Robles, Roberto M. A.

Born on January 16, 1957, in the agricultural landscape of Tuy, Batangas, Roberto M.A. Robles spent his formative years profoundly connected to the rural ecosystems of the Southern Tagalog region. He pursued formal art foundations in Manila during the late 1970s, establishing an early reputation as a highly intellectual printmaker and mixed-media creator. During the social and political upheavals of the 1980s, his highly disciplined, conceptual box assemblages earned him top honors on the competitive national art circuit.

The absolute turning point in Robles's creative trajectory arrived in the early 1990s when he relocated to Japan for intensive, multi-year postgraduate studies in stone carving. Immersed in traditional Japanese craftsmanship and working alongside premier stone masters, he experienced a complete aesthetic reorientation.

Upon his return to Manila in 1995, Robles was immediately appointed to lead a major university art department, bringing progressive, process-driven methods to the local art scene. Maintaining an exclusive gallery partnership with Galleria Duemila spanning over several decades, he has built a massive transnational footprint, mounting landmark individual showcases across Tokyo, Seoul, and the United States. Today, Robles is deeply revered as an absolute master of abstract non-figuration whose works are firmly preserved inside the country’s most prestigious public and institutional collections.

Education & Academic Footprint
1995: Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Sculpture (Specializing in stone carving under the tutelage of Prof. Hitoshi Itoh) – Institute of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba, Japan.

1992: Kenkyusei (Research Scholar Residency) – Institute of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba, Japan.

1980: Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) – University of the East (UE) School of Music and Fine Arts, Manila, Philippines.

Institutional Leadership & Major Distinctions
2004: Appointed Representative – Asian Artist Fellowship, 11th Annual Freeman Foundation Vermont Studio Center, USA.

1995: Appointed Academic Executive – Dean of the College of Fine Arts, University of the East, Manila (Steered the faculty curriculum immediately upon his return from his Japanese stone tenure).

1986: Grand Prize Winner – Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) Annual National Competition. (Secured for his breakthrough conceptual cabinet creation Here is How the Transition into the Mambo Beat Looks Like, a witty commentary on the social and musical escapism of the post-dictatorship era).
Selected Public & Corporate Commissions
Magallanes Church (Manila): The Baptismal Font and Holy Water Receptacle, hand-carved out of rare, solid white Thasos marble.

Eugenio Lopez Development Center (Manila): The Master Altar and Crucifix, executed as a raw, minimalist sculpture combining wood, stone, and brass.

Atlanta Center (Manila): A large relief mural utilizing mixed-media painting applied directly onto polyethylene glass sheets.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network (Manila): A permanent, heavy mixed-media mural relief installation anchored within the corporate headquarters.

Exhibition History
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2020: Form | Kata Proto-type – Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, UP Diliman, Quezon City

2012: Tagalog at Taga-ilog – Jorge B. Vargas Museum, West Wing Gallery, Quezon City

2011: Saluysoy: Roberto M.A. Robles: A Retrospective – Curated by Gina Fairley, jointly presented by Ateneo Art Gallery (Quezon City) and Galleria Duemila (Pasay City)

1999: Quarter Moon – Galleria Duemila, Manila, Philippines

1997: Relief No. 2: Daan Papuntang Dohoken (Crossing Doho Park) – Galleria Duemila, Manila (A landmark diptych introducing his minimalist Japanese architectural aesthetics)

Selected Transnational Group Surveys
2001: International Sculptors Exhibition – Seoul Art Center, Seoul, South Korea

1995: MFA Graduate Survey – Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Tokyo, Japan

1994: Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art Group Feature – Ibaraki, Japan

Global Traveling Expositions: Featured in curated national abstract and sculpture delegations traveling across Alliance Française (Paris/Manila), Chile, South Africa, and Australia.