Manny Montelibano’s work is focused on the psychology of contemporary socio-political, economic and religious structures. The artist probes through these subjects’ subtleties and intricacies by way of video or inter-media installations - often exposing macroscopic realities through extracts of local culture. A flavor of social realism intravenously makes its way to his works, although the entirety of his oeuvre is not so rigidly bound within it. Montelibano is greatly concerned with the actual process of conveyance, very much evident in the creative and informed utilization of technical elements in his installations and editing techniques applied to his videos.

Comprising the artist’s visual language are clear reflections on and of the Philippine cultural landscape that are processed into artworks charged with more universal context. The video installation "Biya" (2008), for example, presents cockfighting as “a mutated [piece of] macho Filipino identity that shows nationalism in gambling,” as Montelibano puts it, which ultimately points to a world stage where violence is received as entertainment. His video "Pamunit" (2010) features slow-motion footage of a man fishing juxtaposed with the sound of Formula 1 racing cars; it simultaneously reflects on existing economic structures of the Philippines as well as the global discrepancies between wants and needs, all in all stitched together with an opposing aesthetic recollection of time.

Occasionally, Montelibano’s works take a more political turn, such as in "Sorry for the Inconvenience" (2011) and "Ma’am Said" (2011). For the Philippine Pavilion of the 56th Venice Biennale he made the multi-channel video, "A Dashed State", which discussed geographical border issues on a global and historical scale from the standpoint of current Philippine sea border disputes.

Mariano “Manny” G. Montelibano III (b. 1971) lives and works in Bacolod, the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, where he is currently Director of the Institute of the Moving Image. He also received his training through experience as technical director at University of St. La Salle in Bacolod and various film projects. He is an active cultural worker in the Philippines, especially in the Visayas region, affiliated with various organizations such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines, Black Artists in Asia Association and VIVA EXCON Organization.  He received the Garbo sa Bisaya Award at the VIVA ExCon 2016. In the Philippines, his works have been exhibited in the National Museum of the Filipino People, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Museo Iloilo, Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibit and Conference, Vargas Museum, Galleria Duemila, NOVA Gallery, Museo Negrense de La Salle, Fort Santiago-Intramuros and at the Ateneo Art Gallery where he is represented in its collection. He has also been part of exhibitions in Seoul, Korea; Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, USA, France and around South East Asia. In 2015, he represented the Philippines at the 56th Venice Biennale. 

Biography

1971 born in Bacolod (PH)
Lives and works in Bacolod (PH)

Exhibitions
(2005 - 2019, selection)

2019
POSITIONS, Orange Gallery, Bacolod (PH)

2018
Stations of a Nation, College of St. Benilde – School of Design and Arts(PH)
Tie A String Around the World, College of St. Benilde –School of Design and Arts (PH)
The Ocean After Nature – (A Dashed State), Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons School of Design, New York, USA
The Ocean After Nature – (A Dashed State), The Hugh Lane, Dublin City Gallery, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
The Ocean After Nature – (A Dashed State), The Cube Project Space, Taipei, Taiwan *abridged version
The Ocean After Nature – (A Dashed State), The College of Wooster Art Museum, Wooster, Ohio, United States
(Backplates of Pasay Road) Lost Frames – Manila Biennale, Intramuros, Manila (PH)
TENSION, Gallery Orange – Art Fair Philippines, Manila 

2017
Boxed Out, 1335Mabini Karrivin Plaza, Makati (PH)
Scope: Pingpong, Space Ppong, Seo-gu, Gwangju (KR)
The Ocean After Nature, Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery, Dublin  (IRL)
Seascapes: Tranquility and Agitation, Metropolitan Museum of Manila (PH)
Ligalig: Art in a Time of Turmoil, Ateneo Art Gallery (PH)
The Ocean After Nature, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, Boston (US)
The Ocean After Nature, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide (AU)

2016
Cycles 001, University of the Philippines, Visayas (PH)
Here Distorted, 1335MABINI, Manila (PH) (solo)
The Ocean After Nature, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA (USA)

2015
56th Venice Biennale; The Philippine Pavillion: Tie A String Around The World, Palazzo Mora, Venice (IT)
8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (AU)
Sights and Sound, curated by Joselina Cruz, Jewish Museum, New York/NY (USA)

2014
Multiple Languages, curated by Leslie de Chavez & Louise Marcelino, Silverlens, Makati (PH)
The World According to Us, Gallery Orange, Bacolod (PH)
Coexistence in Asia, Korean Cultural Center, Manila (PH)
Parallax ASEAN: Changing Landscapes and Wandering Stars, Geonju Art Center, Geonju, Busan (KR) Jakarta (RI)

2013
Sorry for the Inconvenience, Museo Negrense de la Salle, University of St. La Salle Bacolod (PH) (solo)
Parallax ASEAN: Changing Landscapes and Wandering Stars, ASEAN KOREA Contemporary Media Art Exhibition 2013, NEMO at Blue Square, Seoul and Hanam Art Center, Hanam (KR)
Sensorium, Ayala Museum, Makati (PH)
Singapore Biennale: If the World Changed, Singapore Art Museum (SG)
The Philippine Contemporary, Metropolitan Museum, Manila (PH)
Move on Asia, Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe (DE), City Gallery of Wellington (NZ)
Pinoy Fortress videos, Alliances en Résonance”- “Echoes of Alliances: The Philippines in Paris”,International Museum of Minor Art, Sète (FR)

2012
Beyond Protest : Philippine Social Realism, Ateneo Art Gallery Collection, Quezon City (PH)
Pinoy Fortress, KM1: What Remains What Disappears, curated by Francoise Cheval, Fort Santiago, Manila (PH) (solo)
Metropolitan Museum, Manila (PH) Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône (FR)
Modes of Impact, Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City (PH)
Handumanan, Jorge B. Vargas Museum, Quezon City (PH)
12th Seoul International New Media Festival, Loop Gallery, Seoul (KR)

2011
Sorry for the Inconvenience, Nova Gallery, Makati (PH) (solo)
Run Fish Run, Gallery Orange, Bacolod (PH) (solo)
Move on Asia, Travelling Exhibit, LOOP, Seoul (KR), Casa Asia, Barcelona (ES), LABoral Art Center, Gijon (ES)

2010
Tagbo: The National Exhibition, SM Art Center, Cebu (PH)
Adventures of The Masked Man, Gallery Orange, Bacolod (PH) (solo)
Greater Than or Equal to Infinity, Nova Gallery, Makati (PH) (solo)
Cinema Rehiyon: Films from the Other Philippines, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila (PH)
Escabeche: Filipino Sweet and Sour, Gallery Orange & Museo Negrense de la Salle, Bacolod (PH) (solo)
Move on Asia, Parasite, Hong Kong (HK)

2009
Sungdu-an 5 Current: Daloy ng Dunong, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila (PH)
Escabeche: Filipino Sweet and Sour, Galleria Duemila, Manila (PH) (solo)
Move on Asia 2009, The End of Video Art, Loop, Seoul (KR)

2008
Color & Blood in Cockfighting, Museo Negrense de La Salle, Bacolod (PH)
POASA, Gallery Orange, Bacolod (PH) (solo)

2007
The Saints, Nationalgalerie im Hamburger BahnhofMuseum für Gegenwart – Berlin
POOR DUH, Majica Masskara, Gallery Orange, Bacolod (PH)

2006
Pasaway, Museo Iloilo, Iloilo (PH)
Tipon, Metropolitan Museum, Manila (PH)
Cinema Luneta, Cinemakulit Luneta , NCCA, Film Academy of the Philippines, Manila (PH)

2005
MAGNET BAG-BOKSING, Gallery Orange, Bacolod
ANTIMATTER: Festival of Underground Short Film & Video, Victoria (CA)
Sungduan 3 – ATUBANGAY, CCP, Central Philippine University, Iloilo and SM Cebu, Cebu