Under the tutelage of his father Ramon Orlina, Michael started creating glass sculptures after graduating with a degree in Arts Management from De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde. In “Shifting Reality,” an exhibit that runs until April 27, the budding artist steps out of his father’s long shadow and showcases a style that is distinctly his.
By ANNE STEPHANIE NILO
Galerie Stephanie recently unveiled “Shifting Reality” featuring the works of glass sculptor Michael Orlina, who continues to train under the expert guidance of his father, Ramon Orlina.
As explained by the featured artist himself, the title of the exhibit describes both the work of art and the creative process behind it. “The shift comes from the glass — every angle, it shifts. Like, this is a fish supposedly. If shifted, it makes it more surreal almost,” Michael said.
The creative process that turns each piece of glass into a work of art is equally fluid and never predictable. “I work on it slowly, little bit, little bit, and it changes from the start to the end — so that’s the shift of the reality of the work. Especially when I bring it to polish — lumiwanag na, hindi na siya opaque,” he added.
Celestial bodies are also a source of wonder and fascination for the young glass sculptor, and this strong interest in outer space explains why “Moonstar” was chosen for this exhibit. “I like things that are out of this world, like obviously there’s a space, you know there’s a moon and there’s a star, rocketship,” Michael shared.
The son of the Father of Philippine Glass Sculpture also explained how he creates his unique signature and how these exhibit pieces depart from his highly acclaimed father’s style.
“Even though it’s the same process that we go through, kung saan nag-iiba is where I implement a technique. For example, one obvious one is the amount of texture there is. So there’s a lot more lines, there is a lot more different variations in the finish. And also like, sa dad ko, a lot of it reaches polish kaya very clear siya. The other ones, it’s like we’re not reaching the polish step, so there’s a difference in the variation in the texture. And also for this, it’s a different machine na sandblasting machine. Yung sa dad ko and even for my sister we use it to achieve less frosting. He uses sandblasting machine to achieve frosting, but for this one, I’m using it as a sculpting tool to achieve those dots, to achieve a different outcome,” Michael explained.
Yet despite his goal to sculpt his own place in the local art scene, Michael humbly remains his father’s apprentice. “I’m just an apprentice and he is my mentor. He is teaching me. And he helps me when I have problems especially in design, when I’m missing something or he will make changes and adjustments.”
In between projects, Michael assists his mother in managing Museo Orlina in Tagaytay. He is also currently an executive council member of the National Council for Culture and the Arts.
This exhibit runs until April 27 in Galerie Stephanie, 6/F East Wing Shangri-la Plaza, Mandaluyong City. For more information, visit https://galeriestephanie.com/exhibitions/shifting-reality/
