HER STORY IN HISTORY: LA GALERIA DE MARIA AT MANILART 2025 – A TRIBUTE TO WOMEN WHO CREATE BEYOND BORDERS

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

As the country’s premier art fair, ManilART 2025 opens its 17th edition at the SMX Convention Center of SM Aura, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, the air is electric with color, creativity, and conviction. This year’s theme, “Across Forms, Beyond Borders,” captures the very spirit of transformation—how inspiration flows across disciplines and identities, defying the limits of medium and tradition. From fashion to food, from digital design to sculpture, this year’s ManilART celebrates the boundless nature of creativity and its power to heal, connect, and redefine.

And at the heart of this celebration stands Booth E1 — LA GALERIA DE MARIA, with its evocative exhibition entitled “Her Story in History.”

It is not just a collection of artworks—it is a sanctuary of strength, resilience, and womanhood.

A GALLERY WITH PURPOSE

On Day 1, October 15, VIP Night, Wazzup Pilipinas had the honor of meeting three extraordinary women whose works breathe life into this theme: Mari Zhar, Cas Lib, and Leslie Pucay. Each artist, in her own right, carries a distinct story—yet together, they form a tapestry of purpose and truth, bound by passion and empowerment.  

Be sure to watch also the videos of my actual one on one interviews with these three women. I will upload them soon. The art fair had so many notable artists with their respective signature or style of art that it's actually impossible to stay at one spot because you'll be overwhelmed with all the sights at every corner of the SMX Convention Center of SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The art everywhere could not stop me from getting a close-up look drawing me like magnetized yet every piece was pulling me and all demanding my attention. Add the fact that there were gracing tables and buffets offering sumptuous food that are equally works of art on both taste and form. But that will be another significant story to share in another article. 

For this moment, we focus on three women that I had a face-to-face opportunity to dwell within their thoughts more intimately, where they even shared the prices of their artworks.. But for the truly discerning, the amount they mentioned should be more than their asking price. I would treat my works as priceless actually especially if the beholder truly understands what goes on in the minds of every passionate artist out there, not just from the ManilArt art fair, not just of Filipino artists, but of everyone worldwide. Their creativity are definitely without any boundaries and of many forms. 

MARI ZHAR – Art With Purpose. Truth With Power.

At first glance, Mari Zhar Carvill’s presence commands both warmth and depth. An artist, author, and advocate, her works echo stories of struggle and strength—turning silence into color and emotion into form. Influenced by Modern Abstract Expressionism and shaped by her travels across Europe, the U.S., and Asia, Mari Zhar transforms personal pain into communal healing.

Her art is deeply rooted in human experience—loss, betrayal, and ultimately, rebirth.

“My dream is not a gallery; it’s a sanctuary,” she says. Through her foundation Shaped Women Org. PH and projects like Pigmento.PH and Children’s Avenue, she creates spaces for healing, especially for women and children silenced by life’s cruelties.

Hand-painted colorful crumpled forms could be depicting how our lives are virtually not as smooth as always but we still are able to emerge out of the chaos due to our resilience and perseverance. 

Mari’s art doesn’t seek to impress—it seeks to awaken. Every brushstroke is a prayer for the forgotten, a voice for the grieving, and a light for those rediscovering themselves. “Every ending is a spark,” she writes, “and every spark is the start of becoming who you were always meant to be.”

How much would you be willing to pay for one of her paintings cum sculptures?

 

CAS LIB – The Artist, The Chef, The Healer

Beside the frame of her signature work lies a story of transformation. Cas Lib, once a dentist turned international chef, discovered her truest self through art. Her journey from the kitchen to the canvas mirrors the fluidity celebrated by ManilART’s theme—proof that creativity knows no single form.

Now a celebrated artist, chef, and businesswoman, Cas Lib’s paintings serve as her therapy and testimony. After years in New Zealand and a life filled with reinvention, she picked up the brush not to impress, but to cope and connect.

“Painting helped me turn anxiety and grief into something visible,” she shares. “Every color carries weight. It’s not just art—it’s what I’ve lived.”

Her works often feature gentle, deliberate strokes—echoes of both culinary precision and emotional release. Cas Lib’s artistry bridges her many worlds, reminding us that creation itself can be both a refuge and a revolution.

And you would be surprised that her pen name is actually the last name of her husband whom she wants to honor? When many would normally put their name or branding on their works, she instead puts the name of another on her artwork. I'm sure you would know why and which kind of person she is - unselfish and humble could just be one layer as I see her as more than that. 

LESLIE PUCAY – Painting the Pulse of Music, Dance, and Life

If rhythm could take shape, it would look like the paintings of Leslie Pucay. A visual artist, singer, photographer, and ballroom dancer, she brings movement and music to the canvas with effortless grace. “Through color, form, and gesture,” Leslie explains, “I translate harmony into visuals and choreography into brushstrokes.”

Her art breathes with motion—each swirl, hue, and texture evoking the pulse of life itself. Guided by spontaneity and emotion, Leslie’s works invite viewers into a dance between sound and silence, memory and imagination.

“My artistic journey is ongoing,” she reflects. “It’s an experiment in feeling, seeing, and becoming.” Every piece she creates invites us to move beyond observation and into resonance—to feel the art rather than merely view it.

I can't wait to see her art reflecting an OPM song or music as many of us are equally captivated by Western music, our own local music or songs also needs to be highlighted as equally meaningful and deep. Which colors you may ask?  But like our political inclinations depending on our class or stature in life, learning and principles, should I keep saying that our focus should be knowing that we are basically brown or kayumaggi?  Yes, we maybe very active on social media, very expressive and vocal online, but let us not detach ourselves from using both our intellect and emotion to realize that we are above all these pull or push of alliances.

HER STORY IN HISTORY – THE ESSENCE OF WOMEN IN ART

The collective spirit of La Galeria de Maria’s “Her Story in History” transcends frames and walls. It celebrates women not only as creators of art but as architects of truth. Each canvas holds a story of resilience, each sculpture a whisper of defiance, each color a heartbeat of memory.

Together, these women redefine what it means to create across forms and beyond borders—their artistry blurring the lines between personal and universal, between pain and purpose, between life and art.

EXPERIENCE MANILART 2025

ManilART 2025 runs from October 15–19, 2025, at the SMX Convention Center of SM Aura, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Tickets are available at Ticketbooth.ph.

For group tours and school visits, email manilartsecretariat@gmail.com.

Follow ManilART on social media for more updates:

📘 Facebook: ManilART

📸 Instagram: @manilartfair

🌐 Visit: www.manilartfair.com

Come and step into Booth E1 – La Galeria de Maria, and witness Her Story in History — where art is not just seen, but felt, lived, and remembered.

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