October 14, 2009 – Four of us from Cebu Bloggers Society went again to Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort to witness the opening of Cebu’s only premier resort art gallery, The Bluewater Gallery.

Atty. Ouano, Mikyu, Kai, Jorich and I were picked up by Maribago Bluewater’s van around 5 in the afternoon. After which were we sent to the resort for the opening ceremony.

The resort looks new now. The last time I visited the resort was last May and now there are so many changes to the look and feel. One change is the center area where there used to be dolphins on a pool. Now, there’s a rock-fountain which I find equally cool.

Going forward, the opening ceremony was initiated by Mr. Ruben. Two artists on tandem were introduced namely Jet Florindo and Boy Kiamko.

About the artists: Jet Florindo celebrates his 35th year as a sculptor. He has more than 2000 artworks, 35 exhibits and counting. Boy Kiamko on the other hand started as a realist. He is adept in landscape painting in the early 70′s and has 22 one-man exhibits already, around 6 international exposures and thousands of artworks circulating in 4 continents.

That night, the Gallery exhibit was named dualXposure, Florindo and Kiamko’s first back-to-back exhibit showcasing the two artists’ legacies to the world of art. Here are some photos:

All I could say is that they have superb artworks, especially the paintings. I have taken Humanities 1 and it is there that I learned the essentials about aesthetics and art. Looking at the paintings in the gallery made me realize that we Cebuanos have equally or even greater artisan skills compared to the rest of the world. Such paintings, as Mr. Kiamko states, will remain for a lifetime and will be left as a legacy not only to the Philippines but to the whole world.

Atty. Ouano interviewed Mr. Kiamko and we gained a lot of insights from an artist’s point of view, specifically on his drive towards passion and not towards financial success. Artists don’t really live a pampered life. Well, not all of them. But Mr. Kiamko shared that all they think about is not about dying rich but dying with thousands of art pieces to leave the coming generations.

Congratulations to Mr. Florindo and Mr. Kiamko for the success!

After viewing the exhibit, we went and ate at Maribago Bluewater’s Molto Italiano Restaurant. Another post for that one though.

View Boy Kiamko’s gallery online here or visit his Multiply site. Visit Jet Florindo’s gallery online here.

For more information, please call the Bluewater Gallery Coordinator Ruben Licera at 4920100 local 512.

More photos can be found here and here.