Great balls of fire.

Byline: Sam L. Marcelo

The moon's familiar glow pours through the glass walls of the Ayala Museum's second floor. Canvases suffused by an ethereal yellow light beckon to passersby, who, in turn are drawn like moths to a flame. Bathed in the warmth of Joel "Welbart" Bartolome's 3Q, his third solo show, one is transfixed first by globes of brilliant luminosity and second by masked women basking naked in lunar radiance.

The title 3Q, Mr. Bartolome said, refers to the third-quarter moon also known as the waning gibbous moon that remains visible in the morning. "In astrology, the moon talks about emotions and relationships," he said in the vernacular. He added that 3Q's …