National artist BenCab to open dream museum Feb. 27

Repost from http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149713/National-Artist-BenCab-to-open-dream-museum-Feb-27



Tuba, Benguet – Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera, national artist for visual arts, will finally open his four-story dream museum on Feb. 27 – some eight years after buying the property with money he saved from sales of his paintings.Construction of the building itself started in 2006, with architect Raymond Gutierrez helping the artist in the design."The concept I did myself," Cabrera said. "Kada pinta ko, benta - slowly getting more and more space here," he says.The completed BenCab Museum occupies 1,000 square meters that would take over an hour to tour.The building houses galleries showcasing works of different genres that represent BenCab's output through decades.The BenCab Room houses Cabrera’s selected work, with a separate Erotica Gallery that houses Bencab's 1970’s work "13 Positions," along with sculptures and carvings. The Masters Room features BenCab's personal collection of pieces by other renowned artists.The Cordillera Room displays a massive collection of the regions wood carvings, basketry, earthen jars, and furniture.At the ground floor is the Café Sabel, which offers visitors a view of a farm that includes an aviary, a pond, and coffee and strawberry plantations."This museum will be a center for activity," BenCab said. "I hope this will set the standards somehow."Among the activities he expects are art seminars and exhibits for young artists, as the museum also houses the BenCab Art Foundation aimed at helping young deserving artists.BenCab, born in Malabon in 1942, studied at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. In the late '60s and early '70, he lived in London with his wife, British writer Caroline Kennedy (from which he has been divorced), and their three children.After a successful career in Europe, he returned to the Philippines in time for the EDSA People Power Revolution. He has since resettled in Baguio City. - Maria Elena Catajan, GMANews.TV