FREDERICK EPISTOLA

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Frederick Epistola

Frederick Epistola is a Filipino abstract expressionist painter, collagist, sculptor and a photography enthusiast. He has produced and collaborated on projects ranging from mixed media art and clay and metal sculpture. His works can be found in the collection of the Painters for Human Rights in Florida (USA), the Union of Young Peace builders (Switzerland), and Accademia dello Scarabocchio (Matera, Italy).

In 2006, two of his works were included in the permanent collection of the prestigious International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction based in Texas, USA.  In 2008, his mixed media work, entitled “Master without a disciple”, has been featured in the Limited-Edition Art Calendar of the Painters for Human Rights which was distributed internationally. Epistola is also a recipient of the 2019 Cultural Diplomacy Grant by the Philippines’ National Commission on the Cultures and the Arts-Sentro Rizal. 

In 2017, Epistola was featured on CNN Profiles, wherein he shared his life as a visual artist and the advocacies he promotes through his artworks.

He is the only Filipino artist, among 127 artists from 26 nations, whose artwork was included in the "Fluxface in Space" under National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Face In Space Program. The Fluxface in Space Project, Phase One, on board the Discovery Space Shuttle STS-133 completed 202 orbits around Earth and a journey of 5,304,140 miles. . From launch (February 24, 2011 at 4:53 P.M. EST.) to landing (March 9, 2011 at 11:57 A.M. EST). the mission elapsed time was 12 days, 19 hours, four minutes and 50 seconds.

Other than this feat, Epistola has held numerous exhibitions. His works had been shown at galleries, art centers and museums internationally such as “Global Compact: Helping Improve Lives through a Fusion of Art and Technology” (sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, 2008), Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center, Malaysia; “Fluxus Amusements, Diversions, Games, Tricks and Puzzles” (October 2010),  Flux Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA; “No Commercial Potential” (2010), Venezia , Italy; “Mail Art Exhibition (2010), Gallery [KG52], Stockholm, Sweden; “Projekt d'Art Postal: World without Water” (2010), ARTOTEM, Ouistreham, France; Over 160 works all over the world celebrating 100 years of DADA (November 2016 -January 2017), Fort Worth, Texas; and “Kabaebaya: An art auction for war victims of Marawi” (August 2017), Philippines.

He recently staged a one-man show entitled “Shapes and Hues” in the KATARA Art Center in DOHA Qatar. He is the first Filipino to exhibit in said cultural institution.

Epistola's works have been published and can be seen on: “Captured Culture: An Interpretative Portrait of Parañaque City”, “Living with Art”, “Fluxface in Space”, “Collage/Assemblage Centennial 1912-2012”, Climate MAP Exhibit  at Archivo 1984 Gallery sponsored by the French Embassy in Manila (2015), and in DADA Centennial: Day of the Dead at the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction Archives.

Epistola earned his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Major in Visual Communications in 1996 at the University of the Philippines. He is a member of the Global Collage Movement and the International Union of Mail Artist (IUOMA), both based in the United States.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Frederick Epistola