Artist

Images Provided by Leslie de Chavez

LESLIE {espiritu} DE CHAVEZ

Born in Manila, Philippines, 1978

Lives and works in Tayabas / Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Email: lesliedechavez@gmail.com

Website: www.lesliedechavez.com

Mobile: +63_9175603642

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

“My practice has involved the creation of diverse art forms that scrutinize various issues in Philippine society such as history, colonialism, religion, imperialism, miseducation, power struggle, contemporary culture, politics and social values. My process entails the resurfacing of historical templates, re-examining contemporary social discourse and rediscovering introspection as methods to pin down the truth about the many realities we Filipinos experience. As an artist, I believe that responding through art to our continuous victimization from the chronic conditions

BFA in Painting, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1999, cum laude

Manila-born Filipino artist Leslie de Chavez has been widely recognized for his incisive and sensible forays into history,cultural imperialism, religion, and contemporary life. Responding to urgent material conditions through his deconstructionsof master texts, icons, and the symbols of his times, de Chavez strikes a balance between iconoclasm and an affirmativeoutlook to the relevance and accountability of art to one's milieu. Leslie de Chavez has held several solo exhibitions in the Philippines, China, Korea, Singapore, UK, and Switzerland. He has also participated in several notable exhibitions and art festivals, which include the Singapore Biennale 2013, 3rd Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan 2011, 3rd Nanjing Triennial in China 2008, First Pocheon Asia Biennale in South Korea 2007. A two-time award winner (2010/2014) of the Ateneo Art Awards for Visual Art, Leslie de Chavez is also the director/founder of the artist-run initiative Project Space Pilipinas, in Lucban,

Quezon.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026 Thy Will Be Done, Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea

Halik Sa Lupa (A Kiss on the Ground), Gajah Gallery, Manila, Philippines

2025 A Kiss on the Ground (Halik Sa Lupa), Gajah Gallery, Singapore

2024 As Judas Receives the Bread from Christ, a Small Black Devil is Shown Entering His Mouth, MO_Space Gallery

Placebo Paintings, MO_Space Gallery, BGC Taguity City, Philippines

2021 A Lonely Picket in the Balcony, Silverlens Galleries, Makati City, Philippines

2018 Higa sa Hangin (Lying Down in Air), Finale Art File, Makati City, Philippines

The Allegory of the Cave, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2017 SaLang#1: Craft-Mine-Crap, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2016 Stirring the Ashes, Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila Philippines

The Sleep of Reason, Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2015 Under the Influence, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Unfolding Encounters, Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK

2013 Nameless Presence, Silverlens Gallery, Gillmans Singapore, Singapore

2011 God Is Busy, Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

2010 Buntong Hininga, Silverlens Galleries, Manila, Philippines

2008 Banana Republic, Avanthay Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland

2007 Red-eyed Brother, Arario Seoul, Seoul, Korea

Leslie de Chavez, Arario Beijing, Beijing, China

2006 Tropical Delight, Window Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea

Ichimaseyo (Do Not Forget Me), Goyang Art Studio Gallery, Korea

2004 San Ysidro Dismayado, Pahiyas Festival, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2003 Bahid (Stain), Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026 Kumusta Po Kayo?, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain

Pangamot, Balay Sueno, Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines

2025 Zambulat 3, Casa San Miguel, Zambales, Philippines

Confabulations: A Fantasy of the Real, Gajah Gallery, Manila Philippines

Bayluhanay Biennale: Sikulo at Sikleta, Eskinita Art Farm, Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines

Sentul Biennale: To Our Friends, A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Usong, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Libang / Hibang: TalaAnyo, Gajah Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia2024 Lunesan, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2024 Pagtilipon-Tipon, Orange Project, Bacolod City, Philippines

Possession: To Have & To Hold, Gajah Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia

2023 Papel sa Espasyo, Espasyo sa Papel, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Embodied, The Drawing Room Contemporary Art Gallery, Makati City, Philippines

Portrait of a Portrait Show, MO_Space Gallery, BGC Taguity City, Philippines

In Excess, Gajah Gallery, Singapore, Singapore

Island Time, Jane Lombard Gallery, New York City, USA

2022 Orifice, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2022 The Riddle of Materials, Galleria Duemila, Manila, Philippines

Take My Hand and I’ll Show You What Was and Will Be, Alba Gallery, Vienna, Austria

2021 Hitherto IV: Lamentations, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

After the Storm: Five Artists from the Philippines, Mizuma Gallery, Singapore

The Shelf Life of Being, Mono8 Gallery, Manila, Philippines

2020 London Biennale: Masks, Mirages and the Morphic Mirror, New York, London, Berlin, Lucban

Quarantined Lives, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Ready but Postponed or Canceled, A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Pacific Crossings, Triangulations pt.III: Dispatches from Manila, Lost Frames, Philippines

2019 Yellow Ambiguities, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

Far Away But Strangely Familiar, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Slovakia

+63 / +62, Silverlens Galleries, Makati City Philippines

2018 Once I had a Vision, The Left Hand of Darkness, MO Space, BGC Taguig City, Philippines

SaLang, West Gallery, West Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

2017 Voice of Asia, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2016 Between the Street and the Mountain: Four Artists from the Philippines, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2015 PaperViews 15: Rapid Cycling, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

The Vexed Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, St. Benilde, Manila

Asia Talk to Asia, Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju, South Korea

You Must Change Your Life, Equator Art Projects, Singapore

2014 Pulse, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Really? Arario Museum in Space, Seoul, Korea

PaperViews 14: On Immanence, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Multiple Languages, Silverlens Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Complicated, Lopez Memorial Museum, Manila, Philippines

Unbearable Lightness of Being, Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines

Concurrence, West Gallery, Manila, Philippines

2013 No Random Nonsense, Boston Gallery, Manila, Philippines

Singapore Biennale 2013: If the World Changed, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

2012 Panorama: Recent Art from Contemporary Asia, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

Artists With Arario 3, Arario Gallery, Cheongdam, Korea

2011 3rd Asian Art Biennial: Meditation, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan

Rundgang 2011, Leipzig International Art Programme, Leipzig, Germany

Self Camera: Repositioning Modern Self, Changwon Asian Art Festival, Korea

We Was There, Yuchengco Museum, Manila, Philippines

2010 Beacons of Archipelago, Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

Nanjing Biennale, Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, China

Rainbow Asia, Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea

Collection Show 2010, Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea

Reflections, Bupyeong Art Center, South, Korea

Artists With Arario, Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea

2009 We Said Our Piece, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila

2008 3rd Nanjing Triennial, Nanjing, China

2007 First Pocheon Asia Biennale, Pocheon, South, Korea

2006 Bikini in Winter, Alternative Space Loop, Seoul, Korea

2005 Beppu Asia Biennale of Contemporary Art, Beppu Museum, Japan2003 Urbanisasyon, Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Buklod, Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

2002 Recent Works, Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Surface, Ayala Museum, Manila, Philippines

AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES

2015 The Creative Campus, Liverpool Hope University (Residency Grant), Liverpool, United Kingdom

2014 Fernando Zobel Prizes for Visual Art, Ateneo Art Gallery (Prize Winner), Philippines

2011 Leipzig International Art Programme (Residency Grant), Leipzig, Germany

2010 Goethe Institute, (Travel Grant, Art Forum 10), Berlin, Germany

Ateneo Art Awards, “Shattering States” (Prize Winner), Philippines

2007 Neo-Emerging Artists Residency, Dangsan Studio(Residency Grant), Seoul, Korea

2005 IASK Goyang Art Studio, Asian Artists Fellowship Program (Residency Grant), Korea

Beppu Asia Biennale of Contemporary Art 2005, Beppu Art Museum, Japan

2003 Metrobank Foundation Young Painters’ Annual (2nd Prize)

1999 Oblecine: Film and Video Art Festival, University of the Philippines (Honorable Mention)

UP President’s Committee on Culture and Arts, 1st Film and Video Art Festival (3rd Prize)

1998 UP President’s Committee on Culture and Arts, Most Outstanding Student Artist

Gawad Chancellor, Student Achiever for National Competitions, University of the Philippines

ART-RELATED ACTIVITIES

2026 Curator, Igkas sa Lilim ng Gawi: Allyza Diane Tresvalles Solo Exhibition, Finale Art File, ALT Art Fair

Curator, Patihulog sa Ritmo ng Paubaya: Guenivere Decena Solo Exhibition, Orange Project, AFP2026

2025 Curator, To Carry More Than Air, Group Exhibition, Galleria Duemila, Pasay City, Philippines

Curator, Unyielding, Group Exhibition, West Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines

Curator, Libang / Hibang, TalaAnyo Group Exhibition, Gajah Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Curator, SaLang#8: Allyza Diane Tresvalles “Angi-Batihilaw” Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon

Curator, Transference: Roedil Geraldo Solo Exhibition, Orange Project, Bacolod City, Philippines

2024 Curator, Pagtilipon-Tipon, Orange Project, Bacolod City, Philippines

2015 Director, First Lucban Assembly: Pamumuhunan, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

2014 Curator, PaperViews 14: On Immanence, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Curator, Multiple Languages, Silverlens Galleries, Manila, Philippines

Curator, Unbearable Lightness of Being, Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines

2013 Collaborator, Southeast Asian Art Group Exchange Residency, Kuala Lumpur, Jogjakarta, Manila

2012 Collaborator, Southeast Asian Art Group Exchange Residency, Kuala Lumpur, Jogjakarta, Manila

2011 Collaborator, Southeast Asian Art Group Exchange Residency, Kuala Lumpur, Jogjakarta, Manila

Project Manager, We Was There, Yuchengco Museum, Philippines

2010 Collaborator, Seoksu Art Project, Supplement Space Stone & Water, Anyang, Korea

Project Manager, Reflections, Bupyeong Art Center, Incheon, Korea

2009 Project Manager, Plastic Syndrome, Artist Exchange & Exhibition, Art Space Plastic, Incheon, Korea

Project Coordinator, Artriangle, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2008 Project Coordinator, Tenggara: Recent Paintings from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Liverpool, UK

2007 Director, Project Space Pilipinas, Manila, Philippines (to date)

2005 Co-curator, First Dumaguete Open Biennial Terra Cotta Art Festival, Philippines

2004 Assistant curator, In Memory of a Talisman: The Works of Santiago Bose, Philippines

2003 Curator, Urbanisasyon, Kulay Diwa Galleries, Manila, Philippines

ART FAIRS PARTICIPATION

2026 Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

Art Fair Philippines, Manila, (Silverlens Gallery, Philippines)

Art Fair Philippines, Manila, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

ArtSG, Singapore, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

2024 Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

Alt Art Fair, Manila, (Drawing Room, Philippines)Art Fair Philippines, Manila, (Silverlens Gallery, Philippines)

Art Fair Philippines, Manila, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

ArtSG, Singapore, (Gajah Gallery , Singapore)

2023 Art Fair Philippines, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

2022 Asia Now Paris, Paris, France (Yavus Gallery)

Frieze Seoul, Seoul, Korea (Arario Gallery)

2021 Art Jakarta Virtual, Jakarta, Indonesia (Arario Gallery)

2019 Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Arario Gallery)

Art Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia (Arario Gallery)

2018 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

2017 Art Stage Jakarta, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

Artfair Philippines, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

2016 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

2015 Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Silverlens Gallery)

Artfair Philippines, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

2014 Artfair Philippines, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

2013 Artfair Philippines, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

2012 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

Art Hong Kong 12, Hong Kong (Arario Gallery)

2011 ManilArt 11, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

Art Stage Singapore, Singapore (Arario Gallery)

2010 ManilArt 10, Manila, Philippines (Silverlens Gallery)

Art Hong Kong 10, Hong Kong (Arario Gallery)

2009 Art Taipei 2009, Taiwan (Arario Gallery)

Art Hong Kong 09, Hong Kong (Arario Gallery)

2008 Pulse Miami Contemporary Art Fair, Miami, USA (Arario Gallery)

Kunst Art Fair, Zurich, Switzerland (Avanthay Contemporary)

ARCO Art Fair 2008, Madrid, Spain (Arario Gallery)

2007 Art Beijing Art 2007, Beijing, China (Arario Gallery)

First Asian Contemporary Art Fair (ACAF), New York, USA (Arario Gallery)