MEDIA PRESS RELEASE

Dennis with sister, Irene, at his art exhibition at the Philippine Independence Day
Celebration at Tokyo Mariners' Court Hotel


From METROPOLIS MAGAZINE, Tokyo, Japan

OUT ON THE TOWN

by Dan Grunebaum

This Tokyo-based Filipino artist, graphic designer and illustrator is capping off a year of frenetic activity with a triple art exhibition, "Winter Sun." The show will feature recent paintings and prints at the fashionable Las Chicas Café/D-Zone complex in Aoyama, as well as a window display art exhibit at the Short Gallery in the underground passageway west of Shinjuku station. A by now familiar face on the Tokyo expatriate art scene, Sun depicts a whimsical dream life, which, says the artist, “makes us see the world through the eyes of the inner child that exists, and hopefully never dies, in each one of us.”

Las Chicas Café (Omotesando stn), through 12/31, 11am-11pm; D-Zone, through 12/15, from 7pm. Short Gallery (Shinjuku stn), through 12/28.

PAINTING EXHIBITION
Roti, October 1-31. Tel: 5785-3671. www.rotico.com
Dennis Sun

Whimsical Splendor
Expatriate Filipino painter Dennis Sun-by now a well-established figure in Tokyo's art scene-says his paintings are a means of "looking back at the past where nothing is ever lost." His dogs, cats, birds and assorted creatures mug and move in a surrealistic background that Sun adds are meant to "lighten our emotional load and float us above and beyond the stress of daily survival." A new exhibition, "Whimsical Splendor: The Adventures of the Inner Child," presents recent works that mark a new scale of proportion in his output. Nominated by the Philippine embassy for the prestigious National Heritage Award given to outstanding Filipinos overseas, Sun's dramatic touch has also graced the advertising of Japanese firms such as Japan Airlines, Toshiba and Honda.

LIFE IN JAPAN
Dennis Sun's interview at Metropolis
http://metropolis.co.jp/lifeinjapan/343/lifeinjapaninc.htm

Occupation:
Artist, freelance graphic designer and illustrator

Time in Japan:
12 years

Where are you from?
The Philippines.

What brought you to Japan?
I come from a big family with brothers and sisters around the globe. After graduating from university, a job was already waiting for me in Los Angeles but my protective and loving mother persuaded me to live and work in Tokyo so I could look after my Japanese sister.

What do you do now?
Basically, I' an art creator and I do anything fun and creative. I have done all sorts of design and illustration jobs ranging from simple business cards, brochures and print ads to department store and shop art murals and window displays. Now, I am busy developing and designing cute characters for a children's fashion company. I'm also trying to finish a children's book, which I hope to publish within this year. Aside from exhibiting my works around, I also help other artists with potential to promote their works. I am currently working as the art curator of my friend's shop in Ebisu, and we are always looking for artists wanting to exhibit their works.

Who was your biggest influence?
I'd like to say Picasso or Dali, but I would have to admit it was Walt Disney. I grew up watching Mickey Mouse and all the cute characters he created.

What do you try to express through your art?
The inner child! For me, the wonder of life itself should be seen best through the eyes of the inner child that exists, and hopefully never dies, inside of all of us. It is my mission to make this world a better place through making positive art filled with love, light and laughter. People who have gone to my art exhibits told me they were affected by the fun and positive energy in my work and felt as if they were being transported to a whimsical world filled with vibrant colors and vivid imagination.

What was the weirdest thing you've seen or experienced here?
It's Halloween in Shibuya every day! These young Japanese girls wearing heavy, weird make-up look more like drag queens to me. Someone please tell them: Natural beauty is best.

What's the one Japanese thing you'd like to take back to your home country?
Sento (Japanese public baths). I have never felt so clean and refreshed in all my life! I make it a point to go at least once a week. Somehow, I always feel that taking a bath in one's own private bathroom isn't enough. Never leave Japan without the sento experience. You will learn so much about Japanese culture.

What's your recipe for a happy and successful life in Japan?
First and foremost, learn the language. Basic Japanese will be a great help. Then, focus on your goals. Live and love. Shine with light. Fill your life with laughter. And last but not least, always get in touch with the child and the divine within.

Contact Dennis  email mail@dennissun.net or check out his website: www.dennissun.net

Dennis Sun spoke to Maki Nibayashi.


Shining Dennis Sun     
From the Foreign Information Office, Philippine Embassy, Tokyo
  
A young Filipino artist is making a name in the commercial art world in Japan, and at the rate he is going, it could soon be a "big" name. Dennis Sun hails from Angeles City, but is now a Tokyo-based freelance artist, graphic designer and illustrator.

He graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines in 1986, earning a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications. While taking his Master's units, he taught Humanities, Art Appreciation and Social Sciences in a university. He was the art director of a Japanese advertising and design company for some time before he ventured on his own. He is now available for commissions.

He has done art works for leading Japanese and multinational firms that included Japan Airlines, Toshiba, Nova, Honda, Recruit, and Jusco. Dennis is a prolific artist, as well as designer, illustrator and director for books, posters, CDs, magazines, and even character logos.

Dennis works with oils, acrylic, watercolor and computer graphics, and quite often his arts come out completed in mixed media. He has a certain preference for it because "mixed media gives texture to the picture, and anyone could enjoy it with all five senses," he said at a recent exhibit of his works. This was at Ben's Café, a popular venue in Takadanobaba, where art lovers and artists meet and have a cordial exchange over a cup of coffee, purportedly the best in Tokyo. The exhibit ran for two weeks until May 14, 2000, after which it moves to another popular café, Good and Honest Grub in Ebisu from May 15 - 31, 2000.


From WEEKENDER Magazine
At the Galleries...
DENNIS SUN ART AT BEN'S CAFE
http://www.weekender.co.jp/LatestEdition/010126/onscene.html

Filipino artist, designer and illustrator Dennis Sun will display his new and exciting exhibition, "Fun in D'Sun," at Ben's Cafe near JR Takadanobaba Station Jan. 29 through Feb. 9. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The show presents new artworks in canvasses, computer graphics and intaglio prints with lots of animal prints in surreal surroundings. Sun is described as a "mixture of Dali and Disney" and his mixed media paintings are done mostly in acrylics and gouache and whatever medium he feels would make his expressions come out.

To know more about Dennis, check his Website at dennissun.net or call Ben's Cafe at 3202-2445 for more information and directions.


http://www.weekender.co.jp/LatestEdition/010713/onscene.html
DENNIS SUN ART
"Come Rain, Come Shine" is the title of an art exhibition featuring the work of Dennis Sun at Good Honest Grub in Ebisu. The show runs through July 31 and opening hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends and holidays for brunch, and on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and 5:30 to 11 p.m. for dinner.

Sun is a Japan-based Filipino artist, graphic designer and illustrator. His paintings, revolving on the theme of Inner Child, have evolved from his passion for joy and laughter and his love for colors and imagination.

Good Honest Grub is at 1-11-11 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; a short walk from JR Ebisu Station. Tel. 3710-0400. For more information, contact Dennis Sun at 5749-5574 or e-mail: mail@dennissun.net



DENNIS SUN ART EXHIBITION AT BEN'S CAFE - January 2001
By Rodney Swanger

When you step into the whimsical dream-world that springs forth from the
imaginative artworks of Dennis Sun, you feel the spontaneous rays of joy that
shine forth from the vision of the artist. They are purposefully meant to
lighten our emotional load and float us above and beyond the stress of daily
survival. This intuitive, nurturing artist feels it is his responsibility
not to add to such negative vibes, and instead mirrors back to us our
inner-child, with glimpses of the divine within, and all that is positive
about life. He says he keeps his artwork created during down periods hidden
at home, where they are eventually painted over.

Dennis earned a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts and Visual Communications from
the University of the Philippines graduating cum laude in 1986, and has
taught Humanities, Art Appreciation and Social Sciences at the university
level. Before spreading his wings (which he is fond of including in his
works) and venturing out on his own, he was the director of a Japanese
advertising and design company. His dramatic touch has graced the
advertising of such Japanese and multinational firms as Japan Airlines,
Toshiba, Jusco, Recruit, Nova and Honda.

Working adeptly in acrylic, oils, watercolor, computer graphics and mixed
media, Sun's playful world is frequently inhabited by irresistible creatures
that at first glance are recognizable as bees, dogs, birds or whatever, but
with an unexpected twist that tickles both the viewer's imagination and
heart. They inevitably bring a sunny smile to one's face ... and perhaps
even an audible giggle.

Raised in the Philippines with a menagerie of animals from which to play, and
a rather large and colorful family, Dennis clearly has not lost touch with
his own inner-child. For the third time, all of this will be on display this
week at Ben's Cafe, a small but hip venue in Takadanobaba frequented by a
creative, international crowd. Dennis Sun prefers having his work exhibited
at cafes - the ideal venue for this gregarious spirit to offer up his visual
delights to go along with that hot cup of coffee, scrumptious pastry and warm
exchange.


TOKYO AMERICAN CLUB GENKAN GALLERY:
appeared in the club magazine in January, 2002
By Susan Millington
Artist: Dennis Sun
Media: Mixed Media on canvas, etchings, computer graphics
Dates: January 21- February 3
Reception: Monday, January 21, 6:00-7:30p.m.

What's in a name?  A lot, if you happen to be Dennis Sun. The Tokyo-based freelance artist, graphic designer and illustrator says his artistic aim is to make this world a better place by filling his works with "Love, Light and Laughter." He does this with vibrant colors and irresistible creatures that inevitably bring a sunny smile to the viewer's face.

Raised in the Philippines, Sun grew up surrounded by a menagerie of animals
and a large and colorful family. He graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications. After a year teaching humanities and art appreciation at the university, he decided to follow several of his brothers and sisters overseas. He located a job in LA but decided he should come to Japan instead, where a brother and sister were already living.  Although he was lonely at first in Tokyo and didn't intend to stay permanently, he
quickly found work as a graphic designer and eventually fell in love with
Japan, particularly its culture.

Sun works with oils, gouache, acrylic, watercolor and computer graphics, often using several media in his works. Spontaneity is important to him and is reflected in the fresh lively quality of his work.  He considers all of his work "unfinished" and reserves the right to add a flower here, a butterfly there, or even change the color composition of a work as the fancy takes him. "Painting for me is a form of meditation," says Sun.  "Most  of the time, I don't know what I'm going to paint exactly. I prepare my tools in front of me and do a short meditation by emptying my mind. From there, different images come into my imagination and that's basically how most of my paintings develop unless someone has commissioned me to do a particular subject."

What Dennis Sun wants above all is for his art to make people happy, for his whimsical figures to lighten our emotional load, to bring sunshine into our sometimes darkened lives. If he has an off day and portrays something negative in spirit, he keeps it hidden at home until a later happier time, when he paints it out.

Sun says, "My art focuses on the inner child, whose needs we have to nourish.  Sometimes, we need to play, have fun and forget about the  sorrows of the adult world and immerse ourselves in a different world of imagination."  Many people think his art is intended mainly for children, but Sun denies this.  "At first glance, my works seem so fun and  simple, but there are actually so many twists and they have a heavy emotional content in them."

It is no coincidence that Dennis Sun often chooses cafe as venues for his exhibitions.  The visual delights he offers would go well with a steaming cup of latte, a delicious pastry and friendly company.  If you're in need of a pick-me-up after a hard day, don't fail to stop by the Genkan Gallery on Monday January 21 and meet the artist who is so keen to bring a ray of sunshine into our lives.