11 August 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Filipino painter Emmanuel Garibay held an exhibit of his works at the Ein-Hod Artists' Village from 30 July to 04 August 2005 in Israel that drew praises from a crowd of art enthusiasts, students and teachers.

“Garibay's exhibit is the first of a series of Filipino artists who will be visiting Israel as part of the Philippine Embassy's cultural promotion program. The exhibition of other Filipino artists are already being arranged with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts,” Ambassador Antonio C. Modena said.

Garibay's exhibit consisted of 20 of his most recent work in pastel and acrylic. The paintings were abstracts of human forms, which manage to project political and economic commentaries in the integration of color, hues and well-defined shapes and abstract lines. Raya Zommer, Ein-Hod museum director said that over 500 people came to see Garibay's paintings, which was on exhibit at the Village's Olive Press Gallery.

At the end of the exhibit, Ambassador Modena presented a unique artwork to Philippine Honorary Consul General Carmel Hacohen, who represented the Village as chairman of the board.   The painting is a collaborative work of two artists in one canvass.   Emmanuel Garibay and Rene Robles combined their talents to produce a powerful work entitled FUSION IV: Yapos/Peace and Harmony.

The exhibit was a joint project of the Janco Dada Museum of Ein-Hod and the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv made through the efforts of Consul General Carmel Hacohen.

Garibay will proceed to Sweden where he was invited to speak before theologians and church workers as he stages an art exhibition.   He had a successful exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand before the Israel exhibit.

Garibay, a multi-awarded painter cum theologian, is considered as one of the Philippines' master painters of his generation. A Fine Arts graduate of the University of the Philippines, he has had 27 exhibitions including more than a dozen in Australia, Germany, Hongkong, Indonesia and the US.   He bagged second place for painting in the Bienal del Baloncesto en Bellas Artes in Madrid in 2000.    In the same year he was recognized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in their Thirteeen Artists Awards.

The Ein-Hod Artists' Village was founded by Marcel Janco, a painter of the Dada school and one of Israel's most famous painters. The Village, nestled in an ancient olive grove lies on the western slopes of Mount Carmel in a breathtaking landscape looking out towards the Mediterranean Sea.   Only artists may live in the Village. A number of Israeli painters, sculptors, actors and actresses, filmmakers, jewelry designers, ceramic artists, and architects are in residence, while others stay only part of the year.   The Village exhibits works from Ein-Hod and from artists from different parts of the world in its many galleries. END