Lesley-Anne Cao is a visual artist based in Quezon City, Philippines.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 A song plays from another room, MO_Space, Taguig City.
2021 Hard and soft prayers, The Drawing Room Gallery, Makati City.
2018 The hand, the secretary, a landscape. Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2022
Mise en Place, Appetite, Singapore. curated by Yun Teng Seet.
An aging double, MO_Space Gallery, Taguig City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Hitherto V: Mothering from a Distance, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon.
Beneath the Common Surface, Kaida Contemporary Gallery, Quezon City.
2021
Last Words, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Cast But One Shadow, University of the Philippines Vargas Museum, Quezon City. curated by Kathleen Ditzig and Carlos Quijon, Jr.
No More Mesmerizations, Bangkok Biennial 2020/1 — Manila/Online Pavilion. curated by Vincent Ardidon.
2020
I’m finding it hard to believe, Modeka Art Space, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Florae – The Women Artists : The Special Project for MSAC 10th Anniversary III, Mind Set Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Issue 2: Points of Connection, West Space Offsite (Online Program), West Space, Melbourne, Australia. edited by Andy Butler.
Jack of Golds, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City.
this walk, a hunt; this path, a quarry. Artinformal Gallery, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
3rd Kamias Triennial: Sawsawan in the Dirty Kitchen. Kamias Special Projects, Quezon City. curated by Patrick Cruz, Su-ying Lee, Allison Collins.
2019
a knowing intimacy or a life. University of the Philippines Vargas Museum, Quezon City. curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr.
To give a moment a name (with Derek Tumala and Katherine Nuñez). The Drawing Room, Makati City. curated by Con Cabrera.
Courses of Action. Goethe-Institut Hong Kong and Para Site, Hong Kong. curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr.
More light than heat (with Lao Lianben). Calle Wright, Manila.
City of Bawal. 1335Mabini, Makati City. curated by Roy Voragen.
Of sampaguita, ilang-ilang (with MJ Flamiano and Czar Kristoff). c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, Australia.
A Public Collection of the Hidden but Familiar. Limbo, Makati City. curated by Tropikalye (Nice Buenaventura).
2018
Fieldnotes. Makiling Botanic Gardens and Nomina Nuda, Los Baños, Laguna. curated by Nomina Nuda and Para://Site Projects.
Spin Cycle. 25 Humabon Street, Magallanes Village, Makati City. curated by Kiat Kiat Projects.
Quid Pro Quo. Bangkok Biennial, Bangrak Market, Bangkok, Thailand. curated by Liv_id Collective and Alice Sarmiento. 100 Films for One Hundred Years: Hidden Cinema. Ayala Museum, Makati City. curated by Nick Deocampo.
Yielding Nodes. Silang, Cavite. curated by Para://Site Projects.
Composite Circuits. Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Makati City. curated by Dayang Yraola.
To eat is to survive to be hungry. Mabini Projects, Manila. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
2017
The Arm (with Itos Ledesma). 98B Collaboratory, Manila.
Parle pas français, merci. Corredor Gallery, U.P. College of Fine Arts, Quezon City.
D. Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
2015
PaperViews15: Rapid Cycling. Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon.
Nonfiction (with Lou Lim and Issay Rodriguez). Project 20, Quezon City.
Bull in the Heather. Art Center / Galerie Anna, Mandaluyong City. curated by Lena Cobangbang.
REPULSE. MAKNA Seni Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. curated by Asep Topan.
Preview Magazine 20th Anniversary Exhibition. Green Sun, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Pop+art: Productions. Artery Art Space, Quezon City.
Project Bakawan Arts Festival. U.P. Diliman, Quezon City. SiLab: Sining Laboratoryo Arts Festival. U.P. Los Baños, Laguna.
2014
Unisex. Artery Art Space, Quezon City.
Luminescence. Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila. Objection. PAN /// Project Space, 98B Collaboratory, Manila. curated by Asep Topan.
2013
Je ne sais pas encore, exactament. École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France.
Thin Skinned. Light and Space Contemporary, Quezon City.
2012 Being. Sining Kamalig, Quezon City.
2010 Y. Sining Kamalig, Quezon City. curated by Nestor Vinluan.
2009 Tagsibol. National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila. curated by Jonathan Olazo.
WRITING
2021 “Not a tunnel, maybe a ring”, Green Papaya Art Projects: PapayaPost, Feb 2021
2020 “Nothing to time”, Issue 2: Points of Connection – West Space Offsite, ed. Andy Butler
2019 “Subtitles or a love poem in plain language”, Ctrl+P Journal of Contemporary Art, ed. Judy Freya Sibayan, Dec 2019 (Manila)
2017 “A Stage, A Pool”, Traffic Vol. 1, MIKI LTD. (Quezon City) and Project Space Pilipinas (Lucban, Quezon)
2017 What’s Left of It, Miles Villanueva solo exhibition text, Pintô Art Museum, Antipolo City
2012 The Hundreds Project, University of the Philippines Writers Club, Quezon City
2021 A song plays from another room, MO_Space, Taguig City.
2021 Hard and soft prayers, The Drawing Room Gallery, Makati City.
2018 The hand, the secretary, a landscape. Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2022
Mise en Place, Appetite, Singapore. curated by Yun Teng Seet.
An aging double, MO_Space Gallery, Taguig City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Hitherto V: Mothering from a Distance, Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon.
Beneath the Common Surface, Kaida Contemporary Gallery, Quezon City.
2021
Last Words, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Cast But One Shadow, University of the Philippines Vargas Museum, Quezon City. curated by Kathleen Ditzig and Carlos Quijon, Jr.
No More Mesmerizations, Bangkok Biennial 2020/1 — Manila/Online Pavilion. curated by Vincent Ardidon.
2020
I’m finding it hard to believe, Modeka Art Space, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Florae – The Women Artists : The Special Project for MSAC 10th Anniversary III, Mind Set Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Issue 2: Points of Connection, West Space Offsite (Online Program), West Space, Melbourne, Australia. edited by Andy Butler.
Jack of Golds, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City.
this walk, a hunt; this path, a quarry. Artinformal Gallery, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
3rd Kamias Triennial: Sawsawan in the Dirty Kitchen. Kamias Special Projects, Quezon City. curated by Patrick Cruz, Su-ying Lee, Allison Collins.
2019
a knowing intimacy or a life. University of the Philippines Vargas Museum, Quezon City. curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr.
To give a moment a name (with Derek Tumala and Katherine Nuñez). The Drawing Room, Makati City. curated by Con Cabrera.
Courses of Action. Goethe-Institut Hong Kong and Para Site, Hong Kong. curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr.
More light than heat (with Lao Lianben). Calle Wright, Manila.
City of Bawal. 1335Mabini, Makati City. curated by Roy Voragen.
Of sampaguita, ilang-ilang (with MJ Flamiano and Czar Kristoff). c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, Australia.
A Public Collection of the Hidden but Familiar. Limbo, Makati City. curated by Tropikalye (Nice Buenaventura).
2018
Fieldnotes. Makiling Botanic Gardens and Nomina Nuda, Los Baños, Laguna. curated by Nomina Nuda and Para://Site Projects.
Spin Cycle. 25 Humabon Street, Magallanes Village, Makati City. curated by Kiat Kiat Projects.
Quid Pro Quo. Bangkok Biennial, Bangrak Market, Bangkok, Thailand. curated by Liv_id Collective and Alice Sarmiento. 100 Films for One Hundred Years: Hidden Cinema. Ayala Museum, Makati City. curated by Nick Deocampo.
Yielding Nodes. Silang, Cavite. curated by Para://Site Projects.
Composite Circuits. Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Makati City. curated by Dayang Yraola.
To eat is to survive to be hungry. Mabini Projects, Manila. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
2017
The Arm (with Itos Ledesma). 98B Collaboratory, Manila.
Parle pas français, merci. Corredor Gallery, U.P. College of Fine Arts, Quezon City.
D. Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
2015
PaperViews15: Rapid Cycling. Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon.
Nonfiction (with Lou Lim and Issay Rodriguez). Project 20, Quezon City.
Bull in the Heather. Art Center / Galerie Anna, Mandaluyong City. curated by Lena Cobangbang.
REPULSE. MAKNA Seni Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. curated by Asep Topan.
Preview Magazine 20th Anniversary Exhibition. Green Sun, Makati City. curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana.
Pop+art: Productions. Artery Art Space, Quezon City.
Project Bakawan Arts Festival. U.P. Diliman, Quezon City. SiLab: Sining Laboratoryo Arts Festival. U.P. Los Baños, Laguna.
2014
Unisex. Artery Art Space, Quezon City.
Luminescence. Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila. Objection. PAN /// Project Space, 98B Collaboratory, Manila. curated by Asep Topan.
2013
Je ne sais pas encore, exactament. École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France.
Thin Skinned. Light and Space Contemporary, Quezon City.
2012 Being. Sining Kamalig, Quezon City.
2010 Y. Sining Kamalig, Quezon City. curated by Nestor Vinluan.
2009 Tagsibol. National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila. curated by Jonathan Olazo.
WRITING
2021 “Not a tunnel, maybe a ring”, Green Papaya Art Projects: PapayaPost, Feb 2021
2020 “Nothing to time”, Issue 2: Points of Connection – West Space Offsite, ed. Andy Butler
2019 “Subtitles or a love poem in plain language”, Ctrl+P Journal of Contemporary Art, ed. Judy Freya Sibayan, Dec 2019 (Manila)
2017 “A Stage, A Pool”, Traffic Vol. 1, MIKI LTD. (Quezon City) and Project Space Pilipinas (Lucban, Quezon)
2017 What’s Left of It, Miles Villanueva solo exhibition text, Pintô Art Museum, Antipolo City
2012 The Hundreds Project, University of the Philippines Writers Club, Quezon City
SCREENINGS
2019
15th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, The Maltings Theatre, Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
19th Seoul International New Media Festival, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
Asian Artist Moving Image Platform: 2nd Curatorial Forum (presented by Los Otros), Gyeonggi Sangsang Campus, Seoul, South Korea
2nd Hobiennale (program by recess), Cinema One, Hobart, Tasmania
.giff Festival of New Cinema (with Los Otros), Warehouse Eight, Makati City
2018 Lost Frames XI: Pasinaya Open House Festival, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila
2017 Lost Frames VII, Catch272, Quezon City
RESIDENCIES
2023 Gasworks Residency for Artists based in the Philippines, Gasworks, London (upcoming)
2019 Örö Residency Programme, Örö, Finland — Residency and production grant, with exhibition We Meet at the Seaside, Dalsbruk, Finland, curated by Erica Yu Wen Huang and Nina-Maria Oförsagd
2017 Keelung, Taiwan — Residency and production grant, with Keelung Ciao exhibition curated by Yi-Hsuan Kuo and Erica Yu Wen Huang
DISTINCTIONS and GRANTS
2022 artlink - SüdKulturFonds 100 Artists Grant
2019 New Cinema Competition - Shortlist, 15th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
2019 Fernando Zóbel Prize for Visual Art - Shortlist, Ateneo Art Awards 2019
2019 National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila — International travel grant
2018 Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila — Exhibition grant
2014 Artist Mentorship Program — Mentee, Artery Art Space, Quezon City
2013 University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts - École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts Exchange Program — Scholarship grant
EDUCATION
2009-14 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Major in Painting), University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts - Diliman
2013-14 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France - Exchange Student Program Scholarship
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carlos Quijon, Jr., Critic’s Picks, Artforum online, Dec 2021.
Zea Asis, On Shifting Perceptions: Artist Interview with Lesley-Anne Cao and Pam Quinto, Cartellino, Dec 2021.
Meridians of Region: Writing Art History and Curating Contemporary Culture in the Philippines and Taiwan, organized and published by the Philippine Contemporary Art Network (PCAN) and the Taiwan Visual Art Archive, 2021: pp. 47, 192-209.
More light than heat companion publication, edited by Lesley-Anne Cao and Alex Tuico, published by Calle Wright, 2020.
2019 Curatorial Development Workshop Exhibitions publication, edited by Carlos Quijon, Jr., published by the Philippine Contemporary Art Network and the Japan Foundation Manila, 2020: pp. 23, 80-81, 84-85, 90-92, 122.
Alain Zedrick Camiling, Would you dip in the sawsawan, too?, Art Plus Magazine, Mar 2020.
John Alexis Balaguer, More light than heat, ArtAsiaPacific Magazine Online, Oct - Nov 2019.
Zeny May Dy Recidoro, Interior Conversations I, Politics of Home, Mar 31, 2019.
Olivia Koh, Of sampaguita, ilang-ilang, Art and Australia Magazine Online, Mar 28, 2019.
Lena Cobangbang, The 2018 Art Piece/s People Should Have Been Talking About, Diskurso Online Art Magazine, Dec 14, 2018.
Arianna Mercado, 'The Hand, The Secretary, A Landscape' at the CCP, The Philippine Star, June 25, 2018.
Zeny May Dy Recidoro, Solitary Work, June 25, 2018.
Gaby Gloria, Meet the 26-year-old who's currently holding a solo exhibition at the CCP, Young Star (The Philippine Star), June 13, 2018.
Javelyn Ramos, 4 young Filipino artists participate in Manila's Artery Mentorship Program, Art Radar Journal, May 12, 2014.
OTHER RELEVANT WORK
2017-22 Archivist / Project Researcher - Green Papaya Art Projects (with Asia Art Archive)
2022 Co-curator - Running backwards below 20 waves per second, Green Papaya Art Projects, 17th Istanbul Biennial, Turkiye
2018 Co-curator - Community Archives Project, Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon), Roxas City, Capiz
2019
15th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, The Maltings Theatre, Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
19th Seoul International New Media Festival, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
Asian Artist Moving Image Platform: 2nd Curatorial Forum (presented by Los Otros), Gyeonggi Sangsang Campus, Seoul, South Korea
2nd Hobiennale (program by recess), Cinema One, Hobart, Tasmania
.giff Festival of New Cinema (with Los Otros), Warehouse Eight, Makati City
2018 Lost Frames XI: Pasinaya Open House Festival, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila
2017 Lost Frames VII, Catch272, Quezon City
RESIDENCIES
2023 Gasworks Residency for Artists based in the Philippines, Gasworks, London (upcoming)
2019 Örö Residency Programme, Örö, Finland — Residency and production grant, with exhibition We Meet at the Seaside, Dalsbruk, Finland, curated by Erica Yu Wen Huang and Nina-Maria Oförsagd
2017 Keelung, Taiwan — Residency and production grant, with Keelung Ciao exhibition curated by Yi-Hsuan Kuo and Erica Yu Wen Huang
DISTINCTIONS and GRANTS
2022 artlink - SüdKulturFonds 100 Artists Grant
2019 New Cinema Competition - Shortlist, 15th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
2019 Fernando Zóbel Prize for Visual Art - Shortlist, Ateneo Art Awards 2019
2019 National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila — International travel grant
2018 Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila — Exhibition grant
2014 Artist Mentorship Program — Mentee, Artery Art Space, Quezon City
2013 University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts - École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts Exchange Program — Scholarship grant
EDUCATION
2009-14 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Major in Painting), University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts - Diliman
2013-14 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France - Exchange Student Program Scholarship
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carlos Quijon, Jr., Critic’s Picks, Artforum online, Dec 2021.
Zea Asis, On Shifting Perceptions: Artist Interview with Lesley-Anne Cao and Pam Quinto, Cartellino, Dec 2021.
Meridians of Region: Writing Art History and Curating Contemporary Culture in the Philippines and Taiwan, organized and published by the Philippine Contemporary Art Network (PCAN) and the Taiwan Visual Art Archive, 2021: pp. 47, 192-209.
More light than heat companion publication, edited by Lesley-Anne Cao and Alex Tuico, published by Calle Wright, 2020.
2019 Curatorial Development Workshop Exhibitions publication, edited by Carlos Quijon, Jr., published by the Philippine Contemporary Art Network and the Japan Foundation Manila, 2020: pp. 23, 80-81, 84-85, 90-92, 122.
Alain Zedrick Camiling, Would you dip in the sawsawan, too?, Art Plus Magazine, Mar 2020.
John Alexis Balaguer, More light than heat, ArtAsiaPacific Magazine Online, Oct - Nov 2019.
Zeny May Dy Recidoro, Interior Conversations I, Politics of Home, Mar 31, 2019.
Olivia Koh, Of sampaguita, ilang-ilang, Art and Australia Magazine Online, Mar 28, 2019.
Lena Cobangbang, The 2018 Art Piece/s People Should Have Been Talking About, Diskurso Online Art Magazine, Dec 14, 2018.
Arianna Mercado, 'The Hand, The Secretary, A Landscape' at the CCP, The Philippine Star, June 25, 2018.
Zeny May Dy Recidoro, Solitary Work, June 25, 2018.
Gaby Gloria, Meet the 26-year-old who's currently holding a solo exhibition at the CCP, Young Star (The Philippine Star), June 13, 2018.
Javelyn Ramos, 4 young Filipino artists participate in Manila's Artery Mentorship Program, Art Radar Journal, May 12, 2014.
OTHER RELEVANT WORK
2017-22 Archivist / Project Researcher - Green Papaya Art Projects (with Asia Art Archive)
2022 Co-curator - Running backwards below 20 waves per second, Green Papaya Art Projects, 17th Istanbul Biennial, Turkiye
2018 Co-curator - Community Archives Project, Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon), Roxas City, Capiz