CHICAGO, Illinois, United States—Fred DeAsis, a prolific Filipino-American artist, is introducing "Kut-kut—Lost Art of the Philippines" to art lovers here, starting off at the Saint Charles Area Library in Saint Charles, Illinois last April.
The exhibit of 28 exotic Kut-kut art pieces includes DeAsis’s latest experimental concept of fusing Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie design and Kut-kut technique.
During the exhibit at the library that has served the affluent western suburbs of Chicago since 1889, DeAsis discussed Kut-kut art which is an exotic Philippine art form based on early century techniques—sgraffito, encaustic, layering, and local tribal inscriptions.
The merging of these ancient styles which produces a unique artwork characterized by delicate swirling interwoven lines, multi-layered texture, and an illusion of three-dimensional space has gotten art lovers all keyed up.
“I was so excited to see the Frank Lloyd Wright-Kut-kut fusion. The idea was magnificent and very innovative. Kut-kut art is exotic and very interesting. I have not seen such works of art before. The history behind the art is a treasure," said Mark McNeil, an Asian art collector-dealer from Geneva.
"Mr. DeAsis presented a wonderful history of ancient Philippine arts—culturally refreshing."
So how does he make them? Each of DeAsis’s creation begins with clear emulsion treated panel and then requires countless hours of repetitive paint and medium application, drying, scraping, layering, and composing to produce the desired artwork.
Through the years, he developed the use of other art materials to produced better artwork without sacrificing the original ancient technique and style.
Most Kut-kut art pieces are done on wood to support the continuous layering and composing of materials including shellac, lacquer, artist glass, and fine sand.
DeAsis is well known for his traveling Kut-kut cultural art exhibits and is the recipient of 2006 Fil-Am and 2007 Asian-American Hall of Fame awards for outstanding achievement of an individual in promoting arts and culture in North America. He serves as the Art Commissioner of Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago.
"Art is my passion and compulsion. My mission is to revive the lost art and present to the public the beauty and rich history of the ancient art from the Philippines—all for art, culture, and humanity. This is my way of giving back to the Philippines,” he said.
The artist is also the executive director of Asian American Arts and Cultural Foundation, a board director of Philippine American Cultural Foundation, and the chairman of "Kut-kut—the Lost Art of the Philippines," a traveling art exhibit project to promote the rich culture and history of the Philippines via public art exhibits. He manages studios in Chicago, Arlington Heights, and New York.
DeAsis is writing a book on ancient Asian arts and culture and conducts lectures of the Philippines’ lost art. For more information about the art and the artist, visit his website, where a schedule of his traveling exhibit is also posted.
