Collection: Norlie Meimban

For Norlie Meimban, art is a living, breathing, moving entity. A talented craftsman with a one of a kind imagination, his works are not only aesthetically pleasing but also intellectually stimulating. Coming up with different concepts and ideas to be applied for each work, he makes every exhibit, every collection and every piece truly unforgettable.

A graduate of University of the Philippines Fine arts with major in painting, the canvas had always been his irreplaceable passion. Not surprising considering he came from a family of artists with his father, Ely Meimban also a painter. With feet planted fully in the ground but head freely in the clouds, he went straight to work just a week after graduation and started training in Fil Cartoons. Here he was able to flex his creative muscles in the field of animation. Under Fil Cartoons are memorable works under Hanna-barbera among others and under his supervision were the projects of popular animation such as Joseph the Dreamer of Dreamworks and Tarzan and Lilo and Stitch under Disney Philippines. He specialized as an “in betweener” focusing on the sequence motion of the characters movements.

In his years working in animation he has accomplished much in, however amidst his work is his undying love for painting. While he was doing animation, he never stopped honing and exploring his skills on the canvas. In the span of this time, he joined competitions and was recognized by Metrobank Foundation Art Competition three times. In ’89 an honorable mention, in ’93 he won third place and in ’96 an honorable mention, thus qualifying him to be a member of NET which stands for “network of winners” from Metrobank’s roster of past winners.

After 12 years doing animation work, Norlie decided to leave behind the sizable paycheck and comfortable lifestyle to pursue a higher calling, prompted by the very same voice that has refused to be ignored all those years: painting. And so began his full attention to his craft, because of this he also went to his contemporaries, Elmer Borlongan and Mark Justiniani . Being around his original love sparked a burning passion. With his first exhibit in Pasig museum in 2004 a landmark in his artistic career and he has never looked back since then.

To date Norlie has countless group shows, a travelling show and 22 Solo exhibits in Pinto Art Museum, Rico Renzo, Boston Gallery, Secret Fresh gallery, Art Elaan Gallery and many other respectable art galleries.His now having his first Solo Show in Europe at Publicart Gallery in Vienna Austria. His forte consists of figurative works with color and monochrome with his favorite subject matter people, specifically children.

As he continues to hone and perfect his craft, he manages to come up with fresh innovative ideas to add more dimension to his painting. Perhaps one of the most ingenious of which is a style which he has dubbed as “Ani-motion”. “Ani-motion” is animation incorporated in painting. Using his knowledge and techniques from his animation work he decided to apply the beauty of movement to his work on the canvas. While a picture on the canvas manages to convey a single moment in time, by combining this with line drawings from animation he creates more depth, meaning and story in one piece, making it active through space and time. This Ani-motion manages to give us not only a picture, but a picture across a span of time. Being the first to push the boundaries of what is known in painting; this germ of an idea began in 2006, started to materialize in 2008 and continuously gained attention in 2009 until present.

He also Represents as one of the judges in 2024 10^th Geoje International Art Festival in South Korea

 
Norlie is now specializing in sustainable art- producing masterpieces from found objects such as plastic

Bottle, beer cans, vinyl records, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and compact discs. The idea came to Norlie after experiencing flood in his hometown, with his home and its contents immersed in rainwater for a week. The use of non-biodegradable materials as an integral part of his art became a natural direction for the artist. Through this progression, Norlie hoped to contribute to the Philippines solid waste management efforts while inspiring future generations to focus on sustsinable art, because for Norlie, “art is everywhere, even in the materials that people consider as ‘trash’.”