Conrado C. Mercado
Sculptor - Painter(October 20, 1945 - February 27, 2010)The most successful visual artist to come from town of Bustos, Bulacan Philippines, Conrado Jr. or "Dedeng" the youngest son of a public works administrator / civil engineer - was born and raised in the famed ancestral heritage mansion of the Mercados in Brgy. Bonga Menor. From the architectural culture of this community's rococo retablo-faced houses and its structure-slick irrigation dam the sculptor admittedly took initial and lasting cues; in the obsessive themes of confinement and connectivity; his stylistic bend towards the gothic geometric; even in the characteristic forms of thee massif and mesh.In a 35-year career which has seen art and artist conquering foreign shores as well as professional and personal boundaries, critics and peers in appraising the Mercado talent for recognition as Outstanding Thomasian (1986) and as a Patnubay Sining/ Araw ng Maynila Awardee (1991) have cited the following; his versatility of art-making (relief and freestanding sculpture, painting and drawing); his masterly skills in the use of various materials (aluminum, brass, wood and concrete for sculpture; oil, acrylic and ink for painting); the broad scope of his casual ideas (expressionism, surrealism, geometric abstraction, Abstract Expressionism) all the melding into a unified whole; a strong individuality of form stamped on everything he has produced, including functional objects like furniture; and the quality in his prodigious output, especially in sculpture which has made him a name to reckon with, particularly in the 1970s and '80s. Altogether, these have assured his deserved place among the best and influential in Philippine contemporary arta.An exemplary leader too (a rarity among artists), he founded the Philippine Association of Figure Artists and was a five-time board member and president of Society of Philippine Sculptors, two long-running institutions that to this day serve to nurture the next generation of artists.
Educational Attainment
• University of Santo Tomas, Fine Arts degree holder
Exhibitions
- 1968- One-Man Show, Capitol Rural Bank, Quezon City
- 1969- Group Show, Delta Motor Showroom, Manila
- 1970- One-Man Show, Manila Hilton Art Center
- Group Show, Dimock Gallery, George Washington University, Washington D.C.
- Group Show, AAP Art Gallery, ENESCO Cultural Hall, Manila
- 1971- Second India Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- Group Show, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila
- 1972- One-Man Show, Gallery One, Greenhills, San Juan;Group Show, Miladay Art Center, Makati
- 1973- One-Man Show, Miladay Art Center, MAkati
- XIV Salon International Paris- Sud, Juvisy Sur, Orge, Paris, France
- Group Show, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Pasay City
- 1974- One-Man Show, Village Gallery, Philippine Village Hotel, Pasay City
- 1975- One-Man Show, Quad Gallery, Makati
- One-Man Show, Sining Kamalig, Pasay City
- 1976- One-Man Show, The Luz Gallery, Makati
- Group Show, Luz Gallery, Makati
- Group Show, The Manila Hilton Art Center, Manila
- Group Show, Metro Gallery, Makati
- 1977- One-Man Show, Quorum Galleries, Wyndham, Hongkong
- Group Show, Museum of Philippine Art, Manila
- 1978- One-Man Show, The Luz Gallery, Makati
- Group Show, Museum of Philippine Art, Manila
- 1979- Group Show, Galerie Bleue, Makati
- Group Show, Museum of Philippine Art, Manila
- 1980- One-Man Show, Sining Kamalig, Regent of Manila
- Group Show, Museum of Philippine Art, Manila
- 1993- SPS Annual Hotel Nikko, Makati
- 1994- Society of Philippine Sculptors, The Art Center, Megamall
- 1995- Society of Philippine Sculptors, Manila Hotel
- 1996 SPS Annual Kanlungan ng Sining
- 1997- SPS Annual, The Art Center, Megamall
- 1998- SPS Annual featuring Public Sculptures, Greenbelt Park, Makati
- 1999 SPS Annual GSIS Museo ng Sining, Pasay
His works in private collections
- State Guest House, Malacanang Palace
- Philippine Village Hotel
- Makati Hotel
- Zambayan Hotel
- Union ’76, California
- APEX Mining Corporation
- Congeneric Corporation
- Prescon Philippines,Inc
- Hooven Aluminum
- National Arts Center
- Federal Builders Inc, Araneta Coliseum
- Merchant Development Corporation
- Philippine National Bank
- First National City Bank
- Filipinas Manufacturer’s Bank
- Commercial Bank and Trust Company
- Far East Bank
- Abbott Lighter, Hongkong
- Roberto Escojido, Italy
- Arthur Freeman, Chicago
- Michael Zinman, New York
- Benjamin Besa
- Roman Cruz
- David Consunji
- Cristina Mentilibano
- Amelito Mutuc
- Pitoy Moreno
- Vincent Dayrit
- Leonardo Bo Perez
- Gabriel Lecaros
- Gerardo Roxas
- Jose Drilon
- Lewis Edward
- Luis Benedicto
- Della Gamboa-Besa
- Yabut Family
- CCP Visual Arts Collection
- Asian Art Museum, San Francisco California
Awards and Recognition
He is enlisted I UST’s alumni permanent roll of honor, has gained the Outstanding Thomasian Award in the field of arts and was honored by the city of Manila with the Patnubay ng Sining Award of his achievements in sculpture. He is the founding president of Figure Artists and chiefly instrumental in reviving the then-dormant Society of Philippine Sculptors in which he served as president from 1993 to 1998.
