Romson Regarde Bustillo

Born on the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines, Romson Regarde Bustillo is a Seattle based artist. His layered works and immersive collaborations are tied to his Philippine lineage, South Seattle-PNW upbringing, and research travels. Mixed media artist Marita Dingus and the late painter Drake Deknatel were important influences and mentors during his early years. Carving his own path, Bustillo integrates a printmaking foundation with a transdisciplinary practice.
 Romson’s work consistently nurtures the act of examining and re-examining one’s place in society and the process of ideation. He combines personal narratives with universal themes of belonging and perseverance in new ways.

He was awarded the Seattle Print Arts Larry Sommers Art Fellowship in 2016.  In 2017 he was co-recipient of the Garboil Grant established by the late artist Sue Jobs. An award that considers artists “…engaging audiences outside the aesthetic industrial complex.” He received Arts-Individual Projects Grants from 4Culture in 2018 and 2020 in support of his immersive installations and collaborative interventions. He is the recipient of a GAP Grant(2016) and an Artist Trust Fellowship(2019).

“I populate spaces with images and concepts that question and explore how place, context, and visual cues modify, enhance, and divert meanings. I make art to claim presence; revisit truths; and to break constructed designations of place.”