Adamson University Gallery stages ‘Pamana ng Kahapon’
Art Association of the Philippines President Fidel Sarmiento lends his talent to the Adamson University and stages Pamana ng Kahapon exhibit at the campus’ art gallery.

Pamana ng Kahapon is a one-man exhibit of Sarmiento’s acrylic paintings showcasing the rich heritage of the country though old houses, surroundings, relics, and other reminders of the past. It opened on November 13 with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Sarmiento, university president Father Greg Bañaga, university treasurer Brother Henry Escurel and Romeo Bautista of Boysen Paints. It will be on view until December 13.

The exhibit is the artist’s way of creating awareness on the our cultural treasures especially to the youth, just like the Adamson University students, who tend to ignore them nowadays because of continuous modernization.

For his artworks, Sarmiento’s main subjects are old heritage houses, which today are being replaced by contemporary homes. By painting vividly these houses, Sarmiento is able to revive the beauty of our ancestors home.

Most of the houses painted by the artist are the Spanish colonial structures of Vigan City in Ilocos Sur province.

One of the artist’s favorite, however, is a bahay na bato from his hometown in Pampanga. The traditional house stands on stilts creating a silong underneath. This is where the livestock and socks of rice are being kept. A wide staircase from the ground leads to the main house in the upper floor. The windows, made of capiz, are big to allow ventilation of air.

According to Sarmiento, he painted the house in its unharmed state, the way he remembered it in his younger years. Today, however, the house is already deteriorating.

Other artworks include relics of from the houses like old lamps, telephones, pillars and doors. Besides the heritage structures, Sarmiento also made a series of abstract paintings of informal settler’s houses.

Proceeds from the Pamana ng Kahapon is for the benefit of the university’s Bridge Program.