His strong compositions gives viewers room to breathe, relax, and interpret his art.
Enric Carl Callangan opens portholes that look into strangely flat worlds.
Perhaps it is the pale pastel colors that he chooses. Perhaps it is the twisty figuration of his characters. Or perhaps it is the bleak landscape that he paints, populated only by solitary creatures, cactus-like vegetation, or a baboon trekking through sand. It is an unforgiving vista, yet somehow Callangan makes it tempting.
It could very well be a planet of the simians. There are monkeys complementing elongated humanoids. The atmosphere is hushed. Communication here is nonverbal—quiet assertions of being.
To gaze at Callangan’s works is to open an entirely new vista of wonder and, perhaps, even rapture. These are worlds to be explored. A universe of others. The vista invites: Callangan displays a strength in composition that allows the viewer to breathe, to relax, and to engage in self-interpretation. One is not overwhelmed with images—instead, one is awash with emotions and possibility.
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All these may give clues as to why Callangan is quickly being regarded as the next new it-artist from Cebu. At the just-concluded Tubo Art Festival in Cebu, Callangan was hand-picked by the Cebu Arts Council to be a featured artist. The natural result: multiple venues at the fairgrounds spotlighted Callangan and his works.
Aside from his inclusion in the Signature Exhibition, where Callangan exhibited alongside established artists such as Norma Belleza, Charlie Co, and Kimsoy Yap, he also co-created a festival piece with other chosen talents such as Jan Sunday and Pierre Famador.
Tubo also boasted a dedicated booth for Callangan, which showcased a slight evolution in his style: instead of an abundance of negative space, Callangan employed woodsy forests shrouding his characters, with butterflies flitting among shrubs. The general atmosphere, however, was standard Enric: mystery, intrigue, and ceremony.
Not to be missed were the tiny tiles Callangan is known to painstakingly create: small rectangles hand-painted with individual objects invoking symbols—crests, flowers, weapons, tools, and, for a lucky few, faces. These tiles are then housed in hand-hewn wooden boxes, which art lovers with a more generous budget can also acquire.
Intended for the Gen Z collector, the tiles are a nod to his generation’s penchant for coveting and collecting small tchotchkes. Callangan is responsive to the demand for affordable art from his peers, and they respond accordingly with squeaks of delight and squeals of laughter.
Expect Callangan to take enormous strides in the art world. To date, the Fine Arts graduate, who majored in Product Design, has exhibited in various galleries, including Cebu mainstay Qube; gallery. sort of. in the capital; and the Joya Gallery at his alma mater, the University of the Philippines Cebu.
Up next will be a pop-up at Neil Felipp’s boutique in Cebu City this October, together with three other exciting talents: homegrown Fleur Puao (Puny), melancholy visual artist Kevin Pablo, and ceramicist Kalem Tolentino.
Needless to say, 2026 is the year Callangan is making quite an impact. If he stays as inspired by the art and music scenes as he professes to be, then the way forward could be as quick as a plunge through the slipstream into one of his portals.
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