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Isobel Francisco

@stainedpaper

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Soft tongue and sharp teeth.
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This is the last piece found in the last gallery of the museum, and my personal favorite. Because the show is about reimagining museum founder André Smith's city of Espero in 1930s Philippines, it is worth considering that it might reckon with the inevitable devastation of WW2.

I made two near-identical paintings of the same yellow bell (native to the tropical Americas but eventually also grew in the PH), overexposing the reference enough to instead resemble a blinding flash of explosion. The second painting is torn from its own foundation, now clinging to the first canvas for dear life.

I made this final piece while learning that Cebu, the place of my birth, was hit with a 6.7-magnitude earthquake that collapsed our centuries-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Sta. Rosa de Lima. I would not have finished it without @the_deposition's own vision.

"Pangarap: Espero Reimagined" will remain at @ahmaitland until January 2026. Thank you to A&H and the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation for the full financial support. Last photo by @kaytree.

#artph #painting #portrait #art #florida #manila #contemporaryart #artistsoninstagram #isobelfrancisco #artistoninstagram #artoninstagram #drawing #artiststudio taken in Art & History Museums of Maitland by @stainedpaper

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a year ago

Snippets of my obsession with cutting up and tearing down canvases from my framed comfort zone since my first residency in Vermont, followed by my time in Leipzig. Glad I was finally able to continue it in Metro Manila this year at @mono8gallery. #arentweallrunning taken in Alte Handelsschule by @stainedpaper

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4 years ago

The first part of my #arentweallrunning series was exhibited at @provenanceartgallery in 2019. I was inspired by Iri and Toshi Maruki's "Hiroshima Panels", but the bomb is replaced by a slow cooker. My curator @radikalchick wrote: "Francisco’s project here is not so much about the aftermath of catastrophe, as it is a statement on the present: are we not in a time of upheaval. Has a bomb not dropped, has calamity not struck. This is not a question of when, but of now. We are all running […] acting on that feeling in the pit of our stomachs, that stench of a slow painful knowable death. […] This visceral reaction to the state of affairs, the state of the psyche as performed by the physical, is what Francisco captures. […] 'Aren’t We All Running' is not a question, as it is a proposition — a shift that underlines our obliviousness, if not our complicity. It brings to bear upon the spectator an amount of accountability, maybe collusion, that could just as easily be about our helplessness and vulnerability. But as Francisco is also subject of this narrative, as she herself runs, her artistic process intuitively forges deeper into prospects for denouement: do we melt into each other, do we disappear into the landscape. The shift towards abstraction, as such, is not just about the artistic, as it is about the intellectual: Francisco’s work here starts and ends with the question of existence in these cataclysmic times. The answer is in this exhibition’s own portrayal of this historic hell." The second piece is still on display at @mono8gallery until March 31. Curated by @gwen.bautista. taken in Mono8 Gallery by @stainedpaper

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4 years ago

Isobel Francisco is a Filipina visual artist whose practice explores the complexities of the human condition through figurative works shaped by tension, anguish, and loss. Since her first group exhibition in 2011, she has presented her work in Hong Kong, Germany, China, and various venues across Metro Manila, while also receiving features in both print and online publications. Her current body of work continues to examine the emotional and psychological dimensions of what it means to be human.

Lakambini ng Galimlim
View Catalogue: https://canva.link/ejegworsnio6uxj

For inquiries:
Viber: +63 929 709 0396
Email: altromondosales@gmail.com
Altro Mondo Creative Space
1159 Chino Roces Avenue, San Antonio Village, Makati City
Tuesday to Saturday | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM taken in Makati City by @stainedpaper

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a month ago

Next to my piece "Paano Ka Gagawa" at @altromondoart for the group show LAKAMBINI NG GALIMLIM (HEROIC MUSE OF SOFT DESPAIR), organized and curated by Jose Tence Ruiz. taken in Altro Mondo by @stainedpaper

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a month ago

Lakambini ng Galimlim brings together eight Filipino figurative artists in a collective meditation on imagination, power, and uncertainty in an increasingly controlled and technologized world. Drawing from the tensions of our present moment, the exhibition positions figuration as a space for resistance—where imagined figures, avatars, and muses become vessels for sustaining human complexity, agency, and possibility. Across distinct practices and generations, the works confront the pressures of homogenization and invite us to consider what images might help us endure, question, and remain imaginative amid an uncertain future.

Lakambini ng Galimlim
Spazio Franco | August 15 - September 12, 2026

Cholo Apostol
Jeho Bitancor
Kristoffer Brasileño
Ronn Bulahan
Isobel Francisco
Dengcoy Miel
Jose Tence Ruiz
Pinggot Zulueta

For inquiries:
Viber: +63 929 709 0396
Email: altromondosales@gmail.com
Altro Mondo Creative Space
1159 Chino Roces Avenue, San Antonio Village, Makati City
Tuesday to Saturday | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM taken in Makati City by @stainedpaper

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2 months ago

Distant Diaries is a conversation across time between us and our younger selves.

Distant Diaries is like finding an old diary tucked under the mattress from the bed of your childhood bedroom. You flip through the pages and find yourself reaching from across time.

You remember scribbling and drawing your heart away in its pages. You get to know your younger self again with much kinder and wiser eyes.

Featured Artist: Isobel Francisco

Isobel Francisco is a Filipino visual artist. Since becoming a full-time painter in 2016, she has exhibited in USA, Hong Kong, Germany, China, and various corners of Metro Manila. Her works involve figurative tensions and narratives of anguish, loss, and perceptions of personhood.

This pre-Pride Month, group retrospective and zine will be launched on May 30. 2026, Saturday, at @damgocoffeeshop . Free for all! by @stainedpaper

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4 months ago

"Hovel", oil on canvas. Dropping by again tomorrow for the last day of our exhibit OPEN HAND TEMPLE at @ysobelart. taken in Ysobel Art Gallery by @stainedpaper

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5 months ago

My painting "Orifice" is still on view at @ysobelart until May 6 for our exhibition OPEN HAND TEMPLE.

Writeup by the gallery: "At the center of the exhibition is the ghost of an 'open hand,' a symbol of charity and surrender. Francisco questions the moral weight placed on generosity, particularly in cultures where giving is seen as a measure of faith. The idea of 'giving until it hurts' is reconsidered: who bears this burden, and why?"

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit! taken in Ysobel Art Gallery by @stainedpaper

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5 months ago

"Tunnel" is on view at @ysobelart until May 6 for my show OPEN HAND TEMPLE. I will be at the gallery tomorrow if you want to pass by, smell the sampaguitas, or pick up a free print.

"At the center of the exhibition is the ghost of an 'open hand,' a symbol of charity and surrender. Francisco questions the moral weight placed on generosity, particularly in cultures where giving is seen as a measure of faith. The idea of 'giving until it hurts' is reconsidered: who bears this burden, and why?" - Writeup by the gallery.

"Tunnel", oil and acrylic on canvas. taken in Ysobel Art Gallery by @stainedpaper

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5 months ago

Next to my piece "Cavity" at @ysobelart for my show OPEN HAND TEMPLE. Photo by the gallery. taken in Ysobel Art Gallery by @stainedpaper

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5 months ago

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𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚
A solo exhibition by Isobel Francisco

A quiet reflection on generosity, tenderness, and the unseen weight of giving. In this exhibition, Isobel Francisco revisits a recurring figure from her earlier practice, returning to a familiar form as a way of exploring the emotional and symbolic dimensions of care, sacrifice, and devotion.

The works consider what is offered, what is withheld, and what remains unspoken in acts of compassion. They reflect on the ways care can be both sustaining and demanding, and on the silent burdens often carried in the act of giving oneself to others.

𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 invites a deeper contemplation of what it means to remain open, despite weariness, despite longing, despite the cost.

The exhibition opens April 25, 2026 (Saturday), 4:00 pm.

@stainedpaper

#OpenHandTemple #IsobelFrancsico #YsobelArtGallery #PhilippineArt taken in Ysobel Art Gallery by @stainedpaper

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5 months ago