Gabito transformed ordinary fabric into an intriguing question for the audience.
At first glance, it is just cloth.
Wrinkled, folded, knotted and draped over something—or someone—we cannot see.
But in the hands of Filipino contemporary artist Dino Gabito, fabric becomes mysterious, unsettling and strangely alive.
Born in 1989 and trained at the University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts, Gabito has built his distinctive visual language around one recurring image: the shroud.
What lies beneath?
Gabito’s monochromatic paintings and drawings often depict figures completely concealed beneath fabric. There are no faces to read. Instead, viewers confront painstakingly rendered folds, creases, shadows and knots.
Is someone hiding underneath? Is the figure trapped? Or is there nothing there at all?
That uncertainty gives the works their power.
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His imagery has drawn comparisons to the shrouded figures associated with National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, but Gabito has transformed the motif into something distinctly his own.
From canvas to auction
Since his first solo exhibition in 2014, Gabito has become an increasingly sought-after name among collectors.
In 2020, his “Monster Ball (Shroud #5)” reportedly fetched nearly US$99,000 at León Gallery, showing just how dramatically the market for his work had grown.
His art has also traveled beyond the Philippines, appearing in exhibitions and art events in Venice, Paris, Busan and Jakarta. In 2024, he participated in the European Cultural Centre’s “Personal Structures” exhibition in Venice.
Beyond black and white
Gabito eventually began breaking away from the monochromatic palette that made his work recognizable.
In his 2025 exhibition “In Search of Form,” he introduced spray paint and vivid color gradients alongside his meticulously rendered forms.
Yet the mystery remains.
Gabito took something as ordinary as a piece of cloth and turned it into a question viewers cannot resist trying to answer.
Because sometimes, what makes a painting unforgettable is not what the artist reveals—but what he chooses to hide.
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