Marie Fe “Beth” Conde-Acera is a self-taught artist who started painting in February 2016 as a hobby. She was born and raised in Butuan City, Philippines with parents both working in the government service.
As a child, Marie Fe was particularly interested in cartooning and designing greeting cards. Her mother noticed her artistic tendencies at an early age and once tried to hire an art tutor to hone her potentials.
Marie Fe’s artistic side was left in the back burner when she became a college scholar pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Mindanao State University in Marawi City and moved on to work as a Social Worker and educator for more than two decades in the government and private sectors.
Marie Fe rekindled her passion for visual arts after she and her husband moved to New York City. Having benefitted from visiting various museums, exhibits, and participating in an art class has drawn a lot of inspiration to self-teach and self-train as a newbie artist.
Additionally, Marie Fe explored other bases using summer hats and leather handbags with customized paintings as desired by the owners. Through social media, her artworks have been conspicuously admired and gained a lot of encouragement towards every visual artist’s goal — putting up an art exhibit.
Her growing up years in Mindanao as well as her blended exposure to the rich cultural heritage of Butuan City and Marawi City, have become Marie Fe’s inspiration and the very foundation of her artworks. In particular, the presence of Maranao Okir art and the legendary Sarimanok bird and the diverse and distinctive colors as each represents are quite evident in her creations. A variety of flowers is also an evident subject in Marie Fe’s paintings in canvas, hats and bags.
Marie Fe’s goal is indeed within reach as she will hold her First Solo Art Exhibit on October 28 to November 8, 2019 at the Philippine Center Gallery, Manhattan, New York City entitled “East-West Fusion: A Celebration of Filipino Culture in Colors”. Twenty-five (25) paintings will be featured comprising five (5) of each of the following collections, namely: Sayaw Mindanao, Buwak (Flower), Sarimanok, Bayho (Portrait) and Colors of Diaspora.
Prior to this event, Marie Fe already had a Preview Exhibit showcasing six out of her twenty five piece s of art during the Gala Night of the Tapok Agusanon Ngani Amerika (TANA) 2019 held at Sheraton Hotel Vista Sky Lounge, Long Island City, NY on September 14th.
By: Rey G. Acera
