Ernest Concepcion (b. 1977, Manila) is a Filipino painter based in Quezon City whose work merges classical landscape motifs with contemporary caricature to examine warfare, conflict, and the lingering residue of postwar 20th‑century existence. This investigation began with The Line Wars (2002), a series of drawings in which cartoon-like battles unfold across densely packed compositions—chairs collide, pasta sinks into rice quicksand, and surreal armies clash.
Concepcion expanded these concerns into large-scale installations and paintings, notably at Kentler International Drawing Space, New York, in 2008, and in a subsequent series of enamel-on-steel explosion paintings where color became the physical substance of horizon and conflict. Over time, his practice shifted away from overt caricature toward epic, destabilized landscapes.
He spent many years in Brooklyn, New York, participating in residencies including the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) Workspace Program, Bronx Museum Artist-In-The-Marketplace (AIM) Program, Artists Alliance Inc., Lower East Side Printshop, the LMCC Swing Space Program at Governors Island, an exchange residency in Beijing and NECTAR in Spain. A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, he works across painting, sculpture, and installation.
Concepcion received the CCP’s 13 Artists Award (2015) and held his first solo museum exhibition at the U.P. Vargas Museum in 2014. He currently lives and works between Manila and Brooklyn and teaches at the U.P. College of Fine Arts.
OTHER LINKS:
UP Artists Circle Fraternity
Curator, Amiel Roldan’s blogspot
Kentler International Drawing Space
Asian Art Association
Artists Studios
Drawing Center Artist Registry
Brooklyn Arts Council Document
Vintana
dOCUMENTO Records
Lucas Christopoulos