Dante Hipolito or "The Smile Painter" is well known as a hyper-realist painter and a visual artist. Hipolito was born in San Andres, Manila in 1959. During the papal visit in the Philippines, Hipolito was commissioned by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines create a painting as a gift for the Head of the Roman Church titled "Salubong".
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Education
Career
During the middle of the 1980s, Hipolito worked under Kalaro Publishing as an illustrator for a children magazine. After Hipolito became a seaman in Singapore, he went back to work as an artist and worked at Adformatrix Agency and then FCB International. In 1993, Hipolito worked as an art director for a Saudi Arabian advertising firm and was an active member of the Pinta Pipino Art Group.
Papal visit controversy
During the papal visit in the Philippines in the early January 2015, Hipolito dedicated an artwork to Pope Francis titled ""Salubong"", it was viewed at the ArtLeadoff 2015 show at Galeria de las Islas at the Silahis Center in Intramuros. The painting became controversial as Pope Francis refused to accept the gift. The painting sparked anger and ridicule among the masses stating that the artwork is satirical. The models used in the artwork were Philippine celebrities both in politics and the movie industry. Pope Francis politely declined the painting and said that it would be better if the artwork depicted 'real ordinary people', such as victims of typhoon Yolanda, instead of political and celebrity figures. Hipolito claims that the painting was inspired by his faith, his fondness for the Pope, and that he respects people's opinions regarding the artwork.