Filipino artist Reen Barrera is known for his original wood sculptures and paintings. Not having many toys as a child, Barrera learned to make his own out of found materials. As a professional artist, he creates hand-carved sculptures of his signature Ohlala character. Inspired in part by the idiom, “Written all over your face,” each Ohlala sculpture visually expresses varying emotions with a constellation of shared symbols and patterns featuring arrows, dots and more. Each face relates the story of different individuals, from all walks of life.
As he expands his artistic reach, Barrera has created four vinyl figures inspired by his sculptural work. His Ohlala vinyl art toys presented by Vinyl on Vinyl gallery and produced by MINDstyle bring three of his original designs—Ohlala, Love and Mother—out of the gallery and onto collector’s shelves. While they share the character’s overall slender proportions and face shape, each figure in the series features an unique sculpt so as to stay true to Barrera’s vision.
In addition to the three new original art toys, Barrera brings his Ohlala concept to a wider audience with the Funko Pop! Asia: Reen Barrera – Love vinyl art toy by MINDstyle. His Funko Pop figure explores the complexities of love with a new face pattern featuring warm yellow, red and pink tones with black and white symbols.
Reen Barrera’s three Ohlala vinyl art toys (12″, 14,000 PhP) and the Pre-release Exclusive Funko Pop! Asia: Reen Barrera – Love vinyl art toy (750 PhP) will be available at the MINDstyle FanXperience area at this weekend’s Toycon PH event (7.7 – 7.9) in Manila. Barrera will be on-hand for to meet fans and sign his figures.
Toycon PH
SMX Convention Center
Second Floor
Pasay City, Philippines
Friday, July 7th – 11:00AM to 8:00PM
Saturday, July 8th – 11:00AM to 9:00PM
Sunday July 9th – 11:00AM to 7:00PM
