KATRINA PALLON is a 22-year old visual artist/ freelance painter, illustrator, graphic designer, photographer, and mask-maker. In April 2007, she graduated as a Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines- Diliman with a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication. A maximalist whose creative works are highly influenced by the intricacies of French art nouveau, her paintings, illustrations, and photographs attest to her love for elaborate designs and her knack for romanticizing even the simplest of subjects. Her works echo her enthrallment to Venetian masks which she fuses with ornate Pan-Asian motifs to visually depict surreal landscapes, figures and montages. Her works are mostly about the play of colours – of warm, vivid tones to translate into paintings and/or photographs even the darkest and melancholic of images.
She has received numerous awards in academic and fine art competitions she has actively participated in. In 2004, she was a finalist at the Pen & Ink Division of the Bantay Kalikasan Art Contest and in the following year, two of her works in photography were awarded as part of the
200 Best Images 2005 by Epson Photo Imaging Exposition and were featured in the “Epson EPIX 200 Best Images 2005” coffee table book. In 2005, she was commissioned to do illustrations and a cover art for UNICEF handbooks on Child Protection. Her collaborative work, entitled “Moondancer,” was a finalist at the Comics Category of the
First Philippine Fiction Graphic Awards hosted by Fully Booked in 2006, and is included in “Expeditions: The 1st Philippine Graphic/Fiction Compilation” which was launched last November 2007. Recently, her entry to the
Second Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards, entitled "Roses in Exchange for a Heart," was awarded as part of the short list of finalists and is bound to be included once again in the second compilation of winning entries.
Pallon has been part of group art exhibitions which includes the
Bantay-Kalikasan Finalists Art Exhibit at Power Plant Mall in 2004,
Epson Photo Imaging Exposition: 200 Best Images 2005 at the Shangri-la Mall Art Space,
Signatures of Change: Group Art Exhibition at Big Sky Mind Gallery-Café, a mini exhibit for the opening of
Toasted in Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall (Cainta, Rizal), and F.A.M.E.’s (Female Artists’ and Musicians’ Evolution)
Ev(e)olution at Porch Katipunan in 2007. Her works are currently gracing the walls of three shops in
Cubao Expo: Halo Cafe, The READING ROOM, and Oohwables. She is set to have her first major solo exhibit in 2008.
At present, she is working on mass producing her thesis – a coffee table book on masks and the MassKara Festival of Bacolod City – which has earned an Award of Merit for Thesis in the Publications Category and an Award of Excellence for Thesis Research. This she does while participating in spoken word events, singing for an independent band called
Scarlet Tears, and continuing to do numerous masks, paintings, illustrations, as well as capturing photographs. She resides in Sta. Ana, Manila with 9 rabbits and 6 cats. Masks, flora, circuses, and carnivals fascinate her to no end and have been her constant source of inspiration for her artistic works.
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ONLINE PORTFOLIOSMidnight Masquerade: Blog, Illustrations, Paintings & Photography
http://incoldmirrors.multiply.comDeviantArt Gallery
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/katrina_pallon 
