Manuel Ocampo
b. 1965
Manuel Ocampo was born in 1965 in Quezon City, Philippines. He studied at the University of the Philippines and at California State University, Bakersfield. From the mid-1980s he lived in California, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1988. He returned to the Philippines in 2003 and today lives and works in the Manila metropolitan area. His densely layered paintings combine Baroque religious iconography with political narratives, cartoon elements and punk influences. In doing so, he deliberately calls into question the hierarchy between high and popular culture. He gained international recognition in 1992 through the exhibition “Helter Skelter” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and through documenta IX in Kassel. In 2017 he represented the Philippines together with Lani Maestro at the 57th Venice Biennale, and in 2020 he took part in the 22nd Biennale of Sydney. His works are held in collections including MOCA Los Angeles and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Works
Biography
Education 1984 University of the Philippines, Quezon City 1985 California State University, Bakersfield Solo exhibitions (selection) 2005 Casa Asia, Barcelona 2005 Lieu d'Art Contemporain, Sigean 2011 The Ghost Poo of Painting, PHILARA, Düsseldorf 2012 The 80's, Topaz Arts, New York 2013 20 Years of Intestinal Mishaps, Carré Sainte-Anne, Montpellier 2013 The Corrections, Copenhagen Space of Drawing, Copenhagen 2015 Goya vu par Ocampo – La Junte des Philippines 1815–2015, Musée Goya, Castres 2019 Ideological Mash-Up/Remix, STPI, Singapore Group exhibitions (selection) 1992 Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the 1990s, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles 1992 documenta IX, Kassel 1993 Corcoran Biennial, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1994 Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asian American Art, Asia Society, New York 1997 American Stories: Amidst Displacement and Transformation, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo 1997 Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju 2000 Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900–2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 2012 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7), Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane 2017 The Spectre of Comparison, Philippine Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale, Venice 2019 Children of Saturn, Musée d'art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne, Rochechouart 2020 NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney, Sydney 2024 Chances of Contact, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila Awards 1991 Grant, Art Matters Inc., New York 1995 Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York 1995 Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, Rome 1996 Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, USA 1998 Giverny Residency, Giverny Collections Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), Valencia Fonds national d'art contemporain (Cnap), Paris Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka