Leslie de Chavez

*1978, Philippines

Manila-born Filipino artist Leslie de Chavez has been widely recognized for his incisive and sensible forays into history, cultural imperialism, religion, and contemporary life. Responding to urgent material conditions through his deconstructions of master texts, icons, and the symbols of his times, de Chavez strikes a balance between iconoclasm and an affirmative outlook to the relevance and accountability of art to one’s milieu. Leslie de Chavez has held several solo exhibitions in the Philippines, China, Korea, Singapore, UK, and Switzerland. He has also participated in several notable exhibitions and art festivals, which include the Singapore Biennale 2013, 3rd Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan 2011, 3rd Nanjing Triennial in China 2008, First Pocheon Asia Biennale in South Korea 2007. A two-time awardee (2010/2014) of the Ateneo Art Awards for Visual Art, Leslie de Chavez is also the director/founder of the artist-run initiative Project Space Pilipinas, in Lucban, Quezon.

Education

1999

BFA Painting | University of Philippines

Selected Solo Shows

2018

Hig sa Hangin (Laying Down in Air) | Finale Art File, Makati City, Philippines

The Allegory of the Crave | Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2017

SaLang #1: Craft-Mine-Crap | Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2016

Stirring the Ashes | Steno Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines

The Sleep of Reason | Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2015

Under the Influence | Project Space Pilipinas, Lucian, Quezon, Philippines

Unfolding Encounters | Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK

2013

Nameless Presence | Silverlens Gallery, Gillmans Singapore, Singapore

2011

God is busy | Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

2010

Buntong Hininga | Silverlens Galleries, Manila, Philippines

2008

Banana Republic | Avanthay Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland

2007

Red-eyed Brother | Arario Seoul, Seoul, Korea

Leslie de Chavez | Arario Beijing, Beijing, China

2006

Tropical Delight | Window Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea

Ichimaseyo (Do Not Forget Me) | Goyang Art Studio Gallery, Korea

2004

San Isidro Dismayado | Pahiyas Festival, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2003

Bahia (Stain) | Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Selected Group Shows

2022

TAKE MY HAND AND I’LL SHOW YOU WHAT WAS AND WILL BE | ALBA Gallery, Vienna, Austria

2019

Yellow Ambiguities | Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

Far Away But Strangely Familiar | Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Slovakia

+63/+62 | Silverlens Galleries, Makati City, Philippines

2018

Once I had a Vision, The Left Hand of Darkness | MO Space, BGC Taguig City, Philippines

SaLang | West Gallery, West Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

2017

Voice of Asia | Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2016

Between the Street and the Mountain: Four Artists from the Philippines | Arario Gallery Shanghai, China

2015

PaperViews 15: Rapid Cycling | Project Space Filipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

The Vexed Contemporary | Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, St. Benilde, Manila, Philippines

Asia Talk to Asia | Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju, Korea

You Must Change Your Life | Equator Art Projects, Singapore

2014

Pulse | Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Really? | Arario Museum in Space, Seoul, Korea

PaperViews 14: On Immanence | Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Multiple Languages | Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines

Complicated | Lopez Memorial Museum, Manila, Philippines

Unbearable Lightness of Being | Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines

Concurrence | West Gallery, Manila, Philippines

2013

No Random Nonsense | Boston Gallery, Manila, Philippines

Singapore Biennale 2013: If the World Changed | Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

2012

Panorama: Recent Art from Contemporary Asia | Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

Artists With Arario 3 | Arario Gallery, Cheongdam, Korea

2011

3rd Asian Art Biennal: Meditation | National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan

Rundgang 2011 | Leipzig International Art Programme, Leipzig, Germany

Self Camera: Repositioning Modern Self | Changwon Asian Art Festival, Korea

We Was There | Yuchengco Museum, Laila, Philippines

2010

Beacons of Archipelago | Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

Nanjing Biennale | Nanjing Museum, nanjing, China

Rainbow Asia | Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea

Collection Show 2010 | Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

Reflections | Bupyeong Art Center, Korea

Artists With Arario | Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

2009

We Said Our Piece | Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila

2008

3rd Nanjing Triennal | Nanjing, China

2007

First Pocheon Asian Biennale | Pocheon, Korea

2006

Bikini in Winter | Alternative Space Loop, Seoul, Korea

2005

Beppu Asia Biennale of Contemporary Art | Beppu Museum, Japan

2003

Urbanisasyon | Kolay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Buklod | Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

2002

Recent Works | Kulay Diwan Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Surface | Ayala Museum, Manila, Philippines

Awards / Residencies

2015

The Creative Campus, Liverpool Hope University (Residency Grant), Liverpool, UK

2014

Fernando Zobel Prizes for Visual Art, Ateneo Art Gallery (Prize Winner), Philippines

2011

Leipzig International Art Programme (Residency Grant), Leipzig, Germany

2010

Goethe Institute, (Travel Grant, Art Forum 10), Berlin, Germany

Ateneo Art Awards, “Shattering States” (Prize Winner), Philippines

2007

Neo-Emerging Artists Residency, Dangsan Studio (Residency Grant), Seoul, Korea

2005

IASK Goyang Art Studio. Asian Artists Fellowship Program (Residency Gran), Korea

Beppu Asian Biennale of Contemporary Art 2005, Beppu Art Museum, Japan

2003

Metrobank Foundation Young Painters’ Annual (2nd Prize)

Enquiry