Raya Simpao is a Filipina artist, born and raised in Manila, currently completing her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her painting practice stems from the sustained, attentive act of seeing and orienting oneself in the world. Most formal choices within her work inhabit a space between naturalistic and synthetic, often testing the boundaries between the two.

Simpao’s figures are often captured in the act of naming an “other”, an entity outside of the self, either identifying with or distinguishing from. Her attention is directed as much toward what exists within the frame as what is excluded. She is drawn to the subtle territories of likeness and difference, the places where things converge, verse where they fall away. Sensitivity is a crucial aspect to the work. Embedded in each painting is a mode of looking that is deliberate, responsive, and deeply attuned to social and psychological undercurrents. The scenes she constructs stem directly from her immediate surroundings and encounters, yet they resonate with broader questions about relationship and perception. At the heart of Simpao’s practice is an ethic of care. She understands the act of seeing - of looking closely, looking again, and looking with intention - as a form of labor that must be sustained by profound and persistent care.

All images courtesy of the artist.