Joseph Tecson (b.1985) explores painting as a means to expose or criticize social boundaries within predefined societal contexts, often using explicit subject matter in contrast with implicit comparisons.  Though much of his works take the form of more traditional practices like portraiture, his choice of subject matter as well as the manner in which he juxtaposes them with each other are forceful signifiers of an ironic contemporary state of things.

Having no formal training in art, Tecson learned to paint on his own during a period of incarceration (2008 – 2012).  By the time he had been acquitted of the charges, Tecson had already participated in a number of art exhibitions including his first solo show at Mag:Net Gallery Katipunan in Quezon City titled “Inmates,” which featured 50 portraits of detainees and convicts from Quezon City Jail where he was imprisoned.  In retrospect, the exhibition traces the beginnings of the artist’s affinity for portraiture, as well as the awareness of border dynamics which would set the tone for a number of his future art projects.  In 2014, he mounted the exhibition “Inmates + Outmates” at WhiteSpaceBlackBox in Switzerland, where inmate portraits were exhibited alongside portraits of members from high society. 

Joseph Tecson is a painter who lives and works in Manila, Philippines.  He has been actively participating in exhibitions since 2011.  In the Philippines, he has shown work in Light and Space Contemporary, West Gallery, Art Informal and Manila Contemporary.  In 2014, he was selected as one of the resident artists of WhiteSpaceBlackBox in Switzerland, where he subsequently mounted his solo exhibition “Inmates + Outmates.”