Jose Ibay’s Rock Attack is a rousing fusion of brazen tempos and eye-tingling riffs on paint, color and textures on canvas. Translating the inspiration of music to visions, visions to images, and images to significance, no doubt the viewer will find its senses simulated by this visual music festival.

Collaborating with more than thirty artist friends, Ibay reinvents portraits of music legends, ranging from classic rock and roll, glam rock, punk, grunge and even emerging pop and hip hop superstars. International music icons Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix Bono, Jim Morrison, Neil Young, David Bowe, Jimmy Page, James Taylor, Siouxsie Sioux, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney of the Beatles. Madonna, Cat Stevens, Morrissey, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Manilryn Manson share the walls of the gallery with local music heavyweights Florante, Freddie Aguilar, Sampaguita, Ramon Jacinto, Lolita Carbon, Wally Gonzales and Mike Hanopol. Add to this the newly-minted pop stars of this generation, Lady Gaga and APL de P of the Black Eyed Peas, this project, begun in 2007, overcomes the limitations of time and trends, serving as a continuing endeavour that will most probably endure beyond its 2010 exposition. As long as there are artists, and new rock stars, material and the infinite modes of interpretation through the painted medium will never run dry.

It is often said that famous Filipino artists are considered, and treated as, rock stars. The Bad and the Golden, the Auction Phenomenon, the enfant terrible and all their incarnations are looked upon with undisguised awe and admiration. They are the stuff of legends, always on the cutting edge of life, existing between reality and the pursuit of unconventional ways of creative expression – artists are deemed to be cool, clever, and are given a rather flexible license to go wild, whether on canvass or their other artworks.

And these canvases deliver, with each artist contributing his or her style to the already dynamic and richly textured impressionistic brush strokes of Jose Ibay approaching his artist friends, (and they do have to be friends with Ibay in relative comfort, understanding and a unified passion for art) a collaborative piece takes from once a rock or pop star they want to portray is decided upon, composed on ground, and worked on, with each individual contributing equal efforts to execute the final result.

As a concert is set up on stage with all its components systematically built up, acrylic, oil sticks and other media are piled on to create artworks that make up the Rock Attack invasion. The flat ground of the canvass itself is transformed into a stage for collaboration, with deliberate strokes, bold colours and each artist’s signature style blending into or setting against Ibay’s raw and rough multilayered brushwork.

Each piece becomes not only an artwork showing a famous face, it also brings forth the inspiration, legacy and influence brought about by that icon to the local artists that painstakingly brought the portraits to life. Paying homage to rock music, popular entertainment and the characters that played the soundtrack of our lives through the years, the artists, lead by Ibay, draw the audience into a veritable rock and roll hall of fame.

Artists that rocked with Ibay are: Ricky Ambagan, Virgilio Aviado,  Manuel Baldemor, Heber Bartolome, Benjie Cabangis, Monn Caneza, Rafael Cusi, Fil dela Cruz, Antipas Delotavo, Edeguz, Egai Fernandez, Carlos Filart, Grandier, Hermisanto, Raul Isidro, Jethro Jocson, Janet Jolancos, Raul Jorolan, Junyee, Prudencio Lamarroza, Rico Lascano, Romeo Lee, Lex Marcos, Bobby Nuestro, Justin Nuyda, Butch Payawal, Dante Perez, Fred Ramirez, Alvin Reamillo, Cid Reyes, Jaime Roque, Eghai Roxas, Jose Tence Ruiz, Lirio Salvador, Roger San Miguel, Elmer Torio, Lydia Velasco, Roy Veneracion, Edwin Wilwayco, Sonny Yniguez.

The exhibit runs from February 19 to March 6, 2010 at Galerie Anna, 4th Floor Building A, Artwalk, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines.