布恩·卡路拜恩

Buen CALUBAYAN (b. 1980) explores the contradictions inherent in the concept of Filipino identity through his artistic pursuit of self-verification. He perceives personal conflicts as microcosms of the nation’s ongoing struggles for autonomy and believes that the process of finding the appropriate artistic form to materialize these ideas also reflects a country’s inherent aesthetic sensibility. Fundamentally, for CALUBAYAN, thoughts translate into actions, actions shape objects, and objects must be reorganized into a new historical narrative—ultimately offering an opportunity to redefine his homeland’s identity. As an artist who must sustain his livelihood while continuing his creative practice, he constantly questions the contradictions embedded in his own identity. CALUBAYAN’s work unfolds at the intersection of art, labor, and education. He explores institutional frameworks such as painting, landscapes, and linear perspective, deriving from them various strategies and practices that examine the body’s rhythm, movement, and sensory capacities. Through this process, he challenges traditional models of power and oppression, seeking to reconstruct the relationship between the body and the world. Ultimately, his work focuses on the systems that operate within daily life and the institutions that shape and regulate our existence. Through diverse media and formats—including painting, drawing, video, and installation—CALUBAYAN critically examines the imposed Western visual system, offering alternative perspectives in response.

 

Buen CALUBAYAN lives and works in Manila, The Philippines. He studied Cultural Heritage at the University of Santo Tomas and worked as a conservation assistant at the UST Museum from 2002 to 2006 and as a researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines from 2010 to 2013. CALUBAYAN has held solo exhibitions at various venues, including ARARIO GALLERY SEOUL (Seoul, Korea, 2025), UP Vargas Museum (Manila, Philippines, 2023–2024) and ARARIO GALLERY Ryse Hotel (Seoul, Korea, 2019), and has participated in group exhibitions at venues such as Mindset Art Center (Taipei, Taiwan, 2020), House of World Cultures (Berlin, Germany, 2017), ARARIO GALLERY SHANGHAI (Shanghai, China, 2016), Gwangju Museum of Art (Gwangju, Korea, 2014), and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Manila, Philippines, 2013). Moreover, from 2008 to 2018, he took part in numerous residencies in Japan, Australia, Singapore, and other locations. In 2013, CALUBAYAN received a Fernando Zóbel Prize for Visual Art at the Ateneo Art Awards in 2013 and a Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2009.