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A New Southeast Asian Hub for Art

Gajah Gallery’s arrival in the country deepens artistic networks across Asia, boosting conversations among the region’s contemporary art figures.
March 09, 2026
Leslie de Chavez’s latest show at Gajah Gallery Manila is a tableau of mixed-media installations, sculptures, and paintings drawing from Lucban’s celebrated fiestas: Pahiyas, Holy Week rites, and the parades of Higantes. Gajah Gallery

For over a decade, since 2013, the social calendar in the second month of the year has revolved around events surrounding Art Fair Philippines. For a long weekend, some of the best of the Philippines’ contemporary visual art is concentrated in and around Makati, attracting local patrons and enthusiasts alike.

Some key art figures in neighboring Southeast Asian countries and gallerists from around the globe also fly in, with galleries such as Singapore’s Gajah Gallery bringing in talent from all over the region in conversation with Filipino artists on display. For years, Gajah’s participation had been limited to this. That was until a few months ago, when it opened its Manila outpost, expanding its footprint in the region and adding a new pin to its addresses, which include an industrial warehouse space in Tanjong Pagar, a second exhibition space in Jakarta, and a collaborative platform and exhibition house in Yogyakarta.

Gajah Gallery officially opened its space in November with a group exhibition titled Confabulations: A Fantasy of the Real, curated by Joyce Toh. It featured National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera alongside Filipino artists Kawayan de Guia, Kiri Dalena, Nona Garcia, Charlie Co, Marina Cruz, Mark Justiniani, and Leslie de Chavez, engaging in a cross-cultural dialogue with Southeast Asian artists Suzann Victor of Singapore, Yunizar, Rudi Mantofani, Erizal A.S., Ocid, Jemana Murti, Mangu Putra, and the late IGAK Murniasih of Indonesia.

In the wake of the Manila space’s opening, Gajah Gallery’s founder, Jasdeep Sandhu, reiterated the institution’s commitment to bringing Southeast Asian artists and collectors closer together—something it has fostered since its inception in 1996. The gallery has long aimed to create spaces where regional conversations can take root physically, Sandhu adds, an ambition that also informed the establishment of the experimental foundry Yogya Art Lab in 2012.

Several of Chavez’s works, including the gilding of the Higantes and the golden bull, were made in collaboration with the people of Lucban. Gajah Gallery

Currently on view is Halik Sa Lupa (A Kiss on the Ground), an exhibition by artist Leslie de Chavez inspired by the festivities of Lucban, Quezon. The show explores how faith, excess, and endurance intertwine within the collective psyche of a people shaped by both bounty and inequity.

De Chavez’s works seduce through gilded surfaces, vivid hues, and monumental forms while unveiling tensions between faith and power, ritual and politics, wealth and want. Gajah Gallery

Located in Mandaluyong, the new space builds upon Gajah Gallery’s long-standing mission to champion artists and narratives from Southeast Asia while contributing to the Philippines’ vibrant cultural landscape.

Gajah Gallery has also announced a retrospective celebrating its 30th year. The exhibition, featuring a selection of renowned artists spanning generations and cultures, reinforces the gallery’s enduring vision and reputation for amplifying Southeast Asian art on an international scale.

Gajah Gallery is located at 1B-1E NBS Park, 125 Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City. Website: https://gajahgallery.com/

This article originally appeared in Robb Report Philippines’ Success Issue, February 2026.

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