Otep Bañez

A FINE ARTS CAPITAL. I cannot agree more with artist Glenn Cagandahan when he said that Paete is the Fine Arts Capital of the Philippines.

While for centuries this lakeshore town in Laguna has been acclaimed for its woodcarvings and master carvers, Paete is also home to a group of artists whose vocations have flourished in the international and local art markets. One of them is modern expressionist Joseph Otep Bañez, who immortalized on canvas and wood reliefs the provincial life and various everyday scenes in his hometown.

OUR FIRST OTEP. In collecting art, it has been my practice to get artworks directly from artists because I want to discover from them the story behind their creations.

Meeting Joseph Otep Bañez in 2009, we’ve learned that his composition and style were influenced by comic illustrator Larry Alcala and the folksy and humorous themes of his paintings were inspired by real-life episodes from his home town. Our first Otep was from his Harana series showing a comical scene lifted from artists memory of a traditional courtship through serenading that went wrong.

EPILOGUE: THINGS OF THE PAST. But more than just learning his style and theme, we also learned from Otep his story as a struggling artist who went door to door from gallery to gallery to market his painting.

Otep even experienced rejection and insults from an unscrupulous art dealer. But those are things of the past. Mag iiyakan lang tayo pagnapagkwentuhan natin ulit, says Otep.

 – Feast of St. James 2019