Everybody in advertising loves Gil Corcuera. He was Executive Art Director at Campaigns & Grey when I joined in 1993. We hit it off well on my first day. He was my boss and friend at the same time. I was fresh from college then and my enthusiasm level in the agency was very high. But Gil grounded me, patiently teaching me the ropes in graphic design and art direction. I was an eager student watching him work and learning. Gil knew I had a lot of interests, much like him, so he fine tuned me. He knew a lot of things he studied and researched himself. From architecture to fashion and costume design; also food styling, production design, music, even hair and make up. All these made him one of the best Art Directors in advertising. He would share with me his impressions on pieces of art and antiquities we would see when we'd sneak out of the office for long lunch breaks. He usually shared stories of things he'd seen and experienced when he traveled. We would also swap books to just scan through and share thoughts and ideas with each other, our own way of googling. He made learning fun, and funny. He would always tell me to study the ground work first before the actual execution. This I took to heart when I entered fashion, learning how to make a dress first before dabbling in fantastic designs.
Gil is really a gifted sculptor. After he retired, he went on and created mind-blowing kinetic, large scale sculptures which he'd always wanted to do. It would take him months to finish one piece. Venues, too, are few to accommodate the size of his pieces. That's why he rarely exhibits. This month though, is another rare chance to see his latest works. On February 21 to March 4, 2012 at the Ayala Museum Glass Wing, Gil will present his "Angst-less" pieces, both sculptures and paintings. I hope you can drop by and see a little bit of Gil's brilliant mind. The same one that has molded me to who I am today. Cheers, Gil!
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| Gil and yours truly in Tokyo, February 6, 2012. Photo by Boboy Consunji |
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