Thoughtful curation doesn’t draw attention to itself. It shifts how space is felt rather than simply filled. At Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, Tarzeer Pictures achieves this with quiet precision. The Makati-based gallery and creative studio integrates contemporary Filipino works not as decoration, but as part of the space, placed in rhythm with the resort-casino’s design.
Interior designer Van Day Truex said, “For a house to be successful, the objects in it must communicate with one another, respond, and balance one another.” Tarzeer works from the same idea. These pieces aren’t accents. They belong to the rooms they occupy, moving with them rather than standing apart.
Yvonne Quisumbing’s Forest Primeval hangs along the hallway to the function rooms. It doesn’t announce itself, but it draws the eye. Painted in oil on aluminum, it layers native medicinal plants into fields that feel both precise and organic. With a background in fashion, Quisumbing shapes her compositions with structure and flow. The work slows the hallway’s pace and softens its length.
In the spa’s reception area, Vermont Coronel Jr.’s Untitled A and Untitled B offer a quiet counterpoint. Known for distilling urban life into layered impressions, Coronel turns inward. Using stencil and aerosol, he paints golden ripples across dark surfaces, evoking light held still on water. Surrounded by warm wood tones and soft seating, the pieces settle into the room, adding depth without distraction.
Jessica de Leon’s Diptych II appears in Yakumi’s private dining room. It is the most subdued of the three. Its grayscale palette and spare strokes echo the room’s clean lines. Yet beneath its restraint is an emotional pull—a sense of recovery, fragility, and quiet persistence. The work doesn’t speak outright. It opens space for the viewer to respond.
Tarzeer’s curation reflects more than visual taste. It shows timing, awareness, and the discipline to let the work speak. These aren’t just pieces on walls. They belong where they are, in conversation with their surroundings. They don’t instruct or explain. They remain, and in remaining, they reshape the atmosphere.
This is curation at its most assured. Its power lies not in display, but in how it changes what we notice.
