Manuel Ocampo

MANUEL OCAMPO (Quezon City, Philippines 1965).
"Europe úber alles". 1993.
Oil and collage on canvas.
Work exhibited at OMR Gallery, "Manuel Ocampo" exhibition, Mexico City, 1993.
Measurements: 32 x 40 cm; 63 x 63 cm (frame).
Manuel Ocampo developed in the nineties a subversive iconography, impregnated with sarcasm, in which he linked veiled comments on the colonial legacy of Catholicism in his native Philippines with U.S. imperialist policies. In this painting, in which he ironizes the myth of a united Europe, the juxtaposition of crosses, reproductions of devotional paintings and Christian emblems next to swastikas is a statement of intent. However, his comments are never literal, as they are layered with many layers of interpretation. Enfant terrible of contemporary art, he would soon be sought after by museums and galleries around the world.
Manuel Ocampo is considered the most important Filipino artist today. His painting, labeled by the media as "devastating", "brutal" and "ferocious", undergoes frequent strategic changes in response to new contexts and subjects of study, and is influenced by Punk and cartoons. He works mainly from his hometown, although he has also been based in other places such as California, Seville or Luxembourg. He has made numerous exhibitions nationally and internationally, highlighting: 2018, Yes, Sir/Ma'am! No, Sir/Ma'am! Right Away, Sir/Ma'am! at Tyler Rollins Fine Art (NYC); 2017, Oeuvres: 1994 - 2016, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris; 2017, Hello! Belle Peinture: Thinking of the Beginning of the End of the Death of Painting, Nosbaum Reding Art Contemporain, Luxembourg; 2016, The Corrections, Finale Art File, Makati, Philippines; or in 2016, Sweating the Green Parrot Out, Marie Kirkegaard Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.