Collection: Vic Bachoco

Watercolor is a medium that plays a vital role in capturing the essence of faded memories—its translucent quality perfectly aligns with Vicente Bachoco’s painting style. His use of color weaves a narrative into each piece, allowing viewers to trace the very process of creation. This subtle layering evokes the way memory recalls places once visited—fragmented, fleeting, yet deeply emotional.

Born in Iloilo in 1952, Bachoco studied architectural and mechanical drafting at the Iloilo School of Arts and Trades. In 1973, he began his artistic journey as a trainee artist at a local bottling company. He later moved to Manila, working in publishing and eventually becoming a Senior Artist at one of the city's top advertising firms. These early roles, while commercially driven, helped refine his natural talent for composition, color, and draftsmanship.

Bachoco then spent 17 years in Saudi Arabia, working as an airbrush artist and studio manager at a major advertising firm. His first group exhibition was held in Jeddah in 1998, alongside fellow Filipino artists based in the Middle East. Today, he continues to make his presence felt in Manila's art scene, gaining recognition as a masterful watercolorist.

His visual language speaks in quiet, unembellished realism—imagery rendered without overt commentary, allowing the subjects to stand on their own. While his motifs rarely reference his years in the Middle East, they reflect a deeper truth: absence can deepen one’s connection to home. Take for example Tuyo (112)—a simple Filipino meal of dried fish, fried egg, and ripe tomato on a banana leaf. For those in the diaspora—in Scandinavia, Jeddah, or Hong Kong—such an image is more than a meal; it becomes a vessel of longing, nostalgia, and identity.