MoCAF
Booth 12
Marquis Events Place
BGC, Taguig City, Philippines
July 3 - 5, 2026
Featured Artists
Fumio Matsutani
Kazuhiro Toyama
Kenta Hirai
Masayoshi Nojo
Toshio Iezumi
Mia Nel
Gabby Prado
Jane Cuevas
At MoCAF 2026, Parallel + is pleased to present artists from Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines whose works emerge from unique experiences and perspectives, drawing from their relationship with nature, cultural heritage, and engagement with the contemporary world.
Representing Japan, and among the gallery’s newest artists, Fumio Matsutani presents a new ceramic form informed by his upbringing within a family renowned for producing traditional Tobe ware. He studied under Imai Masayuki (1930–2023), a ceramic artist celebrated for his vivid inlay techniques, and grew up surrounded by hand-thrown porcelain vessels adorned with deep cobalt-blue motifs—objects deeply rooted in utility and tradition. Rather than continuing the family lineage directly, Matsutani has expanded the language of ceramics toward a distinctly contemporary and sculptural expression.
"Rei No. 4"
Medium: Ceramic
Dimension & Year: 25.6 x 22.1 x 18 cm, 2024
Also from Japan, Kazuhiro Toyama unveils a sculptural work shaped by his fascination with metal and transformation. His practice seeks to capture the continuous cycles of change that define the natural world. Red Hatch Vase is constructed from stainless steel mesh, blasted with aluminum, and then fractured to evoke the emergence of a life form. The interior is finished with gold leaf, creating a sense of depth and illuminating the transformation of an otherwise inorganic material into a vessel charged with vitality.
Working with Yoshino cedar from his studio in Nara, Kenta Hirai presents Mokugei, a sculptural tabletop object that xreflects his longstanding dedication to woodcraft. Meticulously handcrafted through the layering and bonding of thin sheets of Yoshino cedar, the whale-shaped form reveals the material’s natural beauty while exemplifying the precision and patience central to his practice.
“Mokugei” by Kenta Hirai
Medium: Yoshino Cedar
Dimension: 80 x 12 x 20 cm, Year: 2025
Nature and traditional Japanese craftsmanship remain central to Masayoshi Nojo’s artistic practice. Drawing inspiration from the Rinpa school and traditional metal-leaf techniques, Nojo depicts a quiet pine forest set against a luminous green background suggestive of enlightenment and renewal. Through the use of silver leaf—highly responsive to light, air, and oxidation—time itself becomes visible. As the surface gradually changes and transforms, it records the subtle accumulation of memory and experience, inviting viewers to reflect on impermanence, transformation, and the enduring presence of nature.
"Mirage #126" by Masayoshi Nojo
Medium: Cotton on Wooden panel, Acrylic, Silver leaf, Aluminum Leaf
Dimension & Year: 80 x 105 cm, 2025
Known for his mesmerizing glass sculptures, Toshio Iezumi creates works that embody depth, reflection, and transparency in delicate balance. Through the meticulous lamination of glass sheets and the use of traditional stone-carving tools, he develops forms that reveal the material’ s quiet complexity. At the fair, Iezumi will present a new Form series alongside selections from his celebrated Move series, both arising from his ongoing exploration of glass and its capacity to captivate viewers through its unique visual and spatial qualities.
“Form F.260601" by Toshio Iezumi
Medium: Heat Reflective Glass, Handmade, Carved and Polished
Dimension & Year: 33 x 18.5 x 13 cm, 2026
From Hong Kong, South African-born artist Mia Nel introduces a new body of work inspired by the Japanese tradition of Hanami, the appreciation of spring blossoms. Working with preserved sugar sculpture as her primary medium, Nel transforms a delicate and ephemeral material into enduring expressions of nature and memory. Vibrant blue hues recalling South Africa’s native blue daisies intertwine with cherry blossom motifs, each hand-embellished with geometric patterns rooted in her South African heritage. Through this fusion of material, cultural references, and craftsmanship, Nel creates works that celebrate nature, memory, and cross-cultural dialogue.
“Flowering Branches in Blue”
Medium: Ink & Mixed Media - Crystalline Composite
(Sugar and Resin)
Dimension & Year: 50 x 50 cm, 2026
Two female artists from the Philippines further anchor the presentation. Gabby Prado invites viewers to contemplate the journey from the bustling city of Manila to the quiet rhythms of provincial life. Working from her experience of synesthesia, Prado translates sounds, words, and emotions into vibrant chromatic compositions, where each color corresponds to a distinct sensory response. A selection of intimate paintings will be exhibited, each reflecting a personal passage between urban and rural landscapes.
In contrast, Jane Cuevas presents larger-scale works from two distinct series that explore representations of femininity through pattern-based abstraction informed by pop surrealism. ‘This is My Happy Place’ unfolds as a visual archive of curated chaos, where symbols, memories, and contradictions converge around a cat observing a fragmented digital world of distorted faces and disembodied forms, reflecting shifting identities shaped by screen-based life. ‘In Diving to the Same Depth as You’, she turns inward to an
underwater metaphor of the mind, where emotional undercurrents of desire, anger, longing, and passion emerge in vivid chromatic contrasts, and symbolic forms—fish, coral, and plants—evoke wandering thoughts, transformed scars, and growth from unseen
depths.
Together, the presented works form a cohesive curatorial dialogue that traverses material, memory, and transformation across cultural contexts. Rooted in nature yet shaped by contemporary lived experience, MoCAF 2026 at Booth 12 offers a reflective space where tradition and experimentation converge, inviting art enthusiasts to consider the shifting relationships between material practice, cultural identity, and the present moment.
"This is My Happy Place" by Jane Cuevas
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimension & Year: 91.44 x 121.92 cm, 2025
