I am a contemporary artist whose practice centers on the figure and body of women as sites of representation, power, and resistance. My work examines precolonial narratives, the colonial gaze, and the postcolonial condition, with particular attention to how histories of domination continue to shape visual culture and embodied experience.

Through research-based and narrative-driven projects, I focus on the representation of brown bodies and the politics of visibility, exploring how identity is constructed, observed, and negotiated across time and geography. A recurring line of inquiry in my work is rest within migrant communities—understood not as passivity, but as a radical and necessary act in contexts shaped by labor, displacement, and survival.

My practice positions the body as an archive, where memory, care, and resistance intersect, and where alternative ways of seeing and being can be articulated.

portrait of kath magpantay contemporary italian-filipino artist

Follow Me on Social

Not really sure what i’ve been up to, so let me post some random pics. Also anyone wanna come to an open studio if ever? Asking for myself haha Let me know
Dopo aver visto Come la Notte, mi è rimasta addosso una sensazione difficile da ignorare. La storia di questi tre fratelli filippini, lavoratori in Italia, che si ritrovano dopo anni nella villa in cui la sorella ha sempre lavorato e che poi
Cards on the table
(“After supper” - Study I) Lately, I’ve been studying how the bodies I paint exist within domestic spaces. I’ve begun introducing objects that feel familiar in Filipino homes: the torn vinyl flooring, a bottle of beer, a fram
“Come La Notte” explores the invisible wounds left by colonialism and how it lingers within families, shaping silence, resentment, and love. Through the story of three siblings, all domestic workers in Italy, the film reflects a shared e
Evenings building bridges between different cultures and generations. This is the Milan I love.
I finally had the opportunity to watch “Come La Notte” last night, and in its simplicity and almost stillness, it lands powerfully. Its visual language aligns with the story it wants to tell. I feel like if I say more, it would be reveali
Detail of Kayumanggi V, 2022 180x65cm, diptych Acrylic on canvas Private collection, Abu Dhabi My first time exhibiting at a gallery, I poured everything I had into this piece, literally, including a bit of coffee. Kayumanggi was a turning point for
Brownness is Essence. Kayumanggi has always been the core of my work. It anchors my exploration of how color, gaze, and representation shape our understanding of the brown body. When you look at brown skin, what stories do you see? Essence, 2025 P
Details of ”The Women Within”, 2025 A reflection on memory and inheritance. The figure as vessel, holding echoes of the women before her. In this stillness, the past settles into the present. What histories live quietly within you?
When I paint women, I like to paint blank expressions on their faces to allow whoever is looking at them to project their own state. Not only do they add the neutrality needed to give my paintings a peaceful space for the watcher, but they also add
Instagram