Matt Manalo is a multidisciplinary artist who was born in Manila, Philippines and resides in Houston. His environmentally conscious work incorporates raw materials and found objects and tackles ideas surrounding his own immigrant identity, displacement, and how “home” is defined. Manalo is influenced by the physical and social structures that exist in both the Philippines and the United States as well as the erasure of histories and presence of colorism that have resulted from colonization. Manalo is the founder of Filipinx Artists of Houston, a collective of visual, performing, literary, culinary, and multidisciplinary artists. He also runs an alternative art space: Alief Art House, a hub for creativity that highlights the cultural richness of the multiple communities within a unique Houston neighborhood.
Born
1984 Manila, Philippines
Live/Work
Houston, Texas USA
Education
2011 University of Houston - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Art History Minor
Selected Exhibitions
2022
Lo que me queda de tu amor (What’s left of your love for me), Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas, Curated by Francis Almendárez & Mary Montenegro
Grounded, The Orange Show, Houston, Texas
5 Years After Landfall, Houston Climate Justice Museum, Houston, Texas
Artists on Site Series 3, Asia Society of Texas, Houston, Texas
Solo Show: Wash, LRT Gallery, Houston, Texas
Kapwa: Communal Spirit, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, California curated by Nica Aquino & Asia Photo Review
FOR ELLEN, Hardy & Nance St Studios, Houston, Texas curated by Matt Messinger Overlapping Territories, DiverseWorks, Houston, Texas curated by Ashley De Hoyos
Houston Rockets x CAMH, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas curated by Phillip Pyle III
Survival Movements, Aurora Picture Show, curated by Ceci Norman
Solo Show: INSURRECTXS, The Wedge Space - HCCS Southeast, Houston Texas
Nothing Goes to Waste, Houston Center For Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas curated by Kathryn Hall
2021
In The Sun, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas curated by Collective Artists in Solidarity with Palestine and Palestininan Youth Movement
Pintura, Atbp., Philippine Consulate General of Houston, Houston, Texas
Of Everywhere, Virtual Offering at the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies, Los Angeles, California curated by Ashley Dequilla, Derrick Quevedo, & Dr. Jason Magabo Perez
Voices: Immigration, Pauly Friedman Gallery at the Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania
A New Landscape/ A Possible Horizon - Texas Biennial 2021, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas curated by Evan Garza and Ryan Dennis
ROLODEX. Craft a Conversation, Center for Craft, Asherville, North Carolina curated by Namita Gupta Wiggers
The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas juried by Cecilia Fajardo-Hill
From Houston, With Love, Pop-Up Space in Downtown Houston by Prauper Studios
Carriers: The Body as a Site of Danger and Desire, Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas curated by Tyler Blackwell and Steven Matijcio
2020
Tuloy Po Kayo (Virtual Exhibition) Organized by Fil-Am Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California curated by Nica Aquino
Altars Festival in collaboration with SamaSama Art and Sustainable Culture Lab Washington, DC
Faces in Pandemic, Organized by the Houston Asian American Archive, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas
Texas Emerging Vol. 1: DUAL, Theresa Escobedo, Ronald L. Jones, Tom Bandage, and Matt Manalo, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, Texas curated by Jonathan Paul Jackson
The Ways They Are: Carris Adams, Sebastien Boncy, Matt Manalo, San Jacinto South Campus Gallery, Houston, Texas curated by Bradly Brown
Solo Show: Deconstructing Lines by Matt Manalo, Lone Star College North Harris Campus Gallery, Houston, Texas
Lumikhâ by UniPro Texas, Winter Street Studios curated by Christian Toledo
Reaching For The Horizon, Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana curated by Jan Christian Bernabe of FLXST Contemporary
2019
Project Freeway Fellowship: Alief Art House with DiverseWorks
Trabaj/ho: Resistance of a Colonial Imprint, Carnegie Art Museum Studio Gallery, Oxnard, California curated by Jennelyn Tumalad
SYNERGY: From Manila to Acapulco, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, Illinois curated by Cesar Conde and Sergio Gomez
Overseas: Filipino American Artist Showcase, The Front Arte Cultura, San Ysidro, California curated by Carmela Prudencio
THERE IS ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE, 5601 Navigation Blvd. Houston, Texas, curated by Mich Stevenson and J.Bilhan
Se Aculilló? PRIMXS/ES | MAG-PINSAN | COUSINS, The Center for Reconciliation, Providence, Rhode Island curated by Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez and Kat Chavez
Open Passages, Earl Francis Apartment Complex, El Paso, Texas curated by Haley Treadwell
Walking In The Sun, Human Resources LA, Los Angeles, California curated by Jennelyn Tumalad and Robben Muñoz
Kapatiran [brother/sister]: Matt Manalo and Isabel Cuenca, Damas Art Space, San Antonio, Texas
Samasama, Shopkeepers Gallery, Washington, DC curated by Les Talusan and Seda Nak
Bayanihan: You, Us, and I: Matt Manalo and Isabel Cuenca, Inferno Gallery at the Rice University, Houston, Texas
Lumikhâ, MATCH Gallery Space, Houston, Texas
2018
Tropeycalia Club Collaboration, Skyline College Art Gallery, San Bruno, California
The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas curated by Evelyn C. Hankins
Samasama, Shopkeepers Gallery, Washington, DC
Empty Box, Box 13 Art Space, Houston, Texas
What's the New News collaboration with Nathaniel Donnett and Project Row House installation at Navy Seafood, Houston, Texas
2017
No Longer Negotiable, Nous Tous Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Solo Show: New Work by Matt Manalo, Salon Totally Pennzoil Tower, Houston, Texas
Solo Show: New Work by Matt Manalo, Kirk Hopper Fine Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas
The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas curated by Toby Kamps
(De)Centered, WAS Gallery, Washington, DC curated by Isabel Manalo and Janna Añonuevo Langholz
2016
Collector's Club Cycle V, Project Row Houses, Houston, Texas
Collector's Club Cycle IV, Project Row Houses, Houston, Texas
2015
WHERE ABOUT, Matt Manalo & Isabel Cuenca, Box 13 Art Space, Houston, Texas
BAHAY, works by Matt Manalo & Isabel Cuenca, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Dallas, Texas
To and Fro, Carver Cultural Center, San Antonio, Texas curated by Raul Gonzalez
Solo Show: Made by Translation, No Future Projects, Online Temporary Space curated by Jeffrey Cortland Jones
Artifacts, El Rincon Social, Houston, Texas
2014
Draped Up & Dripped Out pt. 1, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Dallas, Texas curated by Gerardo Robles
Draped Up & Dripped Out pt. 2, Mountain View College Gallery, Dallas, Texas curated by Giovanni Valderas
2013
The Empty Box, Box13 Contemporary Art Space, Houston, Texas
2012
Mix N' Mash, Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas
Solo Show: Black/White, Imperial Fine Arts, Rosenberg, Texas
Bank That Thang Up, The Joanna, Houston, Texas
OKLAHOMA: A Show About Texas/ Art Sandwiches & Burning Bones Press, Gallery M Squared, Houston, Texas
2011
Dis, Dat, Deez, Doz, The Joanna, Houston, Texas
Drawn to Death, Talento Bilingual de Houston, Houston, Texas
Solo Show: Deconstractivism, Memory, Miscommunication/Disconnect, Imperial Fine Arts, Sugarland, Texas
White Washing, Many Mini Residency, Skydive Art Space, Houston, Texas
ART SANDWICHES: Marvin Zindler installation at the Free Press Summer Fest, Houston, Texas
Masters Thesis Show, Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas
Mixture, Skydive Art Space, Houston, Texas
Museums of Tomorrow, American Association of Museums/ Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, Texas
PODA: Portable On Demand Art Project with The Joanna/American Association of Museums, Discovery Green, Houston, Texas
The Empty Box, Box13 Contemporary Art Space, Houston, Texas
Art From The Land of Cougars, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center - Blue Star Lab, San Antonio, Texas curated by Wayne Gilbert
2010
Project Row House Summer Artist Residency, Project Row House, Houston, Texas
The Empty Box, Box13 Contemporary Art Space, Houston, Texas
Twestival Houston 2010, Caroline Collective, Houston, Texas
FotoFest Biennial How I Will Die, HCC Annex Gallery, Houston, Texas
Minority Men’s Initiative, HCC Main Building, Houston, Texas
Art Fairs
2019
Art Basel Miami, Bridge Red Studios
2016
Dallas Contemporary Art Fair, Kirk Hopper Fine Art
Press
2022
Where Water or Land Meets the Sky: Matt Manalo’s Activism Through Art, James Renwick Alliance for Craft Summer 2022 Issue, by Kathryn Hall
How an artist uses shipping containers to break barriers in Alief, Houston Chronicle, by Sam Gonzalez Kelly
Planting Creative Seeds in Alief, Houstonia Magazine by Amarie Gipson
2021 Texas Biennial: A new Landscape, A Possible Horizon, ART PAPERS, by Barbara Purcell Shipping Containers Carry Outlet, Opportunities for Artists in Alief, Houston Chronicle, by Sam Gonzalez Kelly
2021
With Climate Emergency a Certainty, Gulf Coast Creatives Reflect on Art's Value in Crisis, Southwest Contemporary, by Willow Curry
Gulf Coast Journal 34.1 Issue: Featured Art - Selections from the 2021 Texas Biennial: A New Landscape, A Possible Horizon
Texas Biennial Announces Artists, Venues, ARTFORUM
Fil-Am Artists to be Showcased in 2021 Texas Biennial, Inquirer, by Walter Ang
Four BIPOC Artists Based in Houston You Should Know, Houstonia Magazine, by Amarie Gipson
Gulf Coast Artists Shine in the 2021 Texas Biennial, Houstonia Magazine, by Amarie Gipson
4 Emerging Texas Artists in Texas Biennial Show You Should Be Following, San Antonio Express News, by Deborah Martin
The 2021 Texas Biennial to Feature 51 Artists, Sightlines, by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
Repurposed: How Found Material Made My Work Possible, Emerge Journal: Dream Issue - Art Institute of Chicago by Matt Manalo
2020
Live Blogging a Convening on Equity, Collaboration, and Sustainability in the Arts, Jasmine Weber, Valentina Di Liscia, & Hakim Bishara for Hyperallergic
What's Up in Houston Galleries by Molly Glentzer for Houston Chronicle
Mixed Media Installation Showcases Multiple Art Forms by Maggie Habermas for San Jacinto Times
2019
Giving Art a Home in Alief, by Christina Autry for International Management District Filipino-American Artist Directory 2019 Edition
2018
Bourley, Fisher, Manalo, and Sayed Take Top Honors in Lawndale's Big Show by Susie Tommaney for Houston Press
Racial Commentary Through Textile Installation, by Nikolas Bhatti Henning for Blacklisted Copenhagen
Interview with Jella Roson, In the Heart Stories: Artist Matt Manalo
Filipino-American Artist Directory 2018 Edition
Selah Magazine, Vol. 1
{M}aganda Magazine, Reclamation issue
2017
Filipino-American Artist Directory 2017 Edition
2016
The Studio Visit Interview by Isabel Manalo
2015
Fil-Am Artist Directory Interview by Janna Langholz
Art Funk Podcast Interview with Ryan and Rachel Rushing
Residencies/Fellowships/Grants
2022
Houston Inspira - Storytellers Grant through Houston Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs
Artists on Site Series 3, Asia Society of Texas
BIPOC Network & Arts Fund Grant (Alief Art House & Filipinx Artists of Houston)
2020
Insta11ations Fellowship in collaboration with Antonius-Tín Bui, Art League Houston, Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, HAA
Common Field 2020 - Houston Convening
2019
Project Freeway Fellowship, DiverseWorks, Houston, Texas
2017
OpenMFAHouston Digital Residency
2011
Many Mini Residency, Skydive Art Space, Houston, Texas
2010
Project Row House Summer Studio Houston, Texas
Collections
Edward Albee Foundation
North Fork Arts Projects Collection
V. Velasco Private Collection
E. Tabios Private Collection