MERLITO Villanueva Gepte, Darby Vincent A. Alcoseba, Herbert J. Pajarito; at left, Perseverance, by Alcoseba

Major winning works in the Visual Arts categories of the 29th Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) National Competition have spirituality and humanity as subjects.

For Painting, which has the subcategories Oil on Canvas and Watermedia on Paper, the Grand Prize winners are Alvin Florentinos Nilay-Nilay, Herbert J. Pajaritos Intercession, and Darby Alcosebas Perseverance.

Oil-on-canvas Nilay-Nilay (48 x 36) portrays a man and a woman in one body immersed in a bathtub in what seems the artists take on the relationship between the sacred and the profane, sin and repentance.

Florentino, 23, said he sought to portray the need for cleansing to stop the cycle of human immorality.

An Interior Design student of the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (Earist), Florentino said he was influenced by the works of contemporary artists Andres Barrioquinto, Jerry Morada and Ronald Ventura.

NILAY-NILAY

Oil-on-canvas Intercession (48 x 36) is an abstract rendition of explorations of the soul.

Pajarito, 31, said he was influenced by the works of Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. A Fine Arts graduate of Adventist University of the Philippines, he said he wanted to become an art evangelist.

Alvin Dematera Florentino

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Spirituality characterizes winning works in MADE visual-arts division