Ninoy’s nephew a featured artist at Artexpo trade show

Considering the enormous wealth of talent the Philippines has, it is no surprise that the works of art of a homegrown talent were among those featured in the prestigious Artexpo New York, an annual fine art trade show, which was held in Pier 90 from April 4 to 7.

As his paintings echo the style of Pablo Picasso, Thomas Aquino — who is now an Austrian citizen — is known in Vienna as “Tommy Picasso Aquino.” While he may be known more for his modern art, Aquino actually paints in various styles. He showed Vice Consul Tanya Faye Ramiro a coffee table book and lithographs of his paintings, which hearken back to old world Philippine themes of rural landscapes and cockfighting. Aquino said he gets inspiration from his dreams.

A profile in the Saatchi Art website states Aquino is the nephew of the Philippines’s beloved national martyr, the late Senator Benigno Aquino.

“Tommy Aquino was born on Jan. 14,1958 to Antonio and Felicidad Aquino of Concepcion Tarlac, in Central Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication from the Far Eastern University of the Philippines. As a young boy, Tommy excelled in his art classes and displayed enormous talent in painting, drawing, and also in music. Composing songs is one of his passion in life which he started at the age of 10. Over the years, Aquino has written many original compositions mostly folk songs and some ballads. In June 2014, Aquino won in a song writing contest held in Vienna. He also developed a number of commercial jingles for different products used in radio and television advertisements.

“As a painter, his works of art gained recognition not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. After migrating to Austria, his initial one-man exhibit was held in 2000 called ‘Be My Guest.’ Then in 2001, his cosmic vision painting entitled ‘The Tranquility’ was chosen by the Arts Association of The Philippines and was included in grand exhibits held in various Asian capitals.”

Aquino’s paintings have been exhibited in Busan, London, and Shanghai. Los Angeles will be his next destination.

(C) The FilAm 2019