Prematurely entering this world on October 22, 1968 without the aid of an incubator, Ivan was born with well-formed fingers, the basic tools of art.  After high school, his first intention was to tap those fingers on a computer keyboard, but because Computer Science was a University of the Philippines quota course, he landed instead in the Diliman campus College of Fine Arts.

Unfortunately, lack of focus forced him to quit, starting him on almost a decade of course shifts and odd jobs.  Art has many way of tapping on his shoulders though, beckoning him to try Lea Padilla's Summer Art Workshop and a summer job in Cebu ad agency.  It was while doing a theater management apprenticeship in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, that he chanced to visit one of its galleries and viewed the 1994 Thirteen Artists Awards Exhibit.  The impact of the show inspired him to produce his first large-scale work, "Republic".  This was included in his first solo exhibit in January 1995.  He is presently a member of Mixed Media and the Art Association of the Philippines.

For Ivan, "....artists should have a commitment to his artwork first before his viewers.........All materials in the artmaking process are 'Tetris Blocks' that fit together to achieve a level. Each level is a step in the ladder towards the perfect artwork - which may or may not be completed in his lifetime."

"The Factory"