From Qatar to NYC: The shifting styles of Angelo Maristela’s art

Angelo Antonio Maristela will have a solo art exhibit in the U.S. from April 3 to 14, and it will be at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue. The show is entitled “Against All Odds.”

Maristela has been described as a “multifaceted international artist” who has secured himself a spot in the highly competitive world of arts.

In 2009, he joined a design company in Qatar. In 2015, he became the Philippines’ sole representative to the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, billed as a celebration of contemporary art from artists around the world. That same year, he made a decision to move to the U.S.

“In 2015, when I relocated to the USA, I have already participated in six exhibits — four in New York and two in Florida,” he said in a statement.

In Qatar, his paintings hang in prestigious hotels, banks, and royal palaces. In the Philippines, they are in the hands of private collectors some of them prominent personalities.

“All throughout my life, my world is the arts,” he said.

Fineartamerica.com writes how Maristela discovered art at age 3. “At the young age of 3, he started to do paper sculpting.” His gift has developed that at age 13, “he began selling his drawings, sketches and portrait paintings.”

“Angelo can do any kind of painting. He can switch from one medium to another, any style — abstract, impressionism, realism. He has mastered hyper-realism through his years of experience in doing very subjective form of art – portraiture. His hyper-realist artworks capture every minute detail, three-dimensional,” says the website. “Although he can produce volumes of works, not a single art work is similar to the other. Each one is unique, non-commercialized.”

Maristela took up Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in Advertising, at Far Eastern University in Manila. He was a member of the Artist Association of the Philippines.

Although his inclination toward creating art manifested at a young age, he became a professional painter at age 15, one of few artists who can switch styles – from realism to abstract to impressionism.

He was known to have dabbled in acting and modeling. He is married and has three children.

His NYC exhibit is jointly sponsored by the Society of Philippine-American Artists and the Foundation for Filipino American Artists, Inc.