Paul Hilario

"I paint visual narratives drawn from a broad range of real and imagined stories, shifting between the deeply personal and the socio-political."

I was born in 1972 on the slopes of Mt. Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, and my path to the studio was far from traditional. During my youth, I spent my vacations helping out on my grandfather's rice farm in Pangasinan, learning firsthand the rhythms of agricultural life, while my other grandfather worked as an artist in Manila. This mix of raw rural labor and urban creativity stayed with me. Before committing full-time to painting, I spent fourteen years working as a museum curator, backed by a background in biology. That world taught me how to observe, archive, and analyze the details of life. These influences originally led me to document the agricultural heritage of my youth, specifically the rice fields. However, my practice truly deepened through an unconventional, entirely online mentorship with master painter Marcel Antonio. Communicating across digital spaces, he trained me in Verdaccio—a classical underpainting technique—which I adapted into a modified version that uniquely anchors my complex, figurative stories.

Today, my work is inspired by the sheer variety of rea...

BS Biology Major In Microbiology
University of the Philippines Los Banos

Self taught Visual Artist
Mentor: Marcel Antonio

SOLO EXHIBITS

ILLE IMPERIUM
National Commission on Culture and Arts Gallery
Intramuros, Manila
Nineveh Artspace
UPLB Sining Makiling Gallery
Sulyap Artspace
July 2024 to present

Beyond Vision
Nineveh Artspace
Sta. Cruz, Laguna, Philippines
May to July 2016

No Random Order
Gallery Nine, SM Megamall
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
27 August to 12 Sept 2013

Videre Videnda
Art for Space Gallery, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
11 to 24 November 2012

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITS

JUST A MOMENT
Gallery sort of, Quezon City, MM
March 2026

VISAYAS ART FAIR
Kapitolyo Art Space, Cebu City
November 2025

UNDER_SCORE
Sining Makiling Gallery, UP Los Baños, Laguna
September 2025

DECRYPT BALLOT
Anima Art Space, Quezon City, MM
April 2025

PLUGGED INTO FERNALIA
Manilart 2024, SM Aura, Taguig, MM
October 2024

CONQUEST
Sining Makiling Gallery, UPLB
May 2024

LIMBUS
In Celebration of the World's Indigenous Peoples
Kanto Art space
Makati, Metro Maniila
Aug 2023

MORBUS
National Commission on Culture and the Arts Gallery
Intramuros, Manila
Nov 2022

Imago Mundi (International group show)
Venice Biennale 2015
Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Italy
1 Sept to 1 Nov 2015.

Endangered Visions
An international art exhibition
A special exhibition...