The mid-career exhibition traces nearly two decades of the artist’s experimentation and growth, offering an in-depth look at the bold, genre-defying practice that has made him one of the Philippines’ most distinctive contemporary voices.
Opening this November 19 and running until March 1, 2026, The M presents Hail Holy Eyes: a major retrospective that traces the evolution of artist Jigger Cruz, who stands as among the most distinctive voices in Philippine contemporary art today.
READ ALSO: Artist MarPolo Cabrera Represents The Philippines At The XV Florence Biennale
On Haily Holy Eyes
With over 100 artworks spanning 2007 to the present, the exhibition is a compelling encounter with what’s often described as a charged, visceral practice. Known for his thick, textured surfaces and bold clashes of color and found imagery, Cruz’s works ask us to reconsider the delineation of abstraction and figuration.
In Hail Holy Eyes, pieces from his extensive oeuvre come together to unite into a comprehensive and cohesive environment, one brimming with an expanse of pigment, emotion, and wonder.
“‘Hail Holy Eyes’ are words, not a sentence. They are triggers aimed at the spectre of 100 or more Jigger Cruz paintings in your face, up close and personal. An avalanche of unanswered questions will descend upon the viewers—questions upon questions, sticks and stones on bare and wanting flesh,” explains curator Norman Crisologo. “To dissect and sanctify, to hail and to heil. To meander and twirl past unholy dialogues beneath a cacophony of angel hymns. To shout and feel, with your very own eyes.”
Through this powerful gathering of works, Cruz revisits his fascinations and recurring themes of sound, faith, and renewal. What the exhibition reveals is an artist unafraid of excess, one who details the coexistence of beauty and disorder in a way that transforms the act of seeing into devotion itself.
“Hail Holy Eyes” runs from November 19, 2025 to March 1, 2026 at Groundspace, 2/F North and South Galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. The museum is located at the Mariano K. Tan Centre, 30th street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, and is open from 11 AM to 6 PM on Tuesday to Friday; 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday to Sunday; and is closed on Mondays and public holidays.
Photos courtesy of The M.
