• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The third “Likha” art exhibition opened at the ground floor of Ayala Malls Capitol Central, Bacolod City Monday, in celebration of the National Arts Month, with multi-awarded Negrense artist Natalio Alob Jr., Dr. MJ Eslavia Cadigal-Ebrahimi, and Art Association of Bacolod-Negros (AABN) treasurer Patty Jane Ong as guests of honor.
The month-long show organized by Cuenca Arts Workshop, in partnership with Mixlada and Ayala Malls, features the works of 36 local visual artists. The exhibit also showcases artworks of some students of the Cuenca Arts Workshop.
Alob is an in-house family artist of the Royal family in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the past 24 years, up to the present. He is also a member of the AABN and was president of the Hagod Visual Artist Group based in Riyadh in 2022.
He won the Jurors Choice Excellent Award for the painting ASEAN Art Work Creativity International Competition in 2008; was grand prize winner of the GSIS Art Competition sculpture category in 2012; won the grand prize in sculpture category of Sining Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) national competition in 2012; and was grand prize winner of the Metrobank Art Competition sculpture category professional level in 2014.
Alob was one of the 7th Artist Centennial Awardees of La Consolacion College-Bacolod, along with Negrense actress Susan Roces, and prominent visual artists Nunelucio Alvarado, Charlie Co, Rodney Martinez, and Edbon Sevilleno, among others.
He was a grand prize winner of the Rotary Outstanding Young Artist (ROYA) painting competition in 1995; won second place in the sculpture competition of the 1997 Shell national competition; first place in the mural painting competition of the 97th Negros Liberation Anniversary in 1975; first place in sculpture during the 1976 Mudpack Festival; first place body painting during the 1998 Mudpack Festival 1998; and was grand prize winner during the first San Carlos Pinta Flores Festival body painting in 2000.*
