The Alchemist
Across numerous fields with deep knowledge, Danni Sollesta embodies the intellectual and artistic curiosity of the Renaissance man. Over the course of his career so far, even before he entered the arts, he has been the kind to immerse himself in a particular environment, and from there, allows the spirit of creation to arise.
As a young student of anthropology, he lived with the Ata for many years, and created bonds that last to this day. He had begun dabbling in photography, documenting those indigenous peoples, but he naturally grew to appreciate their vernacular houses that he made graphite drawings of them, and as he lived with them, portraits of the people.
Somewhere in the mix, having grown up diving around the waters of Siquijor, he discovered the endemic underwater fauna that would also end up as one of his muses. The poisonous rockfish were a sight to behold, and he could not let go of the desire to capture their beauty. His particular style in this series lends to the abstracted nature of underwater vision, where colors exist differently in the air.
Speaking of muses, the female form has been persistent in his works throughout the decades. One might simply jest that like many boys (to men), the figure of a woman is a mystery that a lifetime of curiosity can still never fulfill. Simply enough, Sollesta’s admiration for women of strength, character and temperament is for the most part the source of this adoration.
Adoration, though, is not enough for the terracotta clay medium that he is also well known for. Like a woman, one cannot force themselves on it. They must not be neglected, and they cannot be left to wait. The medium dictates the form and proportions, as can be seen from his Botero-esque works.
Of unparalleled significance in his clay works are the tambaloslos sculptures. Grotesque creatures of Visayan Mythology, they are gigantic beings with loose skin — so much that a laugh causes their lips to cover their face. They are also known to bear a large phallus, prominently displayed as they go for the chase. This menacing appearance is for naught, as the tambaloslos is only out for a good time and means no harm, and it is said that the sight of clothes worn inside out is enough to distract it through uncontrollable laughter. Traditionally portrayed as a male, Sollesta takes his firsthand experience with the tambaloslos in his youth as a hunter, and brings to life a female counterpart. This action is both homage to women and a challenge to the establishment.
Like the wind, the Ata were nomadic peoples. Beneath the waves, the rockfish and water are inseparable. Terracotta of the earth, bound by the fire of a woman, as a woman. Looking back through his memories, Danni Sollesta unknowingly trained himself to be an alchemist (as the Renaissance man undertakes), taking the four elements and transforming them into gold: the kind of art that only he has been able to make.
–Francisco Jin Sung Lee, 2026
Dumaguete/Manila
Since 1989, visual artist Danni Sollesta has been engaged in numerous exhibitions, lectures, and workshops in the Philippines and overseas. Locally, he has been active in organizing art events as well as cultural work on both a regional and national scale.
Central to his practice has been a dedication to terracotta, such which led to his founding of the Dumaguete Open Biennial Terracotta Art Festival and Competition in 2005 which saw both local and international artists participate. This event singlehandedly placed the quaint city of Dumaguete on the country’s map of arts and culture.
In 2006, he was invited to give a lecture and do workshops at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by another lecture at Rowan University, New Jersey — Fine Arts Department. He also held an exhibit at the Philippine Center of South New Jersey.
By 2008, Sollesta received a nomination award from the Beijing Municipal Culture Bureau and the Culture and Ceremonies Department of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, Beijing, China for his work “Women and Apples,” and was invited to do studio work and teach at the Feng Liang International Art College in Jiangxi, South China. Towards the end of the year, he received an International Guest Artist-in-Residence at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This led to artistic production, on-site lectures, and interactions with associate artists of the studio, which all culminated in an exhibition with resident artists from other countries.
His first foray into the professional art scene was a two-artist exhibition with Kitty Taniguchi in 1989 at the Silliman University Library Lobby. He was a finalist in the Philippine Art Awards, 1998, and has held significant terracotta exhibitions such as at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at Mariyah Gallery, Dumaguete in 2005.
To this day, Sollesta maintains artistic endeavors from San Carlos to Siquijor, while maintaining a studio and creative hub in Si-it, Dauin, Negros Oriental.
The Alchemist
Across numerous fields with deep knowledge, Danni Sollesta embodies the intellectual and artistic curiosity of the Renaissance man. Over the course of his career so far, even before he entered the arts, he has been the kind to immerse himself in a particular environment, and from there, allows the spirit of creation to arise.
As a young student of anthropology, he lived with the Ata for many years, and created bonds that last to this day. He had begun dabbling in photography, documenting those indigenous peoples, but he naturally grew to appreciate their vernacular houses that he made graphite drawings of them, and as he lived with them, portraits of the people.
Somewhere in the mix, having grown up diving around the waters of Siquijor, he discovered the endemic underwater fauna that would also end up as one of his muses. The poisonous rockfish were a sight to behold, and he could not let go of the desire to capture their beauty. His particular style in this series lends to the abstracted nature of underwater vision, where colors exist differently in the air.
Speaking of muses, the female form has been persistent in his works throughout the decades. One might simply jest that like many boys (to men), the figure of a woman is a mystery that a lifetime of curiosity can still never fulfill. Simply enough, Sollesta’s admiration for women of strength, character and temperament is for the most part the source of this adoration.
Adoration, though, is not enough for the terracotta clay medium that he is also well known for. Like a woman, one cannot force themselves on it. They must not be neglected, and they cannot be left to wait. The medium dictates the form and proportions, as can be seen from his Botero-esque works.
Of unparalleled significance in his clay works are the tambaloslos sculptures. Grotesque creatures of Visayan Mythology, they are gigantic beings with loose skin — so much that a laugh causes their lips to cover their face. They are also known to bear a large phallus, prominently displayed as they go for the chase. This menacing appearance is for naught, as the tambaloslos is only out for a good time and means no harm, and it is said that the sight of clothes worn inside out is enough to distract it through uncontrollable laughter. Traditionally portrayed as a male, Sollesta takes his firsthand experience with the tambaloslos in his youth as a hunter, and brings to life a female counterpart. This action is both homage to women and a challenge to the establishment.
Like the wind, the Ata were nomadic peoples. Beneath the waves, the rockfish and water are inseparable. Terracotta of the earth, bound by the fire of a woman, as a woman. Looking back through his memories, Danni Sollesta unknowingly trained himself to be an alchemist (as the Renaissance man undertakes), taking the four elements and transforming them into gold: the kind of art that only he has been able to make.
–Francisco Jin Sung Lee, 2026
Dumaguete/Manila
Since 1989, visual artist Danni Sollesta has been engaged in numerous exhibitions, lectures, and workshops in the Philippines and overseas. Locally, he has been active in organizing art events as well as cultural work on both a regional and national scale.
Central to his practice has been a dedication to terracotta, such which led to his founding of the Dumaguete Open Biennial Terracotta Art Festival and Competition in 2005 which saw both local and international artists participate. This event singlehandedly placed the quaint city of Dumaguete on the country’s map of arts and culture.
In 2006, he was invited to give a lecture and do workshops at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by another lecture at Rowan University, New Jersey — Fine Arts Department. He also held an exhibit at the Philippine Center of South New Jersey.
By 2008, Sollesta received a nomination award from the Beijing Municipal Culture Bureau and the Culture and Ceremonies Department of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, Beijing, China for his work “Women and Apples,” and was invited to do studio work and teach at the Feng Liang International Art College in Jiangxi, South China. Towards the end of the year, he received an International Guest Artist-in-Residence at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This led to artistic production, on-site lectures, and interactions with associate artists of the studio, which all culminated in an exhibition with resident artists from other countries.
His first foray into the professional art scene was a two-artist exhibition with Kitty Taniguchi in 1989 at the Silliman University Library Lobby. He was a finalist in the Philippine Art Awards, 1998, and has held significant terracotta exhibitions such as at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at Mariyah Gallery, Dumaguete in 2005.
To this day, Sollesta maintains artistic endeavors from San Carlos to Siquijor, while maintaining a studio and creative hub in Si-it, Dauin, Negros Oriental.
