Visual Artist Joven Ignacio Explores New Medium in Upcoming Solo Exhibition
Written by Joseph John L. Verallo | October 15, 2025
Painter Joven Ignacio presents an artistic identity reflected in his garden, complete with lush greens, birds, and multicolored fish in his small pond. In his studio, he plants yet another garden: a curation of lovely watercolors depicting birds and flowers. In his upcoming solo exhibition, entitled Ginukit, Ignacio will display these elegant paintings at the Ayala Museum, located at Greenbelt 5, Makati City, from November 20 to December 3.
The naturalism in Ignacio’s art has a particular history to it. Being a self-taught painter, Ignacio began as and is currently an architect with an emphasis on sustainable architecture, previously collaborating with prestigious international institutions such as the University of Lund in Sweden and Leicester, England’s Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development.
The link from a sustainable architect to a naturalist painter seems like quite a “natural” one. However, Ignacio also described how painting provided a kind of therapy, one of escape, of being absorbed into the process of creation. “In terms of doing my own art, I just focus on the process of enjoying it,” he said when asked where he saw his place among other artists.
There is an unrestrictive honesty in his depictions of nature, a static autonomy exhibited by flora and fauna. You can even see this in his choice of medium. “It’s the process of watching how the paint reacts on paper. It’s like it has its own personality.” He said when asked why he painted with watercolor. “You can not predict what the outcome will be, and that is the fun part of what I enjoy about watercolor.”
Besides watercolor, Ignacio also has a very particular eye for material, something he likely gets from his experience as an architect. Inside his studio are his original utilizations with various materials. In his upcoming exhibit, Ignacio will excitingly unveil his new artistic innovations with a medium to the public for the first time.
