they leave beneath our feet. The artist’s archive is referenced here as well. His developing fascination with ordinary organic matter has culminated into a deceptively simple curiosity evoked from us in this show— that to ask, “Have I seen this before?” is less an attack on originality but more a provocation of our shared and complex feeling that confirms this has happened before or that nothing will ever completely pass us by. So, take a look again.

Doble Vista
Jose Kervin Cesar B. Calabias, PhD

The show opens on September 1, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Where I've Been"
By Emmanuel Sutton

Seldom do we encounter creativity borne out of the limits. While most thrive in freedom, Sutton’s collection revels in taking control of limitations and lack by making limits themselves become the tools for the creative process and the artist’s journey. This collection is a gathering of a life of worlds simultaneously ordered to foreground moving experiences merging into stillness—that life’s only design is to be, from the mundane to the magnanimous.

Along with lived experiences, Sutton takes on the certainty of growth amidst what can be seen in “Watering Routine”. We do not usually see roots—the propagation process elusive to a viewer—yet this mundane task of paying attention to the smallest of details in the process of growth is called to mind in the familiarity of the still musings found in the vase as a vessel. With depth of experience, growth of insight, and collated memories, we are brought to the most familiar yet unique to the each instance, alluded to in “Metaphoric Conclusion”, where leaving room doesn’t mean incomplete or a lack; rather, it beckons the space for grace in imperfection—that incompleteness begets discoveries that await those with the willingness to unearth their own experience.
In “An Ode to Brewing”, the commitment to find value in the mundane is emphasized by focusing on how the completion of a moment lies in living it out rather than simply rendering what makes it familiar or relatable. It raises the glass and calls for the celebration of the uniqueness the mundane still has to offer to anyone who does not veer away from it. We also get to see the careful eye that utilizes absurdity balanced with controlled strokes that play with un-makings, the restructuring, and the leaving of spaces in the “Plating Exercise” series. It is a pragmatic series of developing the palette, acquiring the nuance for the barest and most subtle foundations that promise the completion of a full course. The impact is a paradox of stripping away the diminishing value of limitations—a practice of self-control that only comes with maturity over periods of time.
Finally, instead of the boundedness that portrays only survival, this collection sits with the viewer to meet them wherever they are and takes the time to let them relish what the table has to offer—an epitome in “In Abundance, or Lack thereof”. It showcases a feast of the vastness of the consumption experience. Each act of taking in and digesting to the core guides us to transform insight into wisdom, skill into craft, and perception into self-reflexivity that what we consume spills over everything else that we do on the daily.

Sutton’s gradients echo transferable knowledge: from found objects to objecting the idea of finding, to finally being found. Truly, the vastness of a creation is not within limitless freedom but it is sparked by orchestrating the smallest of strokes in order for a massive collision to happen. Sutton courageously sheds off safety to reveal rooms for catalysts of creativity. His mastery is fleshed out by holding back in the right places.

Words by Jo Almanzor

The show opens on September 1, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

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"Where I've Been"
By Emmanuel Sutton

Seldom do we encounter creativity borne out of the limits. While most thrive in freedom, Sutton’s collection revels in taking control of limitations and lack by making limits themselves become the tools for the creative process and the artist’s journey. This collection is a gathering of a life of worlds simultaneously ordered to foreground moving experiences merging into stillness—that life’s only design is to be, from the mundane to the magnanimous.

Along with lived experiences, Sutton takes on the certainty of growth amidst what can be seen in “Watering Routine”. We do not usually see roots—the propagation process elusive to a viewer—yet this mundane task of paying attention to the smallest of details in the process of growth is called to mind in the familiarity of the still musings found in the vase as a vessel. With depth of experience, growth of insight, and collated memories, we are brought to the most familiar yet unique to the each instance, alluded to in “Metaphoric Conclusion”, where leaving room doesn’t mean incomplete or a lack; rather, it beckons the space for grace in imperfection—that incompleteness begets discoveries that await those with the willingness to unearth their own experience.
In “An Ode to Brewing”, the commitment to find value in the mundane is emphasized by focusing on how the completion of a moment lies in living it out rather than simply rendering what makes it familiar or relatable. It raises the glass and calls for the celebration of the uniqueness the mundane still has to offer to anyone who does not veer away from it. We also get to see the careful eye that utilizes absurdity balanced with controlled strokes that play with un-makings, the restructuring, and the leaving of spaces in the “Plating Exercise” series. It is a pragmatic series of developing the palette, acquiring the nuance for the barest and most subtle foundations that promise the completion of a full course. The impact is a paradox of stripping away the diminishing value of limitations—a practice of self-control that only comes with maturity over periods of time.
Finally, instead of the boundedness that portrays only survival, this collection sits with the viewer to meet them wherever they are and takes the time to let them relish what the table has to offer—an epitome in “In Abundance, or Lack thereof”. It showcases a feast of the vastness of the consumption experience. Each act of taking in and digesting to the core guides us to transform insight into wisdom, skill into craft, and perception into self-reflexivity that what we consume spills over everything else that we do on the daily.

Sutton’s gradients echo transferable knowledge: from found objects to objecting the idea of finding, to finally being found. Truly, the vastness of a creation is not within limitless freedom but it is sparked by orchestrating the smallest of strokes in order for a massive collision to happen. Sutton courageously sheds off safety to reveal rooms for catalysts of creativity. His mastery is fleshed out by holding back in the right places.

Words by Jo Almanzor

The show opens on September 1, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Memory Lane"
By Rhex Dacaymat

Art often burdens itself to renew the unremarkable. It appeals to us by burnishing the mundane and its images in novelty that pulls us from the drudgery of the everyday. However, in “Memory Lane” at Secret Fresh Gallery, John Rhex Dacaymat renders the ordinary in its purest form, insisting that life remains whittled as is and bare as we wake up to it every day. Known for his monochromatic rendering of branches and sticks against patches of graphite sketches, Dacaymat's repertoire of lifeless limbs takes on an extended metaphor in a show that plays on the scales of repetition and memory.

Each piece in the artist’s exhibition reenacts each other, meaning one can easily mistake the delicate rendering of a branch’s form and shadow as unique to itself, only to see the same intricacy in another branch in a different piece. Or close together or scaled differently, tricking us further into this branching interplay that stokes the same feeling of similarity but at a different angle or cast under a different light that stems or magnifies the same branch. And while a cycle of repeating images is nothing new in contemporary art, the choice to suspend and reiterate petrified limbs, those we see and dismiss every day as discards, is the artist’s attempt to re-examine life from its otherwise lifeless and discarded remains. In this iteration of Dacaymat’s long relationship to these natural fragments, he has re-signified and consigned them to an artistic afterlife that provokes from us a deeper appreciation of our innate reliance on remembering.

Collectively, “Memory Lane” is an ensemble of radical similarities. It orchestrates images of branches referencing themselves and their discarded figure elsewhere, creeping behind each other’s sinewy shadow and disfigurement, repeatedly demanding our attention. Still, the show invites the audience to glimpse the artist’s reference from the world, not the grand images but the often-unnoticed immediate environment. It could very well be one’s backyard, surrounded by trees that shed themselves and captivated not by their lofty canopies but by what they leave beneath our feet. The artist’s archive is referenced here as well. His developing fascination with ordinary organic matter has culminated into a deceptively simple curiosity evoked from us in this show— that to ask, “Have I seen this before?” is less an attack on originality but more a provocation of our shared and complex feeling that confirms this has happened before or that nothing will ever completely pass us by. So, take a look again.

Doble Vista
Jose Kervin Cesar B. Calabias, PhD

The show opens on September 1, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

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📍SF Powerplant Mall, Rockwell
📍SF Ronac Center, San Juan
Online shop:
www.secretfresh.com

"Dreamscape" a group exhibition by Arturo Arsega Jr., Paulo Amparo, Francis Alingcayon, Joly Beart, Faust Marcelo, Escano, Kwin Chi, Ryuji Buenaventura, Eric Perreras, Jael Mendoza, Horhe, Jose Santiago, Mark Hernandez, Wuji Toys & Jane Cuevas

This is your last chance to visit "Dreamscape" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

Secret Fresh Gallery x Thinkspace Projects

This is your last chance to visit their exhibition at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Apple" a solo show by Yasuhito Kawasaki

This is your last chance to visit "Apple" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

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Shop now
📍SF Powerplant Mall, Rockwell
📍SF Ronac Center, San Juan
Online shop:
www.secretfresh.com

"Apple"
A solo exhibition by Yasuhito Kawasaki

The exhibition will open on August 18, 2024, and will be available for viewing until September 13, 2024, at Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City.

For inquiries, please call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email [email protected].

Secret Fresh Gallery x Thinkspace Projects

The exhibition will open on August 18, 2024, and will be available for viewing until September 13, 2024, at Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City.

For inquiries, please call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email [email protected].

"Dreamscape"
A group show by: Arturo Arsega Jr., Paulo Amparo, Francis Alingcayon, Joly Beart, Faust Marcelo, Escano, Kwin Chi, Ryuji Buenaventura, Eric Perreras, Jael Mendoza, Horhe, Jose Santiago, Mark Hernandez, Wuji Toys & Jane Cuevas

The exhibition will open on August 18, 2024
2pm-6pm | Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City.

For inquiries, please call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email [email protected].

"Dreamscape"

A group show by: Arturo Arsega Jr., Paulo Amparo, Francis Alingcayon, Joly Beart, Faust Marcelo, Escano, Kwin Chi, Ryuji Buenaventura, Eric Perreras, Jael Mendoza, Horhe, Jose Santiago, Mark Hernandez, Wuji Toys & Jane Cuevas

The exhibition will open on August 18, 2024
2pm-6pm | Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City.

For inquiries, please call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email [email protected].

Secret Fresh Gallery x Thinkspace Projects

The exhibition will open on August 18, 2024, and will be available for viewing until September 13, 2024, at Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City.

For inquiries, please call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email [email protected].

"Grey Area" a three-man show by ALLDEFS, EXLD, & NEVS

This is your last chance to visit "Grey Area" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Matrimonium" a solo exhibition by Ynah Baltero

This is your last chance to visit "Matrimonium" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Bantay" a solo exhibition by Tano Panaligan

This is your last chance to visit "Bantay" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Won't You Be My Neighbor" a two-woman exhibition by Julia & Jheane Borja

This is your last chance to visit "Won't You Be My Neighbor" at Secret Fresh Gallery | Mondays- Fridays | 11am-6pm

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

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Shop now
📍SF Powerplant Mall, Rockwell
📍SF Ronac Center, San Juan
Online shop:
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"Grey Area"
A three-man show by ALLDEFS, EXLD & NEVS

GREY AREA

Representing an indeterminate territory, a space of undefined position that is neither here nor there. It is a metaphor for situations, ideas, and choices that cannot be easily categorized as black or white, right or wrong. Grey Areas signifies the complexity and ambiguity inherent in life, where clear-cut answers are often elusive, and perspectives are fluid, intentional and deliberate blending of distinct elements.

This visual approach blurs the lines between conservative academic practices and the nonconformist essence of graffiti and urban ethos. The result is a visual experience where traditional boundaries are vigorously blurred, inviting viewers to explore the richness that lies in between.

This contrived visual philosophy is embodied in the works of Mark Barretto (aka ALLDEFS), Nevs/Nevr, and JJ Zamoranos (aka EXLD). Their creative language throws viewers into a progressive purgatory of values and demands, leaving perspectives open and endless. By challenging conventional distinctions and embracing ambiguity, their art prompts contemplation and introspection. Suggesting that understanding and meaning are not fixed but are instead shaped by individual perception and context.

Grey Area challenges binary thinking and advocates for a more nuanced, flexible approach to understanding the chaos and order. A reminder that existence is often in shades of grey, where certainty is rare, and exploration is key.

The show opens on August 4, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Matri Monium"
A solo show by Ynah Baltero

"MATRIMONIUM"

The term 'MATRIMONIUM' combines the Latin prefix 'matri-', meaning 'mother,' with the suffix '-monium,' signifying a state or condition. Together, they form 'matrimonium,' which denotes the institution of marriage. In essence, 'MATRIMONIUM' represents the multifaceted roles and responsibilities that come with marriage, reflecting a woman's obligations as both a partner and a mother.

To me, the roles of daughter and mother are intertwined, each enriching the other in a complex dance of duty and love. My grandmothers imparted to me the profound truth that marriage entails inescapable commitments, extending beyond partnership to encompass the nurturing role of motherhood. Motherhood involves mastering essential life skills and values—lessons that I have carried with me from childhood through to the future generations of my own family.

As a woman, I have learned and valued proper behavior, attire, manners, social interactions, and responsibilities. Navigating the roles of a woman, young lady, and mother presents a series of challenges and rewards, each shaping my personal growth and artistic expression.

My passion for sketching women's fashion, particularly elegant dresses, began during my time at my grandmother’s eatery, where I first discovered my love for design. The significance of my artistic journey was underscored when I earned third place in the 'Kula' competition. This accolade validated the lessons from my mother and grandmother, showcasing the traditional process of 'kula' that brightens and revitalizes fabric. This recognition fueled my determination to pursue my artistic aspirations, driven by the enduring inspiration from my family’s legacy.

The wisdom of my forebears has become a treasured part of my life, and I aspire for my own creations and insights to leave a lasting impression, enriching the lives of others as they have enriched mine.

The show opens on August 4, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"BANTAY"
A solo exhibition by Tano Panaligan

The show opens on August 4, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]

"Won’t You Be My Neighbor"
A Two-woman show by Julia & Jheane Borja

A reference to the children’s program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Won’t You Be My Neighbor is an invitation for the audience to come and join the artists in a dialogue of proximity and companionship. The works of Julia and Jheane are framed side by side as a way to present a clear view of each artist’s sensibilities. When posed against one another the contrast and likeness becomes evident allowing the spectator to understand the distinctions between artists. In this sense the sisters open themselves up to be analyzed and dissected by the viewer, to be seen as individuals rather than a collective. This arrangement not only highlights their individual creativity but also illustrates the influence they have on one another.
The exhibition goes beyond the sibling dynamic to spark a broader conversation about the balance between personal space and the desire for human connection. Won’t You Be My Neighbor carries an air of childlike openness, encouraging the onlooker to engage with the art and artists in a straightforward, heartfelt manner. As the name suggests this exhibition invites everyone to make a meaningful connection, akin to making a new friend. Visitors are welcomed to immerse themselves in this warm, engaging experience, discovering the art and its artists in a friendly, approachable setting.

The show opens on August 4, 2024 | 2pm-6pm
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Avenue Extension, Greenhills, San Juan City

For inquiries you may call or text (0917) 682 9440 or email us at [email protected]