After a decade as a creator of iconic artworks worldwide, USA-based Filipino-American artist JEFRË turns eastward to his ancestors’ homeland, the Philippines, with Points of Origin, his very first solo museum show in the country. The homecoming exhibition is a celebration of the monumentality of the artist’s accomplishments, and a way of connecting his two facets, his two homes: that of his origins and the home of his American dream. Encompassing past works as well as his current practice, the exhibition takes as its point of departure pieces from his debut USA solo museum exhibition held in 2021, complemented by newer artworks created for the Metropolitan Museum of Manila show. These include sculptures inspired by the energy and emotions evoked by the world’s great cities. Selected pieces from the artist’s portfolio have been scaled down. Points of Origin is curated by Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon and is presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in partnership with Philippine Airlines, with additional support from Megawide Corporation.

Established in 2008, JEFRË is a sophisticated boutique design studio that specializes in environmental art and couture landscapes with site-specific artworks in cities around the world including London, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Abu Dhabi, San Antonio and Manila. JEFRË’s practice continues to evolve with a wide-range of projects, including community design, public art, parks and plazas, sculpture, temporary installations, interior design, avant-garde landscapes, eco-installations, campus planning, and myriad international design competitions. JEFRË approaches each new landscape with an act of questioning, as building context for the location is an essential way to begin to know the community. Combined with a deep understanding of the historical, environmental, and social relationships influencing the site and the architecture, JEFRË’s activation of public spaces remain committedly responsive to the aesthetic and community elements anchoring each work.

JEFRË has participated in several international design competitions and has received awarded commissions and in Washington, DC, London, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Bering Strait, Rome, Miami, Philadelphia; Portland and Arlington. JEFRË has been featured in numerous publications including ELLE, Dwell and House and Garden and in 2007 was honored as one of the Faces of Design in Inside Out Architecture Magazine. JEFRË was named one of seven "Faces of Design for 2007" by Florida Inside Out architecture magazine for his environmental art and couture landscapes. He was selected by the prestigious Marlborough Gallery in New York City as an “Up and Coming International Public Artist” and chosen by the Lexus Corporation to be the sixth member of their ECO Hybrid Living National Design Team to design environmentally conscious carbon neutral environments. JEFRË studied at the Art Institute of Chicago prior to receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Ohio State University. 

Constantly seeking out new and innovative approaches, JEFRË remains on the cutting edge of modern design, keenly incorporating the latest technologies, materials and textures to explore discrete object making in both large and small scale. In 2019, JEFRË takes his unique design approach to launch his signature series to date, XLS. This exciting expanse in his practice takes human-scaled, figurative works into predominantly new viewing spaces and makes the work accessible for emerging and established collections.